Lynn Forbes Gautier heads up National Capital Campaign Development & Endowments at The New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, NB, Canada. The two donor stories she sent to us are wonderful examples of how letting your supporters speak for you can inspire others to make gifts. They also demonstrate some savvy thinking: Both stories are highly visible to prospects because they are front and center, along with eye-catching art, on their planned giving page.

Here’s a short introduction from Lynn:

Although many people are aware that Saint John, New Brunswick, is Canada’s oldest incorporated city, few are aware that it is home to Canada’s oldest continuing museum. The New Brunswick Museum (NBM) was founded in 1929 and has been preserving and passing on New Brunswick art, cultures, natural history and heritage for generations. As a registered nonprofit organization, planned gifts create the future of New Brunswick’s provincial museum which depends on the financial support of members and benefactors. 

Endowments and planned gifts to NBM are lasting and meaningful contributions that support the museum’s permanent collections, exhibitions, research and educational programs. Creating a legacy for the New Brunswick Museum is a gesture that will endure for generations to come. 

Endowments Leave a Legacy and Inspire New Generations

Thank you, Thomas!

“I’ve had a life-long passion for the natural world. I know very well that research funding can be difficult to come by. That’s why I’ve been contributing to the New Brunswick Museum research endowment fund for more than a decade to support the museum’s natural history specialists pursue their research, attend conferences, and share the most current scientific information about New Brunswick and the world.  Our museum’s ability to collaborate with universities, students and community groups across Canada and the world increases the scope and relevance of this research and I am happy to help support it.”  – Thomas M.

The New Brunswick Museum’s Natural History staff and Research Associates are involved in a wide variety of research and field programs in the areas of palaeontology, mycology, botany and zoology. By undertaking field research on fossils, minerals, fungi, plants, and animals, the curators add to the New Brunswick Museum’s collections and support the museum’s mandate to study and preserve specimens for current and future generations. As a research institution, NBM’s curators and collections staff also respond annually to many hundreds of public and professional inquiries about the natural world.

The commitment and generosity of donors like Thomas make this possible. We are grateful for their support. You, too, can have a lasting impact by contributing to the New Brunswick Museum.

Thank you, Webster Family!

Dr. J.C. Webster (1865-1950), from Shediac, NB, and Alice Lusk Webster, Hon. LLD (1880-1953), originally from New York City, were founders of the New Brunswick Museum. They believed that knowledge of history and art had a value beyond educational enrichment … that it could instill a sense of cultural pride, a vital ingredient in any region’s social and economic health. In 1932, Dr. J.C. Webster donated his collection of Canadiana … publications, maps, photographs and art … which essentially was the foundation of the museum’s history collections. In 1935, through her own resources, Alice Lusk Webster, developed the Arts & Industries Department where excellent examples of fine and decorative arts objects served as material aids to the imagination.

Virtually unparalleled in its day, J.C. Webster’s collection documented many aspects of Canadian history and life. Among its greatest strengths were in the areas of military and naval history. He was particularly fascinated with the life and career of General James Wolfe and acquired everything he could relating to someone he believed played a pivotal role in Canadian history.

Alice Lusk Webster’s broad experience, from travels in Japan as a girl to art studies in Paris, informed her acquisition of representative examples of international decorative arts that were intended to serve as inspiration for all New Brunswickers and in particular, our artists and artisans. Calling upon her personal relationships with museum curators in New York and Toronto, she was able to gather an excellent overview of many historical developments in ceramics, glass, silver, textiles and furniture.  She also began supporting local artists and craftspeople through the purchase of works for the collection.

In 1946, the Webster Museum Fund was established to ensure the ongoing development and curation of the museum’s history and art collections.   At the time of J.C. Webster’s death in 1950, the fund was valued at almost $500,000.00 and Alice Lusk Webster bequeathed another $40,000.00 to the fund upon her death in 1953.  To this day, the Webster endowment continues to provide funds for the museum.