Bonanzaville is excited to announce that it has been awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The funding from this grant will help the organization advance its goals in strengthening the care and stewardship of their collections. The grant provided by IMLS will be used to fund a massive inventory project of an overflow storage building containing an estimated 30,000 items. Funding from this grant will go primarily towards hiring a full-time contracted project manager, a full-time seasonal assistant, and a professional collections management consultant. Project staff will inventory, rehouse, and reorganize items in this building.
“This grant is a game-changer for our organization,” says Beth Jansen Executive Director, “With a small team of only four full-time employees, our organization lacks the manpower to address the backlog of undocumented artifacts in our collection. With this grant, we will be able to hire staff dedicated solely to this task.”
Bonanzaville will begin work on this project at the beginning of 2026. The project is expected to be completed over the course of three years. Once completed, the organization hopes to make improvements to the inventoried storage building so that it can be used as a more permanent storage space.
Cass County North Dakota Historical Society (CCNDHS) is the cultural institution responsible for telling the county’s story and preserving and collecting artifacts related to it. Bonanzaville has been an iconic part of the Red River Valley since 1968!
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
