This past weekend, Missoula Art Museum held its annual benefit art auction at the University Center Ballroom. And this year ended up being a huge one - the museum raised a total of $218,000 when the evening was all said and done.

The Drollinger Family Foundation helped MAM with a generous challenge gift of $60,000, which allowed them to leverage its patrons into a collective spirit of giving that raised $124,000, a record for the museum.

Here's what the Missoula Art Museum said about the staggering amount via press release:

"Missoula Art Museum hosted its annual benefit art auction Saturday, February 2, 2019 at the University Center Ballroom in Missoula. With more than 400 guests in attendance, the event yielded an estimated $218,000 in proceeds for the museum. A generous challenge gift of $60,000 from the Drollinger Family Foundation helped MAM leverage the collective philanthropic spirit of the night into a $124,000 Moment of Giving — a record for the museum.

Moment of Giving donations support the museum’s 40 Forward Campaign, which was launched in 2015 and is an integrated campaign to fund MAM’s strategic growth and ambitious organizational goals. The $124,000 brings MAM to 84 percent of its $5 million campaign goal. Funds raised have already been put to work over the past three years, with the development of the Art Park and expanded free education offerings, especially to children in rural areas and the Flathead Reservation. MAM has $800,000 left to raise to meet the goal, with many more community-focused projects on the horizon.

MAM is proud to offer free admission to everyone thanks to the generous donations from the Missoula Community. To learn more or to get involved with MAM please visit www.missoulaartmuseum.org."

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