WEST FARGO, N.D. – An iconic tourist location in West Fargo receives a national grant.
Bonanzaville received notification of their grant, whose funds come from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The funding 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,” said 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.
