2021 Annual Report

Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks, we launched The Never Forget Fund to help ensure that the tens of millions of people born since 9/11 understand the day that changed our world forever. This evergreen fundraising platform supports the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s educational programs and preserves its significance as a sacred place of remembrance, reflection, and learning. 

By the numbers:

• $4.8M+ raised in 2021
• 6,500+ gifts
• Average donation $105
• 52% of contributors were first-time donors
• 64% of donations came from outside of New York City and the tri-state area
• 18,000+ new email addresses acquired
• 8,000 commemorative Never Forget tickets sold

Effort bolstered by:

• 15,000+ airings of our 20th Anniversary TV PSA 
• 4.4M emails sent
• 43M paid digital ad impressions

More than one million individuals from around the world participated in our signature commemorative educational program, equaling our combined numbers from the previous five years. Participants learned about 9/11 through personal stories from victims’ family members Cait Leavey, Brielle Saracini, and John Spade, first responders from the FDNY and PAPD, and a student on 9/11, and recognized the importance of commemoration during this 35-minute program. 

The 2021 Anniversary in the Schools webinar — made possible in partnership with the New York Life Foundation — can be viewed here. 

By the numbers:

• 1M+ students and teachers participated in this year’s Anniversary in the Schools webinar 
• Attendees including students, teachers libraries, organizations, and unaffiliated individuals came from all 50 states, six territories, and 48 different countries. 

We once again produced the annual commemorative public art installation “Tribute in Light,” visible from dusk to dawn on the night of September 11. First presented six months after 9/11 and then every year thereafter, it has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York. This year, there was a wonderful feature on the installation in Esquire.

The presentation of this year’s “Tribute in Light” was made possible by the generous support of the Bill & Linda Haugland Family Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

“Tribute in Light” was conceived by several artists and designers who were then brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time: John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, with lighting consultant Paul Marantz. “Tribute in Light” is produced by Michael Ahern Production Services.

As an extension of “Tribute in Light,” we partnered this year with NYC & Company to invite buildings and landmarks throughout the city and beyond to light up their facades and rooftops in "Memorial blue.” “Tribute in Lights” is a unique but simple gesture of collective remembrance, illustrating that it is in darkness we shine brightest. Iconic participants from the list of more than 50 include One World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, Bloomberg L.P., Lincoln Center, the New-York Historical Society, City Hall, Bloomingdale's, New York Hall of Science, Niagara Falls, the Goethals Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, JFK Air Traffic Control Tower, the Bronx Terminal Market, and the Times Square Ball.  

 
On February 26, we commemorated the 28th anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center and honored the six victims and thousands injured. The ceremony included an honor guard and moment of silence, along with a reading of the victims' names. 

On April 25, more than 1,300 individuals participated virtually from across the country and around the world in our Nationwide Run/Walk, presented by RXR. Together we achieved our goal of amassing 20,000 collective miles to remember all those killed 20 years ago and to honor the heroes who put their own lives at risk to save others. Thank you to all our participants for running/walking with us and to our event sponsors for your support. Please join us again in person on Sunday, April 24, 2022! 

Each year on May 30, we honor the courage and sacrifice of all 9/11 rescue, recovery, and relief workers, as well as survivors and members of the lower Manhattan community, by marking the anniversary of the formal end of the historic recovery efforts at Ground Zero with a commemorative ceremony. This year, we were able once again to gather in-person on the Memorial Glade to observe the 19th anniversary of the May 30, 2002 closing ceremony. 

The May 30, 2002 Commemoration is made possible in part by support from Joel S. Marcus/Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and CVS Health Foundation.

This year, we received the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI's New York Office, recognizing our "extraordinary contributions to education and the prevention of violence in our communities.” 

During the 76th United Nations General Assembly, we hosted more than 300 heads of states, ministers, and delegation members from 120+ member states and international organizations at the Memorial for a formal ceremony paying tribute to the victims of 9/11 and all global terrorism.

