MFA building fund raises $500 million

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts announced this morning that it had reached the $500 million fund-raising goal of its “Building the New MFA” campaign, which began in July 2001. The MFA’s expansion and renovation is scheduled to be completed in late 2010.

The campaign collected more than 25,000 donations, with more than half of the money coming from MFA trustees, the museum said.

As part of the announcement, the museum announced that its West Wing will be renamed the Linde Family Wing in honor of Joyce and Edward Linde’s financial generosity to the campaign. Mrs. Linde has served as an MFA trustee since 2001. And a new 150-seat auditorium in the new American Wing will be named in honor of Barbara and Ted Alfond to commemorate their generosity. Mrs. Alfond is the president-elect of the museum’s board of trustees and served as the fund-raising campaign co-chair.

Gifts of $10 million or more were received from Barbara and Ted Alfond, Joyce and Edward Linde, George D. and Margo Behrakis, the estate of Roberta G. Logie, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, three anonymous gifts, and State Street Corporation.