Located in what was the original branch of the United States Mint, The Mint Museum opened in 1936 in Charlotte's Eastover neighbored as North Carolina's first art museum. Over the next two decades, the museum's collection grew slowly and was entirely dependent on local donations.
Identifying the need to provide additional financial and community support for the Mint Museum, Mrs. H.T. Cosby founded the Mint Museum Auxiliary in 1956.
The first major project sponsored by the Auxiliary was the Home Tour, which was started by Mrs. Harold C. Dwelle as a benefit for the museum in 1953. With the founding of the Auxiliary, a long roster of members has since contributed thousands of volunteer hours to generate funds to support The Mint Museum through educational offerings and acquisitions for the museum's permanent collection.
In addition to the Home Tour--now known as the Room to Bloom Celebration--the Auxiliary has supported various fundraisers which have included the Mint Museum Shop (1957-1998), the Mint Museum Antiques Show (1967-2004), the Mint to Be Yours Tag Sale (2007-2010) and the Fall EnrichMINT Forum in 2011. The Room to Bloom Celebration, the Auxiliary's largest annual fundraiser, had its 72nd Anniversary in 2025.
Of the 38,000 items in The Mint Museum's collection, the Auxiliary has donated over 3,800. These works of art touch every department of the museum: American Art, Art of the Ancient Americas, Craft+Design, Decorative Arts, European Art, Fashion, and Modern & Contemporary Art.
Since its founding in 1956, the Auxiliary has donated over Since its founding in 1956, the Auxiliary has donated over $16.5 million to The Mint Museum and has grown from a small group of 60 women to over 600 members today.