Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation

Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation

Founded in 1913, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Foundation exists as the philanthropic and operational engine for the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC), a system encompassing three sites in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita. President and Director Lori Bettison-Varga leads the institution, which functions within a distinct public-private framework: the County of Los Angeles owns the physical structures and provides a portion of operational funding, while the Foundation manages programming, scientific research, and fundraising. Trustee Robert W. Lovelace, who also serves as a trustee of the J. Paul Getty Trust, provides additional institutional stewardship alongside the board. The Foundation's investment strategy supports scientific research and the stewardship of assets including the NHMLAC Natural and Cultural History Collection, a western art collection, and an American bison herd at the William S. Hart Museum. In terms of financial portfolio composition, the endowment holds municipal revenue bonds (Series 2020) tied to California, real assets in the form of the three museum sites, and has engaged in capital campaigns to fund major physical infrastructure. The Foundation participates in a co-investor network that includes the J. Paul Getty Trust and the W.M. Keck Foundation, both named as major donors and grantors on institutional initiatives like the Pacific Standard Time art collaborative. The institutions it supports operate across Southern California, with the main museum on Exposition Boulevard in Los Angeles, the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, and the Hart Museum in Santa Clarita. The Foundation has not publicly disclosed its total assets under management or investment team size. Its institutional affiliations include board-level representation at the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Science and Technology Centers, with Bettison-Varga holding director roles in both professional networks. In a dated operational milestone, September 2024 marked the opening of the $75 million NHM Commons expansion at the Exposition Park campus, a project funded through the Foundation's capital campaign (per the museum, 2024). The expansion adds a theater, community space, and new public-facing amenities. The Foundation's structural differentiator is the depth of its public-private partnership with Los Angeles County, which separates it from purely private institutional asset owners. The County retains ownership of all physical museum assets and contributes tax-appropriated operational support, while the Foundation exercises independent control over its endowment investment policy and philanthropic fundraising. This hybrid governance model means the Foundation must align its investment posture with both public accountability standards and the long-term capital needs of a scientific collecting institution that operates across three campuses.