Annual Fund Letter

 Dear Friend,

In June the Audrain Automobile Museum reopened its doors after three long months of closure due to COVID-19. We took that time - during which we gratefully acknowledge that none of the Audrain family, including our staff, docents, and volunteers fell ill with the virus – to reflect on the ways we could serve our community to an even greater extent. As we adapted to the ways this pandemic changed the world, accessibility was, and remains, at the forefront of our actions.

  • By posting more engaging content on our social media and blog we saw an almost 10% increase in followers.

  • Our YouTube channel was relaunched and gained over 1000 subscribers and reached 865,000 views in just three months.

  • The website was redesigned to include virtual exhibitions generating over 12,000 monthly views.

  • The Audrain Kids Club was released for our younger car enthusiasts in May and has been visited 500 times.

  • We published the first issue of our quarterly magazine, 222 Bellevue, and was received by nearly 20,000 readers.

  • Shining Bright, our newest exhibition opened with a virtual reception and online access that has been visited over 17,000 times.

The result has been deeper engagement with a wider community and a renewed focus on our mission of Preserving, Celebrating, & Sharing Automotive History. Since reopening the gallery, we have carried this drive for accessibility in-person by restructuring the way our guests access and interact with the cars and starting a conversation series for members to speak directly with myself, and Executive Director, David de Muzio. These efforts, and more importantly, the success of these efforts, have all been made possible by your support.

Personally, the warmth and deep connection the community of members, citizens and visitors have demonstrated since my arrival here last year has left me quite impressed. I am humbled and honored to be a part of the Audrain organization as we expand our reach in so many new and effective ways.

Before the onset of the global shut down we launched our annual fundraising campaign. In our initial ask, we had set a goal of raising $100,000 not knowing how trying the following months would be. We are beyond excited to announce that we have met this goal and are equally humbled by the generosity of our patrons despite the challenges of COVID-19 and the impact it has had not just on our economy, but on our daily lives as well. Having a substantial annual fund has provided security to our institutional initiatives. The money that has been raised was allocated to programming and to cover the operational costs of the Museum, even allowing us to keep our entire staff fully employed during our time of closure. This has allowed us to focus on the work that speaks to the mission of the Audrain; Preserving, Celebrating & Sharing Automotive History. With reopening we intend on continuing to work on our digital platforms in addition to building our curatorial, research, preservation, and programming initiatives to connect with children, seniors and a community that extends beyond Bellevue Avenue. Given the success of our annual fund campaign thus far, we have decided to double the goal to $200,000. We hope that you can be a part of this growth.
Part of our growth also focuses on the Museum’s collections. As the Audrain Automobile Museum continues to seek out cars that are important to automotive history, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the ways your support has already made that possible.


Some of the vehicles that have been donated to the Museum include:

  • A 1957 Morgan Plus 4 series II, the Museum’s first donation.

  • A 2008 Ransom Serpent.

  • A 1969 Dodge Coronet that spent the almost the entirety of its life in New England is used regularly to represent the Museum at events such as Cars & Coffee and local parades.

  • A 1922 Ford Model T Depot Hack.

From donations to the acquisition fund the Museum has been able to purchase:

  • A 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood belonging to the Vanderbilt Family. Additional funding has permitted us to help preserve not only the vehicle, but its provenance as well.

  • A 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe.

  • A 1935 Chrysler Airflow C-2 Imperial Coupe.

  • A 2019 Nmoto Nostalgia inspired by the BMW R7 prototype.

Donations of automobilia include:

  • A 1930’s Sparton Bugle accessory that showcases an important part of early pneumatic horns.

  • An original illustration by local car enthusiast Ron Poisson that depicts the newly acquired 1906 Renault belonging to William K Vanderbilt. He said this donation was a way of saying thank you for “bringing the car home to Newport”.

It is contributions like these that allow us to to continue finding new ways to present automotive history through our curatorial practices and public programming initiatives. There are many ways to support the Audrain Automobile Museum; memberships and monetary contributions serve our most immediate need; other means of support come from vehicle and automobilia donations that help to bolster our collection in ways we might not otherwise be able to. We hope that, if able to do so, you will support the Museum in its many endeavors. Click the DONATE button below or contact our Membership Coordinator, Victoria Antonucci at VAntonucci@audrainautomuseum.org or 401-856-4422 to learn about the many ways you can help preserve automotive history for the next generation of car enthusiasts today!

Sincerely,

Donald Osborne, CEO