NoNProfits
Preserving Art and History
The Jersey City Museum (JCM), a repository of visual arts and culture that was forced to close in 2012 because of insufficient funding, has, after long effort, successfully donated its entire collection to another renowned museum. JCM’s valuable collection – consisting primarily of 19th century, 20th century, and contemporary paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and historical objects from New Jersey– is now part of the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University.
Following JCM’s closure, its board of trustees remained tenaciously committed to fulfilling the museum’s mission to safeguard and display the collection. With the firm’s help, the JCM board searched for more than eight years for the right recipient. The task appeared insurmountable, as a successful placement would require alignment of many legal, financial, logistical, and artistic goals. After running out of funds, the museum paid its fine arts insurance and other essential expenses with personal donations from its own board members and advisors.
Lowenstein worked with JCM on a series of projects to maintain the organization’s tax-exempt status, most recently obtaining a determination by the IRS that the museum could remain classified as a publicly supported organization rather than as a private foundation, a designation that would have made the transfer of art to the Zimmerli more challenging. The board remained undaunted, and at last succeeded in finalizing a gift agreement with the Zimmerli to transfer the museum’s collection, history, and legacy to this highly respected and deserving institution.
Currently, the firm is working with JCM to wind down its affairs with New Jersey and the IRS. Having completed what seemed an impossible task, JCM can now dissolve in the knowledge that its collection is again being proudly displayed for the enjoyment and edification of the public.