The cast of the hit Broadway musical Come From Away joined our President & CEO Alice M. Greenwald for the 20th New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) Daffodil Project Community Planting. A living memorial for victims of 9/11, the Daffodil Project is the largest volunteer effort in NYC. Since 2001, NY4P has planted over eight million daffodil bulbs in remembrance of the victims of the September 11 attacks as a symbol of rebirth and resilience embodied by New Yorkers.  

We welcomed Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for a special visit to the Memorial & Museum this year. Our President & CEO Alice M. Greenwald, along with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ CEO Patti Harris, joined them as they paid their respects by laying a wreath at the Survivor Tree and then toured the Memorial Museum. 

Each year in honor of Veterans Day, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum hosts a week-long Salute to Service recognizing veterans and active members of the military, as well as the families and communities that support them. In 2021, 882 veterans and active and retired military members participated in our events and tributes.  

To show our heartfelt gratitude for our veterans and mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, members of our staff helped carry the Ground Zero Volunteers Flag in the New York City Veterans Day Parade. This flag replaced the original American flag that was raised over Ground Zero.  

The American Alliance of Museums

We achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition afforded to the nation’s museums. 

“The Alliance’s recognition of the Memorial & Museum is welcome news that helps underscore its vital mission – and the great work that so many people have done to ensure the institution is managed according to the highest standards,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, Chairman of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

• AAM accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.
• Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, only a little more than 1,000 are currently accredited.
• The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is one of 66 museums accredited in New York.

Trip Advisor Ratings

This year, the 9/11 Memorial Museum celebrated its seventh year of operation and has maintained its position, according to TripAdvisor.com ratings, as: 

• The #1 Museum in NYC
• The #2 Thing to Do in NYC
• The #1 Museum in the United States

In our second year of operating virtual programming, more than 4,000 students participated in our virtual school programs, representing 30 states and three countries. 

Our Education team offered free virtual tours of the Museum for more than 3,000 local New York City students who started school the week after the 9/11 anniversary.

in our professional development opportunities, educators discovered how to integrate the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s collection and inquiry-based teaching strategies into their classrooms

The number of teachers who availed themselves of our PD opportunities (excluding participant "special events") marked a 

Thousands of educators from almost every state participated in special teacher PD events and partnerships, including a panel hosted by Scholastic on their major platforms and a special screening of the 2021 Anniversary in the School's webinar as part of this year's American Federation of Teachers Share My Lesson TEACH conference. 

Virtual workshops also allowed us to reach an unprecedented number of educators in foreign countries including Hungary, Romania, Macedonia, China, Italy, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, and Singapore.

Presented digitally across the globe, the Museum hosted thought leaders, experts, authors, artists, and performers in dynamic public programs to help further conversations about the history of 9/11 and its continued impact.

2021 stats:

• 14 digital public programs hosted 
• Nearly 3,000 total viewers 
• This year, the Museum hosted notable individuals such as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Academy Award nominee Michael Keaton, and journalists Rehema Ellis and Peter Bergen.

Through the fourth annual 9/11 Memorial & Museum Summit on Security, presented by Fiserv, public programs in 2021 were made possible by Bloomberg, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, IronNet, Marsh McLennan, Trustee Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., Greater New York Hospital Association, Montefiore Medicine, and Morgan Stanley.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum offers a robust slate of tailored programming for law enforcement, intelligence, military, and first response agencies. Our programs speak directly to the histories and missions of these organizations, many of which were established in response to, or reshaped as a direct result of, the 9/11 attacks.

2021 stats:

• 30 professional programs delivered 
• Nearly 3,000 program participants reached 
• Over the course of the last year, we expanded our virtual professional programming and also welcomed agencies back on site for events. We conducted five virtual programs for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy, reaching more than 1,000 agents and analysts.
• The Professional Programs team also deepened existing relationships with a variety of agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, and piloted programming for new sectors, offering an inaugural virtual program for more than 300 Google NYC employees.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, artist Tobi Kahn created a work of art consisting of two memorial lights, cast in bronze, to commemorate all who were killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Referenced as YZKAR, the paired works were inspired by his receipt of two remnant pieces of architectural steel recovered at Ground Zero. Gift of the Brewer Foundation.

