Due to the damage sustained by the effects of the flooding of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, the museum officially closed its doors on Friday, January 13, 2017. All artifacts housed in the museum were moved to storage with future plans to rotate these pieces and display them in exhibits in the Founders Gallery, located in the First Floor of the New Cherry Hospital. An electronic presentation of these artifacts will be featured on electronic message boards located throughout the new hospital. The Cherry Foundation is a not-for-profit and tax exempt organization established to provide further assistance to those affected by mental illness while admitted at Cherry Hospital This organization is a separate entity from Cherry Hospital and was officially recognized and chartered March 31, 1997, by the State of North Carolina, and was granted federal tax-exempt status, 501(c)(3) by Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Tax deductible contributions and gifts made to the foundation are utilized directly for the therapeutic care of the patients.