By focusing on increasing equity and access to early learning experiences, advancing health and wellness, and building community, we created a framework onto which an entirely new museum program was created. This clarity allowed us to build lasting partnerships and pursue novel initiatives to tackle emerging community needs, even when these needs fell outside the traditional boundaries of what might be expected of a children’s museum. In six years, we’ve grown our attendance from 18,000 to 80,000, and our budget has more than doubled to $1 million. In this time, we have built solid relationships with several new funders and have seen our status in our community elevate to “preferred partner” among agencies, schools, and local government. What are the elements of our secret sauce? Read our story in Dimensions magazine.

-—Lara Litchfield-Kimber, executive director of the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum in Poughkeepsie, New York