Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:45 am

Brian Carlton bcarlton@newsvirginian.com

The Kickstarter campaign may not have reached its goal, but a number of private donors have helped the Virginia Museum of Natural History climb closer to fully funding a master plan for the planned Waynesboro location. As of Friday morning, local residents had contributed $18,000, according to Joe Keiper, the museum’s executive director. That doesn’t count a little more than $5,000 pledged during the Kickstarter campaign, which didn’t materialize because it didn’t reach the $10,000 goal. For Kickstarter campaigns, supporters only have their debit cards charged if the project reaches the goal set by organizers.

“One of the drawbacks for Kickstarter is that people will not get a

[nonprofit contribution] letter for their taxes,” Keiper said. “That can hold back people from giving larger donations on the site. But during the last two months, members of the community have come up and just given separate from the campaign, showing they want this to happen.”

Keiper said he’s proud however of the supporters who came together on Kickstarter and will be reaching out to each of them in the next two weeks as well. If they still want to donate, museum officials will let each of them know how to do that and also make sure that if they do still give, the gifts promised on Kickstarter will still be delivered. For $10, residents will be listed on the museum’s website as a supporter. For $25, they get a 5×7 piece of artwork based off one of the exhibit renderings which will be designed as part of the master plan. For $100, they get an 8×10 piece of artwork and their name listed as a supporter. For $150 and above, they can have lunch with Keiper, where he’ll outline developments for the master plan.

“We got a little over $5,000 from 75 bidders,” Keiper said. “That shows people want this to happen, that the community is involved. And that was the whole idea for Kickstarter, to get the community involved in this.”

Keiper has until the middle of August to finalize funding and details for the master plan. The total cost of the plan is $50,000, of which the Waynesboro city council contributed $25,000. Last year, a phase one study done by Richmond based Chmura Economics and Analytics recommended a facility of approximately 21,850 square feet, including 10,000 square feet of exhibit space, at a cost of $7.3 million. Some of that cost could be trimmed if already existing buildings are used, instead of new construction. The master plan study will also examine where the best possible location would be.

The earlier study recommended three potential sites for the museum. The first was in downtown Waynesboro, either at 320 West Main Street or using the Mill at South River. The second location was at the Waynesboro Industrial Park, just off Exit 96 from Interstate 64 and the third was on Lew Dewitt Boulevard near Zeus Digital Theater. In addition to answering those questions, Keiper said the master plan will include details about exhibits in the facility, which will be tailor made to fit the local community.

To do that, a number of meetings will be held with the community, giving people a chance to tell officials what they want to see in the new building.

Keiper said the number of firms have been narrowed down to a list of finalists and the museum officials hope to select one in the next two weeks. For anyone interested in contributing, they can do so by writing a check to the Virginia Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 839, Waynesboro VA 22980.