Holocaust Museum LA has received a $5 million gift from The Smidt Foundation, moving the institution closer to its goal of breaking ground this summer on a dramatic campus expansion. The expansion will double Holocaust Museum LA’s existing footprint in Pan Pacific Park, increase visitor capacity and educational programs to greater numbers of students and schools, and incorporate cutting-edge technology to preserve and present Holocaust survivor testimonies.
The Smidt Foundation gift is the largest-ever contribution to the museum from a family or foundation without familial ties to the Holocaust or the survivors who founded the museum more than 60 years ago. The gift will be used as a challenge grant to encourage more supporters – especially the next generations of donors – to build on the legacy and courage of the museum’s founding survivors and their families. Through the “Tree of Life Challenge,” The Smidt Foundation will match all gifts 2:1, effectively tripling the impact of each donation.
