Community & Corporate Partnerships

Why Support Victoria Mansion?

Curiosity. The need to understand the present in light of the past. The desire to see beauty and understand the human drive for creativity. Museums fuel our innate need to learn and connect. Keeping the arts alive in our communities helps foster connections while enhancing our quality of life. Thankfully, Victoria Mansion – which is simultaneously a museum of art, architecture, and the decorative arts, as well as a site rich in social, economic, and political history – offers no shortage of pathways to connect to the issues of the day.

Through the years, Victoria Mansion has relied on the enthusiasm and generosity of our community. We value the many partners – from local educators, classrooms, and communities, to visitors and scholars from around the country and world – who support our ongoing work to preserve, maintain, and restore this one-of-a-kind landmark and share it with others.

Each year our sponsors allow more people than ever before to visit, enjoy, and learn about the Mansion’s unique place in American history. This support makes it possible for us to carry out state-of-the-art conservation projects on our National Historic Landmark property and to offer engaging year-round educational programs for visitors near and far.

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Current Partners

Holiday Season Designers

Event Sponsorships

Season Sponsorships

Corporate Sponsors

Current Partners

Victoria Mansion has built and sustained relationships with a wide array of partners, including fellow non-profit organizations, academic institutions, businesses, and independent artists. Our current partners include:

• Allagash Brewing
• Anania’s Variety
• Andrew Harris, Actor
• Bird & Co.
• Casco Bay High School
• Cellardoor Winery
• Clarisse Karasira, Musical Artist
• Gianfranco Pocobene Studio
• Greater Portland Landmarks
• Green Bee Craft Beverages
• Gulf of Maine Research Institute
• Holiday Inn by the Bay
• Ivan Myjer Building & Monument Conservation
• John Leeke, Historic Preservation Consultant
• Maine Irish Heritage Center
• Maine Historical Society
• New England Museum Association
• Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine
• The Pink Waffle
• Portland Ballet
• Portland Downtown
• Portland History Docents
• R. Cariddi Fine Woodworking
• Teafarers Tea
• University of Southern Maine History Department

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Holiday Season Designers

During the holiday season, many of our community’s leading and up-and-coming florists, designers, artists, and fellow non-profit organizations use the backdrop of the Mansion’s interiors to create unique decorations that emulate Victorian-era splendor. Now in its fourth decade, this annual event welcomes thousands of visitors each year from the end of November through the beginning of January.

Some designers return each year, but we always want to hear from interested designers from our community.

Our most recent team of designers include:

• Emerald City Design (Danny R. Hatt, Don Chouinard & Marcedas Hatt-O’Toole)
• Harmon’s Floral Company (Dan Kennedy & Jennifer Miller)
• Dan Gifford
• Saco Museum Festival of Trees Design Committee (Theresa Ruel)
• Clipper Merchant Tea (Melinda Thomas & Natasha Hudnor)
• Chevaughn Marie Designs
• Maine Irish Heritage Center
• Robert Parker & Charles Powell
• Sarah Coughlin Fine Art
• Dawn Hachey
• Victoria Mansion Docent Committee

We are now recruiting designers for our 2024 season. Drop us a line for more information!

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Event & Season Sponsors

Victoria Mansion hosts several public events and member-exclusive events throughout the year. Fiscal and in-kind sponsors help support our mission while providing great experiences for our guests. Event sponsors receive a host of event-specific benefits, including but not limited to event tickets, name recognition in print and digital media, and a listing in Victoria Mansion’s Annual Report.

Event opportunities include:

• Preservation Trades Workshops:

  • Led by highly knowledgeable historic preservationists, Victoria Mansion’s series of Preservation Trades Workshops aim to train the next generation of historic preservation trades professionals.
  • Historic preservationists have long recognized the shortage of workers skilled in the special techniques required to care for older and historic buildings. While this problem can’t be fixed overnight, we firmly believe that knowledge sharing will be part of the solution.
    • We are currently seeking ongoing support of this workshop series that will be launching in spring 2024. Email Director of Development Ann O’Hagan to learn more.

• Brownstone Brews & Bites:

  • Our annual summer fundraiser in partnership with Allagash Brewing, this social event on Victoria Mansion’s lawn is attended by hundreds of history buffs and craft beer enthusiasts.
    • We are currently seeking food, beverage, and fiscal sponsors for our July 2024 event. Learn more here.

• A Bizarre Victorian Bazaar: An Exhibition of Oddities and the Obscure:

  • A fall event with an eye on the Halloween season, this fair brings hundreds of visitors of all ages to the Mansion lawn to learn about some of the stranger trends that captured the Victorian imagination.
    • We are currently seeking fiscal sponsors for our October 2024 event – Email Director of Education & Public Programs Staci Hanscom to learn more.

• Holiday Gala: 

  • • Our Holiday Gala returned in 2023 with great success.
    • Guests enjoy an exclusive early season preview and champagne toast at Victoria Mansion, followed by a chance to mingle at Portland’s historic Cumberland Club for food, drinks, and merriment.
    • Fiscal sponsors of the Gala enjoy high-profile recognition at this popular fundraising event.
    • We also welcome parking and transportation partners to assist guests needing parking options or shuttle service between event venues.
      • Email Director of Development Ann O’Hagan to learn more.

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Season sponsorships include:

• Museums For All Sponsorship:

  • In 2023, Victoria Mansion joined the national Museums For All program, an initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Participating sites offer reduced admission to qualified individuals, encouraging lifelong museum-visiting habits in the local community.
  • Fiscal sponsorship of this program helps us offset our general operating costs while continuing to provide reduced admission to qualifying individuals in the Greater Portland community and beyond.
    • Email Director of Development Ann O’Hagan to learn more about supporting this initiative.

• Holiday Season Sponsorship:

  • • Each year, from late November to early January, over 5,000 guests visit the Mansion to view Victorian-inspired installations by our talented network of local designers. Holiday season fiscal sponsors benefit from a wide range of recognition – a great way to connect with the Greater Portland community and out-of-state visitors who gather in Maine for this festive season.
      • 2024 Holiday Season sponsorship info is forthcoming. Email Director of Development Ann O’Hagan to learn more.

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Corporate Sponsors

Many of our corporate sponsors lend support for our mission year-round, helping to underwrite the much-needed, ongoing projects at the Mansion. Corporate support can help us fund projects ranging from our school curriculum, A Century of Change, offered at no charge to Maine classrooms, to specific preservation projects such as the restoration of the Reception Room Bay.

Corporate sponsorship can take many forms, and we can work with you to find a project that aligns with your community giving goals.

Contact Director of Development Ann O’Hagan to learn more about our ongoing projects that could greatly benefit from your support.

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