The Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, or OKPOP, announced Friday it reached its goal of $18 million just one day before the funding deadline.
The money will be matched by a state grant and should pave the way for the museum's long-awaited opening.
"This is it. We are moving forward. It is coming together," said Abby Kurin, managing director of OKPOP's charitable foundation.
"Now the museum team can move forward with their design-development. That will begin in early of next year, early 2026, and then they'll also move into production and fabrication."
The concept for OKPOP was unveiled in 2008. It officially broke ground in 2019, but faced years of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous budget shortfalls.
The Oklahoma Historical Society, which operates the museum, laid off staffers last year due to OKPOP's budgeting struggles, claiming the cuts would be temporary.
In an email, Executive Director Jake Krumwiede said the museum would be "rebuilding our staff capacity over the next couple of years as we move towards opening. We are still building out our staffing plan."
