Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation

Most recently, we contributed to the construction of a new Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened on May 16, 2019. The new building doubles the original museum's capacity, better accommodating the 4.3 million visitors who pass through Liberty Island each year.

Previously, the Foundation provided funding for the Peopling of America Center at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, which is dedicated to telling the stories of newcomers to America over the last century and a half. Our 2008 grant helped expand the scope of the museum, so that it now covers not only the immigrants who actually entered this country through Ellis Island itself, but the entire scope of immigration to America — from the arrival of the earliest Native Americans to today's immigrants from around the globe.

A Prestigious Award, Gratefully Accepted

In 2016, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten received the Ellis Island Foundation's Family Heritage Award for his preservation efforts over the years. Gregory said, "I know that America's openness, its boundless hope and possibility, is a fire that lights up the whole world — from the most oppressed and war-torn countries to the most progressive and advanced ones. They look to us for our ideals, and those ideals are embodied by Ellis Island."