Academy Museum Fundraising Stalls As Opening Date Nears

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is still more than $100 million short of its fundraising goal as it nears its opening date, according to a new financial report.

The museum is now under construction on Wilshire Boulevard, and is supposed to open sometime next year. But according to financial disclosures prepared by the Academy, the $388 million fundraising campaign appears to have stalled.

It has been more than a year since the Academy last updated its fundraising total, when it claimed that recent gifts had pushed the campaign past the $300 million mark, or nearly 80% of the goal. But in a recent report to bondholders, the Academy says the true figure raised from outside sources was just $281,155,209, or 72% of the goal, as of June 30.

The figure reported to bondholders is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It is lower than the figures the Academy has used in press releases and public statements because it does not include “non-third party” funds — that is, the money the Academy plans to spend out of its own coffers.

“The Academy Museum has raised over $300M,” said Katharine DeShaw, the Academy’s top fundraiser, in a statement to Variety on Monday. “The difference in figures comprises non-third party and operational support. Fundraising has been going well for the Museum, and we look forward to making an announcement in the coming weeks.”

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