LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — It’s back to the drawing board for the Allen County Museum after losing a grant that would have helped fund a major project.
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a $350,000 grant in 2024 to improve the museum’s HVAC system, which would also help preserve its collection. However, the Department of Government Efficiency retracted the grant last week, and the museum is now trying to determine its next steps.
“It's a, you know, HVAC units are not cheap, and they're also not something people like to fund. So having agencies within the government that actually support some of those important operating details is really kind of what helps us sustain and it helps us then do our programming and stuff with our other money that we get locally. I've been working in museums for 25 years, there's always ups and downs, and so you just kind of have to be ready when that downward spiral happens, and have plans in place. And that's kind of where we are right now,” said Christine Fowler Shearer, director of the Allen County Museum.
Fowler Shearer said they are working on several ideas to secure funding for the much-needed HVAC system.
Fowler Shearer said they are working on several ideas to secure funding for the much-needed HVAC system.
