The Children's Museum of Cleveland 2023 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT

C M C L E V E L A N D.O R G

A LETTER FROM OUR LEADERSHIP The Children’s Museum of Cleveland (CMC) is a launchpad for early childhood development. Our incredible staff work to provide engaging learning experiences in an approachable environment that feels truly welcoming to all families.

This year, CMC has invested in operational systems to best position the Museum for long-term growth. We celebrated the first year of our new Bubbles exhibit, created with support from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s. A new point-ofsale system was launched to improve customer experience and streamline data management. We welcomed six new members to our Board of Directors, and progressed our Strategic Plan by formalizing internal committees including a newly formed Access committee. As we lay the building blocks to strengthen our foundation, we’ve began to dream of the new heights we will reach. We can’t wait to take you along on this journey in 2024 and beyond!

Maria Campanelli

Holly Little

Executive Director

Board Chair

UT

As we plant roots in our diverse community, we continue to dream bigger. The Museum as we know it today is home to eight interactive exhibits and fills 36,000 sq. ft. of our historic facility. Believe it or not, the building still has 24,000 sq. ft. of unused space waiting to be re-imagined! The Museum has begun to chart this vision using data and input from our guests and stakeholders as a road map. As the planning process unfolds, we are looking excitedly towards the future and all of the possibilities ahead!

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Our supe r powe rs are U mightie st whe n we wo rk as a te am!

Co mmunity partne rships he lp us re ach farthe r, liste n clo se r, and grow stro nge r. In 2023, CMC partne re d with No rthe ast Ohio Ne two rk to provide free me mbe rships to familie s wi t h spe cial ne e ds childre n, we lco ming 4,000 gue sts.

O u r C MC Ce nte r Stage se rie s wel co me d 11 lo cal artists, p resen t ing 30 fre e pe rfo rmance s.

We al so had the o ppo rtunity to col l ab orate with The Ro ck & Ro ll Hal l of Fame, LGBT Co mmunity Cen ter, No rthe ast Ohio Re gio nal Sewer District, and P layho use S quare, expanding re so urce s fo r familie s acro ss o ur re gio n.

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2023 marks six years in our new home.

Over these years, our walls have been filled with the joy of 765,936 children and families. We’ve witnessed thousands of “aha!” moments, celebrated milestone successes and record attendance, navigated a global pandemic, and forged countless core memories with our community’s youngest learners.

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2023 ANNUAL REPORT

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Let’s Dream EVEN Bigger!

2023 FINANCIALS* ACC

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In the first years of life, children’s brains are establishing billions of neural connections! Experiences in early childhood play a crucial role in this development. Children need every chance they can get to embrace their curiosity, explore new environments, and lay a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

CMC offers a variety of free and reduced admissions programs to ensure that the magic of a Museum visit is within reach for all children. To help sustain and grow these programs, CMC created the Wonder Fund. In 2023, this fund provided free programs for low-income students, free and reduced admission for low-income guests, and clean and safe visits for special needs families.

REVENUE & SUPPORT $811,241

Contributed

$1,788,934 $233,451

Earned Other Income

TOTA L R E V E N U E

$2,833,626

EXPENSES $1,539,511 $ 1 1 7, 3 6 4

Program Management

$231,598

Fundraising

TOTA L E X P E N S E S *Unaudited

$ 1 , 8 8 8 , 473

B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S GUS ARMBRUSTER Armbruster Companies ASHLEY BASILE OEKEN Engage! Cleveland DOREEN CAHOON Early Childhood Advocate MARIA CASHY SECRETARY Consultant

HOLLY LITTLE BOARD CHAIR Attorney JENNIFER LOPEZ Flagstar Bank, N.A. MIKE MARCHETTI Startup Business Advisor JOSEPH MUSKA Synthomer Inc.

MORGAN CONNOR The Connor Foundation

OLLIE PANNELL FirstEnergy Corporation

HANNAH DELIS Swagelok

JERRY PEIFFER Cleveland Clinic

SHARON EL-AMIN WILLIAMS Dealer Tire

GABE RHOADS Lubrizol Corporation

KHADIJAH FAIR

ELLIE RIAL Holden Forests & Gardens

Cleveland Transformation Alliance

JERRY FRANKLIN TREASURER Preformed Line Products MATTHEW GEIGER EY

TIM GERSPACHER, ASST. TREASURER PricewaterhouseCoopers TAMARA HAGERTY Parker Hannifin JORDAN M. JAVIER UH Rainbow Ahuja Center

BENJAMIN SCHLATHER Deloitte WILLIAM R. STEWART JR. Jones Day JAMES VERDI VICE CHAIR Jackson Lewis, P.C. MATTHEW YANOSKO Eaton

ANDREA PARK ZADD Crestmont Automotive THERESE ZDESAR Qualcare, LLC

S E N I O R S TA F F MARIA CAMPANELLI Executive Director HATTIE KOTZ Director of Marketing & Development SHANNON POST Director of Visitor Services KELSEY TARASE Director of Education