Foundation shifts focus
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
At the end of 2018, the focus of the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation will officially shift away from Washburn, as a long-anticipated change arrives.
Come Jan. 1, 2019, the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center will no longer be funded by the Lewis & Clark Foundation, as the foundation hands over its membership base to the State.
“It’s a natural transition,” Foundation president David Borlaug said Tuesday, adding that the process started three years ago when the Interpretive Center became part of the N.D. State Park system.
Borlaug said members of the foundation will now pay dues directly to the state, instead of paying the Foundation, which then passed on funds to support the Interpretive Center. It’s akin to cutting out the middle man, Borlaug said.
Borlaug said it also made sense considering he is working out of The Capital Gallery in Bismarck.
“Not having our presence there and not being on site in Washburn made it difficult for us to grow membership,” Borlaug said.
