Donate

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum is funded in large part by your generous donations. We do not rely on state or federal government funding. In addition to your financial donations we depend on our dedicated volunteers to bring the Museum to life and to share our collections and programs with the community.

Every contribution you make—financial, in-kind, or time and expertise—helps us carry out our stewardship mission to inspire life-long learning about the Columbia River Gorge.

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Your financial gift is deeply appreciated.

Museum Stewardship Capital Campaign

Your tax-deductible donation will help ensure that the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum and our grounds, representing the region’s native plants and ecology, will remain vital and safe for generations to come. Built in 1997, the Discovery Center & Museum has reached the stage where basic infrastructure is in need of essential maintenance, replacement and repair. In 2024 and 2025 our HVAC system had to be fully replaced—a major expense. Thanks to the generous and decisive action of our board, we have been able to keep the museum open and comfortable for our visitors. However, the Museum has taken on significant debt in order to secure this crucial infrastructure.

Your donation to the Museum Stewardship Capital Campaign will help us pay for the new HVAC system so that the Museum can continue to provide a comfortable and safe environment for our tens of thousands of annual visitors and ensure that we can continue to provide a safe haven to our community in emergency situations. Your gift will also ensure that our exhibitions and our unique collections remain safe from environmental damage. Your donation will enable us to reserve our normal operating funds for our exceptional educational programs, special events, exhibitions, research library and collections.

Give to the General Fund

Your tax-deductible donation will help us:

Grow our innovative EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS that reach over 2,000 local school students each year, providing over 5,000 hours of instruction through our popular ecology program SECRETS.
Deliver Museum SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS and unforgettable OUTDOOR STEM EXPERIENCES to children from around the region.
Support our RAPTOR PROGRAM which engaged with over 4,200 visitors in 2024, including over 500 local school students.
Renew our NATIVE PLANT SIGNAGE encircling Gene Adkisson Pond which we use for our educational programing. We are committed to preserving our outdoor native plant collection so that visitors can learn about, enjoy and preserve the unique ecosystem of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.
Preserve our unique MUSEUM COLLECTIONS and EXHIBITS, including thousands of Native American baskets in our care, thousands of historic photographs and rare local ephemera, as well as our
W. G. Dick Research Library.

Raptor Program Supporter

The Discovery Center’s Raptor Program receives funds solely from donations, program fees, and grant support, all of which go directly to the care and maintenance of the raptors.

Your tax-deductible donation will help our Raptors thrive by offsetting the cost of:

Care and housing for our raptors
Food and medical expenses
Continual training and enrichment of the raptors
Training and supplies for volunteers
Raptor equipment
Educational programming
Development of Outreach Programs to reach an even broader audience

Raptor Donation

Leave a Legacy

Consider the difference you can make in preserving the future of the Museum, educating our youth and sharing the story of the Gorge. Your gift will cultivate the ongoing mission of stewardship of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum through a bequest in your will, a gift of retirement assets, life insurance or charitable trust. Please contact our Executive Director, Cheryl Ragar, at cheryl@gorgediscovery.org to begin planning your legacy.

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