Crowdfunding to save Ghibli Museum raises over $200K

The city of Mitaka in Tokyo has so far raised over $200,000 via crowdfunding to help Ghibli Museum stay afloat following revenue loss from the pandemic.

Totoro’s home: Designed by director Hayao Miyazaki himself, the museum showcasing Studio Ghibli’s work opened in the city’s Inokashira Park in October 2001, according to ANN.

The Ghibli Museum features a children’s museum, a technology museum, and a fine arts museum dedicated to the art and technique of animation.
Other attractions include a specialty café, bookstore, rooftop garden, a theater for exclusive short films, a replica of Totoro and the Catbus from “My Neighbor Totoro” and a life-sized robot from “Castle in the Sky.”
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the museum to close in February 2020. It re-opened later to Mitaka residents only in July last year and eventually to all in September.
This year, it closed again temporarily from late April to early June, further cutting off its revenue.
Mitaka gave the museum a grant, but it is not enough to cover its expenses and operational costs.

Fans came through: To further support the museum, the city launched a fundraising campaign, seeking 10 million Japanese yen ($91,000) and targeting donations from online backers on the crowdfunding platform Furusato Choice.

The campaign, which asks backers for at least 5,000 yen ($46) in donations, is open only to Japanese residents.
As of this writing, the online funding campaign has so far generated over 23 million yen ($209,000).
Backers can continue to donate to the fund until Jan. 31, 2022.

Featured Image via Furusato Choice

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