Troubled children's museum tries to rally financial support

The DuPage Children's Museum is rallying supporters to help keep it afloat through its mounting financial difficulties.

Museum leaders have issued an "urgent call to action" to keep the facility running at its Naperville location.

"We're looking to enlist advocates to be able to show the variety of government officials we're seeking to partner with ... how important it is to the public," said Alison Segebarth, director of marketing and membership.

The nonprofit museum was founded in 1987 with the goal of helping children learn through fun, interactive exhibits. It settled into its current location at 301 N. Washington St. in 2001 and now receives about 330,000 visitors a year.

"Young children burst with ideas and excitement as they build, explore and investigate solutions in our nationally recognized exhibits," Executive Director Sue Broad said in a letter to supporters. "By all accounts, DuPage Children's Museum is an incredible experience for children and an invaluable asset for the entire region."

Roughly 60 percent of the museum's $4 million annual operating budget comes from membership and admission fees while the remaining 40 percent is from grants, sponsorships and donations.

But building the Naperville facility put the museum $13.3 million in debt, of which about $9.4 million remains.

"We're in a situation right now with the economy where the combination of servicing our long-term debt as well as raising donations and funding for ongoing operations have hit a critical window," Segebarth said. "We're committed to staying in operation as a museum, but there are issues that made it more urgent to solve this now."

In the past, museum officials have asked Naperville to buy the property or help fund the museum through its Special Events and Cultural Amenities grants.

The museum also has pursued a naming gift and commercial developments on the property and considered selling the site and moving to a new location, according to Broad. But none of those ideas has panned out. Last year the city allocated $250,000 in grants to the museum, rejecting its request for a $5 million matching grant.

Segebarth said the museum is looking at a variety of options to raise money to stay afloat, but declined to discuss specific options or a timeline for when it needs the funding.

She said the museum still wants to partner with city, county and state government.

"We absolutely value the museum's presence here as a kid-friendly attraction," Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger said. "There are few entities that can match it. We would continue to remain open to new ideas should the museum present them to us."

But he also acknowledged the city's own financial difficulties - it laid off 20 employees earlier this month - and said because of the economy there are "additional hurdles to overcome" in partnering with the museum.

Supporters can sign up as museum "champions" on its Web site, dupagechildrensmuseum.org. Champions will receive e-mail notifications about the ongoing efforts and how they can help. Roughly 950 people already had done so in the first 24 hours of the drive.

"It's heartening to know we have impacted a lot of lives," Segebarth said. "And they want us to be able to continue to do that."