The Vagina Museum has been saved from the threat of closure by a crowdfunding campaign which has so far raised more than £70,500 within a week, £10,000 over its initial target.
Civil Society reported last week that the museum, the world’s first brick-and-mortar space dedicated to the female reproductive system, had launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay a large rent bill due at the end of this month.
The bill was set to drive the charity, whose most recently recorded annual income was £183,000, below its minimum reserves limit and force it to permanently close unless it raised £60,000 in the next fortnight.
At the time of writing, the charity had raised over £70,500, with its campaign shared to its 215,000 followers on Instagram.
Fundraising target raised
In light of the success of the campaign, which hit the initial target within just over 24 hours of its launch, the Vagina Museum has now raised its crowdfunding target to £100,000.
Writing on the GoFundMe page, the charity said: “We’ve raised enough to save the Vagina Museum in the immediate future. But the real work starts now.
“We’ve been doing this for years on a shoestring budget with just about enough staff to keep functioning. There’s no room to grow. No room to thrive. So, we’ve extended our target to our stretch goal.
“This is no longer about surviving, but about being able to thrive in a world with so many forces still against us.”
Money may enable ‘growth phase’
The charity, which is seeking other long-term funding in addition to the campaign, said last week that if its renewed call for public support was successful, it may be able to “enter a growth phase”.
The most recent campaign was not the first time the Vagina Museum has been forced to appeal to the public for help against the threat of closure.
Since 2023, the museum has operated out of a space beneath redeveloped railway arches in Bethnal Green, east London, its third location.
The charity moved there when it managed to raise more than £85,000 after being forced out of its previous east London premises due to its property guardianship of the building ending.
