Balloon Museum Receives $400,000 Donation from UMB Financial Corporation Charitable Foundation

The Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum and its foundation announced a $400,000 donation from the UMB Financial Corporation Charitable Foundation. The funds will go toward the Museum’s Outdoor Balloon Adventure, an immersive and educational ballooning exhibition located on the back lawn overlooking Balloon Fiesta Park.

The donation provides naming rights for the Balloon Tower, the most prominent feature of the multi-layered outdoor project currently under construction. The sponsorship creates a beacon for the Outdoor Balloon Adventure, serving as a highly visible landmark that welcomes visitors and celebrates the spirit of ballooning. This generous investment is more than support for a single feature - it is a catalyst for the future of the entire project and supports the Museum’s work to encourage adventure, curiosity, and play through science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

“This partnership with UMB allows the Balloon Museum to launch into the next phase of our flagship project,” said Balloon Museum Director Nan Masland. “The UMB Balloon Tower is both literally and figuratively the high point of the design. Visitors from near and far, along with our local communities, will get to experience the best of what the Balloon Museum has to offer set in an outdoor environment under New Mexico’s sky.”

“Strong communities are built through partnerships,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “When the City works alongside local and regional businesses to invest in arts, culture, and public experiences, we strengthen the places where people live, work, and visit."

The donation was announced on October 9 during a Museum event overlooking the 54th Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®. Community partners, local leaders, and Balloon Museum Foundation board members gathered on Friday evening to celebrate Phase One of construction and foster increasing momentum to continue moving forward on the project. UMB encouraged local partners to join them in supporting the next phase of the project.

“The Balloon Museum and Balloon Fiesta are true New Mexico treasures,” said UMB’s New Mexico Market President Melanie Velasquez. “It’s been a privilege to witness this annual event evolve into a world-renowned celebration that welcomes nearly one million visitors each year, and UMB is thrilled to invest in our state’s future. Connecting this support to hands-on STEAM education with the Museum allows us to honor New Mexico’s rich ballooning history while strengthening our long-term commitment to our local community.”

The Balloon Museum, which opened its doors in 2005, originally envisioned an outdoor exhibit as part of its conceptual design. Located along the North Diversion Channel and offering stunning views of Balloon Fiesta Park, the new outdoor exhibit promises to enhance the visitor experience like never before.

The Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping the Balloon Museum soar. Through community partnerships, events, memberships, sponsorships, and fundraising initiatives, the Foundation supports the Museum’s mission to inspire curiosity, celebrate the wonder of flight, and collect people to the stories, science, art, and adventure of ballooning.

The Outdoor Balloon Adventure will feature an elevated walkway with engaging educational nodes centered around hot air and gas ballooning. Guests will have the unique opportunity to wander through a half-inflated hot air balloon, test their skills at competitive ballooning, and step inside the capsule of a stratospheric gas balloon. 

With a dedicated performance space, comfortable seating, and interactive play areas, the immersive space will invite guests of all ages to lose track of time while letting their imaginations soar. 

About UMB Bank

UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF) is a financial services company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. UMB offers commercial banking, which includes comprehensive deposit, lending, investment and retirement plan services; personal banking, which includes comprehensive deposit, lending, wealth management and financial planning services; and institutional banking, which includes asset servicing, corporate trust solutions, investment banking and healthcare services. UMB operates branches throughout Missouri, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. As the company’s reach continues to grow, it also serves business clients nationwide and institutional clients in several countries. For more information, visit UMB.com, UMB Blog, UMB Facebook and UMB LinkedIn.