PLANNING FOR THE PPM'S FUTURE
The Pacific Pinball Museum is very excited to introduce our new capital fundraising campaign for the eventual purchase of a building to ensure the Museum's longevity in the future! Please take a moment to review our appeal, and consider making a tax deductible donation to Pacific Pinball Museum using the large red DONATE button below.
Why Do We Want To Purchase a Building?
Many of you know that our beloved location of 20+ years on Webster Street in Alameda offers (105) playable games for our patrons to enjoy - but did you know that our unique collection actually consists of over 1,300 games and other important artifacts of pinball history to exhibit? We want to share more pinball history, art and fun with the public! Purchasing a building would help ensure the museum's control of its own future by solidifying a permanent home and investment while also providing us with additional space for field trips, classes and repair facilities. Rest assured, the new facility would be in addition to our current Webster Street location.
What Do We Need From You?
Always powered by an army of volunteers, dedicated employees, visionary founders and a focused board - the non-profit Pacific Pinball Museum needs YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE SUPPORT to thrive in these uncertain times and make sure we can continue to achieve the PPM’s ultimate goals to preserve and promote pinball and explore its numerous connections to science, art and history.
What We Do
Excited visitors at one of our many Pinball & STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) field trips
Celebrating 20 years of operation, the Pacific Pinball Museum remains a solvent, vibrant non-profit institution dedicated to preserving pinball art, science and history. So much more than an arcade, we're committed to displaying a complete chronological history of pinball's explosive creativity and exploring what makes each era distinctive.
Starting with the mechanical pre-flipper games of the Great Depression we see the first pinball craze explode; new technology and innovations fuel the heyday of flipper experimentation in the woodrails of the 1950s. The changing world is reflected in the eye-popping game art of the 1960s and 70s, while the introduction of digital technology and video games push pinball to new heights through the 1990s. All bringing us right up to the technological marvels that are games of today with full-color LCD displays and app connectivity. We believe the games we play can tell us so much about our world and culture.
Our interactive exhibits, kinetic art, pinball murals on canvas, and in-depth exhibits on pinball history & art make PPM a popular attraction in the Bay Area. We’re a great destination for field trips and group visits, for kids and adults, and for locals and tourists alike.
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Where We're Going
Though we intend to keep our original location, it has always been our goal to create a much larger museum that shares the vast collection of machines and objects we’ve acquired over the past 20 years.
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Exhibiting more of the PPM collection is central to the purpose and survival of the PPM. With deep exhibitions covering a century of pinball art, design, and technology, visitors will play hundreds of machines that tell us more stories about American culture. We have many rare and unusual games that don’t typically appear for public play, as well as custom rethemed machines, artwork and unique pieces of pinball history that can’t be found anywhere else.
Tide Pool (2015) Rethemed game by Pres One
Pinball Fantasy (2009) Concept artwork & game design by
artist Shane Pickerell
World's Fair Jig Saw (1933) Early flipperless game with mechanical playfield puzzle. Donated by Richard and Valerie Conger
What We Need
Overhead view of a small portion of the PPM's total collection in storage
The biggest piece of the puzzle is a permanent home for our collection. Our current space is large, but isn’t a good fit for accessing, storing, and maintaining our collection. Lack of climate control is detrimental to the condition of our games. Because our facility is leased and not owned, grant funding for upgraded care and storage solutions for the building is limited. More sensitive pieces of our collection like books, papers, and artwork are even more at risk.
We want to purchase a building and host events, be open to the public and become part of the community as we have in our original Alameda location. Our ideal space would be at least 25k square feet. Multilevel buildings would have freight elevators to transport machines. A standard loading dock would be valuable. Close proximity to highly trafficked areas with transit routes and tourism centers are preferred.
How Do We Get There?
PPM Founder Michael Schiess reminds you that all donations to our 501(c)(3) nonprofit are tax-deductible!
Simply put, we need to raise money. We’re at the beginning of a campaign that will likely take several years to complete. As a fiscally responsible organization, we are continually evaluating new prospects and will ensure that the site we pursue will be financially feasible and realistic. Your help will make all the difference in this campaign, here are a few ways you can directly help us reach our goal:
Donate
We can accept your donations to PPM anytime via mailed check to the museum's physical address, or easily online through our red DONATE button (Either one time, or monthly) Remember, all of your donations are tax-deductible!
Ask your place of employment if they will match your donations to a non-profit (We’re listed on Benevity, GuideStar Platinum-Seal Rated and Three- Star rated on Charity Navigator)
Donations of Stocks or inclusion in Estate Planning are always welcome, we'd be happy to partner with you or your attorney!
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Support by Purchasing Items
Consider buying a duplicate game from our online listings, or stopping by our museum store to purchase gifts, memberships or gift certificates.
Spread the Word
If you support what we do and would like to see more, share our campaign with others.
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To request a PDF copy of our fundraising presentation, please email us at info@pacificpinball.org
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