The African American Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa has taken a severe hit from the flooding. Of the 1,700 items in the Cedar Rapids museum's collection, about half are soggy, said Executive Director Thomas Moore. About 5 feet of water from the Cedar River damaged two murals and ruined 90 percent of the books.

"We took a direct hit," Moore said. "The permanent exhibit was devastated."

Moore and his team rescued most of the temporary exhibit about George Washington Carver, including artifacts on loan from Iowa State University, the Tuskegee Institute and the inventor's birthplace in Missouri. The staff saved Carver's original plant specimens, his drawings, some baskets he wove, and a few small items he embroidered and knitted.

Curators and conservation experts from around the country have offered to help, and potential donors are still waiting to see what the museum needs.

Fundraising is a perennial challenge for all nonprofits, but Moore suspects the flooding disaster is so extreme that supporters will readily reach for their checkbooks.

"Capital money is usually easier to raise," he said. Since the building opened five years ago, the museum has established more credibility and attracted more donors from throughout the state.

Fundraising "used to be really, really tough. And now it's just tough," he said. Please contact the website for further information or to make a contribution.