VBMA campaign reaches $110 million

A computer rendering shows the future Vero Beach Museum of Art. ALLIED WORKS © KVANT-1

VERO BEACH — The Vero Beach Museum of Art has raised $110 million toward its $126 million capital campaign for a new museum building and campus transformation, the institution announced this month.

The total means the museum has secured more than 87% of its fundraising goal for the project, known as Museum in the Garden, which broke ground Nov. 7, 2025. The campaign had previously reached $100 million at the time of the groundbreaking.

Museum officials said the latest total includes contributions from nearly 50 new donors since the groundbreaking. More than 39 individuals and organizations have committed gifts of $1 million or more, according to the museum.

Among the latest major gifts is a $2 million grant from the Indian River Community Foundation, which will support the naming of the Indian River Community Foundation Ceramics Center at the museum. The center is expected to include a 1,000-square-foot ceramics studio, kiln room and glazing room.

The museum’s expansion project is expected to create a new 90,000-square-foot facility in Riverside Park and more than double the institution’s exhibition space. Museum officials have said the first floor of the new building will be free to the public and designed as a community gathering space with galleries, education areas, a café and retail space.

The new museum is expected to open in early 2028, while the current facility remains in operation during construction.