Diptych painting created by Andra Samelson titled Kakrak and Shahmama. The diptych is created with acrylic and ink on papers mounted on canvas. The paintings each depict a tall standing Buddha rendered over repeated images of the world’s two tallest standing statues of Buddha destroyed on March 11, 2001, in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. When the diptych is displayed, the two panels represent the Twin Towers. Gift of Lawrence Shainberg.

Blue silk suit coat and dress worn by 9/11 survivor Micheala Ferrigine as she walked uptown and made her way home to New Jersey. Ferrigine wrote about her experience in vivid detail in The Blue Suit: A 9/11 Memoir. Gift of Michaela DiBernardo Ferrigine and family.

Prayer bench belonging to Father Mychal F. Judge. Prior to his 2001 death, Father Judge’s twin sister Dympna maintained a guest room for her brother at her Maryland residence. There, he kept a prayer bench for use on his frequent visits to her home. Dympna kept the bench for many years after Judge’s death but eventually gave it to the Sisters of the Episcopal Carmel of Saint Teresa in Rising Sun, Maryland. There, the prayer bench was given a special place in the monastery’s chapel and was used and venerated by the sisters for the next several years. The Sisters then donated the bench to the Museum on Easter Sunday 2021. Gift of Episcopal Carmel of Maryland, Inc.

September 11, 2001: The Day That Changed the World is a downloadable educational exhibition that presents the history of 9/11, its origins, and its ongoing implications. It explores the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and communities at the local, national, and international levels, while encouraging critical thinking about the legacies of 9/11.

• Librarians and educators who registered for the poster exhibition received access to recorded training sessions, which included details on how to print and mount the posters and highlighted the Museum's online educational resources to supplement the exhibition, as well as promotional materials. 
• Nearly 4,000 libraries, schools, and community centers registered for the poster exhibition
• Nearly 1.5M were estimated to have experienced the exhibition
• Registrants represented all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and 39 foreign countries

This poster exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

This year, the HISTORY Channel marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with a series of documentary films exploring the attacks and their aftermath. 

• The first documentary, Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden, premiered on May 2, the 10th anniversary of the raid on bin Laden’s hideout. This documentary draws on interviews and stories told in the Museum’s special exhibition of the same name to tell a sweeping tale, linking policy, intelligence, and military decision-making as they converged on a mysterious compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  
• View the trailer for Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden, co-produced for the HISTORY Channel by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and Northern Light Productions. Clifford Chanin, our Executive Vice President and Deputy Director for Museum Programs, was an executive producer on the documentary.

Bill Spade (left) is a retired FDNY firefighter who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and one of our earliest volunteer docents. He was honored for his education work with our Memorial & Museum with the Daily Point of Light Award from the Points of Light organization, founded by President George H.W. Bush to promote volunteerism nationally. The award is to celebrate the power of individuals to lead and lend support to causes they care about.  You can read about his nomination and inspirational story here.

The Survivor Tree stands on the Memorial plaza as a living symbol of resilience, survival, and renewal. Each year, seedlings from the tree are given to different countries, communities, or organizations that have experienced terrorism, natural disasters, extreme violence, or a health crisis. Since September 2013, a total of 32 countries, communities, and organizations have accepted seedlings. Pictured above: members of our Visionary Network volunteer at Staten Island's Postcards Memorial, planting a Survivor Tree seedling. 

2021 Seedling Recipients include:

• The World Health Organization (WHO), for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• The Norwegian communities of Oslo and Utøya, where a total of 77 people were killed by a gunman on July 22, 2011
• Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, where a 17-year-old high school student shot and killed eight students and two teachers and wounded 13 others on May 18, 2018.