ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer held a news conference Tuesday morning at Orlando City Hall, updating the public on the future of the permanent memorial planned for the site of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre.
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The city of Orlando will take over control of the process of building the permanent memorial, including fundraising efforts, as the onePulse Foundation continues to dissolve.
Dyer said the city is still in the very early stages of planning the memorial. He said he wants to hear from key stakeholders, including survivors and victims’ families, during the planning process.
It is unknown what the memorial will look like or when it will open, but the city does know it needs money to build the memorial.
Dyer said the city will establish the Orlando United Pulse Memorial Fund under an existing nonprofit, Strengthen Orlando, to raise funds for the memorial.
Read: onePULSE says City of Orlando will take over Pulse memorial plans, annual remembrance ceremony
In the past, the nonprofit had a fund that the city used to help Pulse survivors. In 2017, OneOrlando Fund Project, which was under Strengthen Orlando, disbursed almost $32 million on 308 claims, sending money directly to victims’ families and survivors.
Dyer said the new memorial fund will start from zero.
But how much money does the city need to fundraise, and how much money did the city receive from onePulse Foundation now that the organization is dissolving?
We know that during the seven years that the foundation has existed, it collected more than $20 million in donations, Orange County Tourist Development Tax funds and grants from the state and federal governments.
Read: The City of Orlando passes $2 million deal to purchase Pulse nightclub property
“We do not anticipate receiving any funds from the foundation,” Dyer said Tuesday. “If there happens to be some, I’m not aware of it at this point. How much will it take (to build the permanent memorial)? We’re not certain of that until we determine what the memorial will look like.”
Dyer said he wants to reassure people that despite the foundation dissolving, the city will ensure the annual remembrance ceremony and the Community Rainbow Run will continue next year to remember the 49 people killed June 12, 2016.
He said he envisions the memorial to open by June 12, 2026, when the community will mark 10 years since the massacre happened.
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