Evansville African American Museum

What Evansville African American Museum does

The Evansville African American Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural institution founded in September 1997 and opened to the public in March 2007, located at 579 S. Garvin Street in the Baptisttown neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana. The museum preserves and exhibits local African American history from 1820 to the present, with a particular focus on the historic Lincoln Gardens housing development originally dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1937 and the surrounding Baptisttown community. It operates a single physical location serving the Tri-State region of Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.

The museum's core offerings include rotating and permanent exhibitions (such as 'Baptisttown Reimagined' and 'Cultural Responsibility in Evansville: Collaborating for Social Justice'), guided and self-guided tours priced at $3–$7, a tiered membership program (College Student, Individual, Family, Corporate, Non-Profit, Lifetime, Sustaining, Youth), facility rentals, an on-site and online gift shop, and the annual Colour of Humanity Gala. It is supported by institutional grants from Indiana Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual and memorial donations, admissions, and event sponsorships. Operations are run by approximately four paid staff (Executive Director Kori Miller, Clerical Assistant, Grounds & Maintenance, and Curator) with governance from a 13+ member Board of Directors and 13+ active community committees.

The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: grassroots outreach through committees, the annual gala, and grassroots membership drives, supplemented by direct admissions and group tours. The museum has no proprietary technology stack, no digital products, and no AI/ML capabilities; its differentiation rests on the irreplaceable historical artifacts, the Lincoln Gardens site, and the depth of community embedment in Baptisttown. Revenue is generated across seven streams — membership contributions, grants and charitable gifts, admissions, facility rental, events, gift shop sales, and memorial donations — with a distributed base of individual visitors, members, school groups, community organizations, and corporate sponsors.

Name

Evansville African American Museum

Legal name

Evansville African American Museum

Website

https://evvaam.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Evansville African American Museum is a 501(c)(3) cultural institution in Evansville, Indiana that preserves and exhibits local Black history from 1820 to present, serving visitors, members, school groups, and community organizations across the Indiana-Kentucky-Illinois Tri-State region through tours, exhibitions, and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Museum

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (71211), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage preservation
• African American history exhibits
• Museum guided tours
• Community educational programming
• Historical artifact collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Evansville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: Annual membership fees from individual, family, corporate, nonprofit, and lifetime members. The museum maintains a membership directory and offers various membership tiers including College Student, Corporate (Over/Under 200 employees), Family, Individual, Lifetime Member, Non Profit, Sustaining Family, Sustaining Individual, and Youth Membership.
2. Grants and Charitable Gifts: Grants received from corporations, foundations, and government entities including Indiana Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities. Also accepts charitable gift legacies through bequests.
3. Admissions: Revenue from museum admission fees for guided and self-guided tours for adults and children. Museum members receive free admission.
4. Facility Rental: The museum gallery can be reserved for private, community events and meetings, generating rental revenue.
5. Events: Revenue from special events including the annual gala with sponsorship opportunities, ticket sales, and advertising sales in event programs.
6. Gift Shop Sales: Revenue from gift shop sales of apparel, artwork, textiles, books, stationery, and gift items.
7. Memorial Donations: Donations made in memory of individuals including Harold Calloway, Mattie Miller, Michael Malone, and Janice Hale, with some designated as matching funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Evansville African American Museum preserves and exhibits local African American history from 1820 to the present through rotating and permanent exhibitions, guided and self-guided tours, preserved 1930s Lincoln Gardens living quarters, and educational programming. The museum operates as a non-profit cultural institution funded by memberships, grants, donations, admissions, facility rentals, gift shop sales, and an annual fundraising gala.

Product overview

The Evansville African American Museum operates as a single-location cultural institution offering exhibitions, guided and self-guided tours, membership programs, event hosting, facility rental, and a gift shop. The museum focuses on preserving and exhibiting local Black history from 1820 to present, with rotating exhibitions and preserved living quarters from the original Lincoln Gardens housing development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibitions Rotating and permanent exhibitions focusing on local Black history from 1820 to present, including exhibits on Baptisttown, Lincoln Gardens, and the 'Harlems of the Midwest' focusing on Indiana and Lincoln Avenues. Open to general public visitors and educational groups.
• Museum Tours Guided and self-guided tours of the museum's exhibitions and preserved 1930s Lincoln Gardens living quarters. Admission prices range from $3-$7 per person. Available to general public, school groups, and visiting organizations.
• Membership Program Various membership tiers including College Student, Individual, Family, Corporate, Non-Profit, Lifetime, and Youth memberships offering different benefits including free admission.
• Annual Colour of Humanity Gala The museum's premier annual fundraising event featuring black-tie experience with curated cuisine, live entertainment, and storytelling to support exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation initiatives.
• Object Donation Program Museum accepts donations of objects pertaining to Evansville Black History, Indiana Black History, and Tri-State Regional Black History, with a formal assessment and Deed of Gift process.
• Facility Rental The museum gallery can be reserved for private community events and meetings.
• Museum Gift Shop On-site gift shop offering a selection of apparel, artwork, textiles, books, stationery, and gift items.

Quantifiable outcome

• Museum serves as cultural and educational resource for Evansville residents while connecting all residents with African American heritage

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science: The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science is another history and culture museum located in the same city as EAAM, serving the same regional Tri-State audience with overlapping exhibits, educational programming, and group tour offerings.
• The African American Museum in Philadelphia: AAMP is a similarly-missioned African American history and culture museum preserving Black heritage through exhibitions, educational programs, and community engagement, making it a directly comparable cultural institution.
• Moton Museum: The Robert Russa Moton Museum is a small, community-anchored African American history museum operating with a similar grassroots model, comparable in size, mission, and reliance on local community support.
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History: The Wright Museum is a major African American history institution that preserves and interprets Black history through permanent and rotating exhibits, paralleling EAAM's mission and operating model on a larger scale.
• National Civil Rights Museum: The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis focuses on African American history and the civil rights movement through exhibits and educational programming, directly comparable to EAAM's preservation and interpretation of Black history.

Regional players

• Cincinnati Museum Center: Cincinnati Museum Center is a Tri-State regional history and cultural institution competing for the same cross-border visitor audience as EAAM in the Ohio Valley.
• Conner Prairie: Conner Prairie is an Indiana-based heritage and history attraction focused on immersive exhibits and educational programming, comparable in mission, structure, and dependence on regional tourism.
• Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art: The Eiteljorg Museum is an Indianapolis-based cultural heritage museum with similar nonprofit operating model, exhibit programming, and reliance on Indiana-based donors and grants.
• Indiana State Museum: The Indiana State Museum is a history and cultural heritage museum in Indianapolis serving the same state-level audience and competing for school field trips, grants, and donor attention across Indiana.

Broad incumbents

• National Museum of African American History and Culture: The Smithsonian's NMAAHC is the preeminent federally operated African American museum, setting standards and shaping donor expectations for smaller institutions like EAAM in the same cultural category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvbu9_YxLwREOIt3-d2nB7g
• Facebookfacebook.com/EVVafricanamericanmuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/evv_aam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/evvaam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Evansville African American Museum