Why a Catholic charity is donating $10M to the Smithsonian Institution
The Catholic Charities Institute (CCI) has donated $10 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAC) as part of its “The Story of the American Dream” project, according to the organization’s website.
The money will help support the NMAAC’s collections, exhibitions, programs and outreach, according a statement released by the CCI.
NMAac is the nation’s largest African American museum and one of the world’s largest museums devoted to African American history and culture.
The museum will also be able to use the funds to create a permanent exhibit on slavery, the statement read.
In 2013, the CCi and the Smithsonian National Museum, which is located in Washington, D.C., were awarded a $50 million contract for the development and maintenance of the museum, which opened in 2019.
The CCI, which describes itself as the “world’s largest Christian charity,” is not affiliated with the Nmaac.
CCI CEO John Piscopo told The Associated Press the $10-million donation is “a tribute to the great contribution that the CCIs efforts in advancing the story of the story, which continues to inform our national conversation about race, justice and social justice.”
The $10m donation comes just days after the CCIS announced a $1.3 billion gift to the Nmarch Fund, which supports the African American Museum of the History of Science and Technology in New York City.
In 2017, the Nmuarch Fund pledged $2 million to support a new exhibit in the museum’s Science Museum that will include works by African American artists, including a new exhibition called “The Black Experience in American Art.”
The museum, a non-profit, is located at 1775 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington D.D.C. Its primary mission is to “promote, celebrate and preserve African American culture, heritage, and history.”
The CCi’s president, Cardinal Robert Sarah, said the donation “helps us continue to move forward and make history” in “making history for all Americans.”
CCI’s mission statement reads, “The CCI works to build a future where every child and adult has the opportunity to participate fully in their faith and culture.”
The American Society of Newspaper Editors and Publishers, which represents the nation and publishes the newspaper “The Economist,” announced in a statement that the “National Museum of Black History and Cultures is a great place to celebrate and educate Americans about African American heritage and culture,” and said it will donate $1 million toward the museum.
CCIs president, Thomas S. Raff, said in a press release that the museum “is a unique museum with a special place in the hearts of many Americans, which reflects the history of the Black race.”
CCIS is the only charity that will be contributing to NmaAC.
CCIS said it has received support from foundations including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The William E. Simon Family Foundation, George Soros’ Open Society Institute and the Ford Foundation.
CCIC also has received funding from foundations that include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford and Carnegie Endowment, the MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowments for the Arts, Humanities and Humanities Programs.
CCi was established in 1972 by Cardinal Joseph Tobin Jr., a former U.S. archbishop, as a “Christian institution” dedicated to “encouraging the formation of a more just society.”
Tobin died in February 2018 at the age of 86.
He is considered a “true American leader” and was instrumental in establishing the CCIC, according the organization.
The organization, which has about 50 million members worldwide, is known for its charitable work, such as its efforts to fight poverty and disease, fight racism, provide health and education programs and support research.
CCic also provides “faith-based resources and support for institutions, individuals and the broader community that support social justice,” the organization said.
The nonprofit is headquartered in Chicago, and is overseen by two priests, Fr.
Timothy J. Gannon and Fr.
Joseph W. Miller.
CCII is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan nonprofit organization that was created in 1983.
The CII is not involved in politics.
In 2016, the CII’s board of trustees included Rev. Thomas Siegel, a retired U.K. archdiocese archbishop who served as chairman of the CCII from 1984 to 2008, according his biography on the organization website.