The Pat Murphy Endowment for Heritage Preservation

Preserving the Past involves planning for the Future!

The Pat Murphy Endowment for Heritage Preservation was established in honor of Patricia Murphy, the Oberlin Heritage Center’s first professional executive director, in gratitude for her inspirational leadership from 1993 to 2015. Pat helped the Heritage Center become a nationally recognized, award-winning small museum and dynamic historical organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 2005. She also expanded OHC’s impact throughout the community and fostered greater appreciation of Oberlin’s history and historic buildings, far and wide.

The Oberlin Heritage Center Board of Trustees established the new Pat Murphy Endowment for Heritage Preservation in May 2015 and has a goal of raising $1,000,000. Through donations and pledges, we have already raised ~$900,000 with the goal to fully fund the endowment before the end of 2024. Income from this permanently restricted fund is used for the maintenance and preservation of OHC's historic buildings and grounds, the care and management of the current and future collections, and the improvement and enhancement of facilities that support OHC's mission

Building this endowment fund is an important part of the Heritage Center’s ongoing tradition of solid institutional planning and demonstrates its continuing commitment to organizational excellence, sustainability, and authenticity in cultural and heritage preservation, all hallmarks of Pat Murphy's tenure as OHC executive director. The Oberlin Heritage Center's annual operating budget does not cover even the most urgent preservation and conservation needs of OHC's historic buildings and collection of artifacts. An assessment by a preservation architect estimated that the Heritage Center should budget $50,000 annually for maintenance and preservation. When fully funded, the new endowment will provide about that amount annually to help address ongoing maintenance, preservation and conservation of the buildings, grounds and collections, protect them against the ravages of time, and help avoid future deferred maintenance challenges.

Your support recognizes Pat’s legacy and helps keep the Heritage Center a beautifully-preserved guardian of the artifacts and stories of our community’s unique history. For more information, call us at (440) 774-1700, e-mail Bethany Hobbs at [email protected] or donate online.

Contributors (individuals or couples) whose past and/or present contributions or pledges (payable within 5 years of commitment) to the endowment total $2,000 or more are recognized as Endowed Life Members (ELMs). Life Members no longer pay yearly membership dues, and continue to receive all of the benefits of annual membership. The names of Endowed Life Members are permanently displayed at the Oberlin Heritage Center and published in our Annual Report each year.