Syracuse, N.Y. -- A Syracuse doctor and his wife are donating nearly $5 million to the Everson Museum's campaign to raise $17 million. The gift is among the largest ever to a Syracuse arts organization.

The Everson announced its fundraising effort and the gift tonight at the 50th anniversary gala for the museum's I.M. Pei-designed building. The museum is more than 100 years old, but its current home was built in 1968.

Everson Executive Director Elizabeth Dunbar had been raising money for about a year before taking the campaign, "The Everson. First and Forever," to the public. She said they're already more than halfway to the goal: $13.2 million has been raised. Dunbar said the total is the most an arts organization has ever set out to raise in Syracuse.

The biggest gift, $4.8 million, is from Dr. Paul Phillips and his wife, Sharon Sullivan.

Phillips is the retired head of rheumatology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He and his wife are on the board of the museum and have been longtime supporters of the museum, Syracuse arts organizations, and Upstate Medical University.

"The museum is a jewel," Phillips said. He said Dunbar's energy and plans for the museum are what helped convince him and his wife to donate such a large amount of money to the campaign.

"It certainly helps to have an individual like (Dunbar) who can articulate her plans and goals for the institution," Phillips said. He said he hopes his family's gift encourages others to follow suit.

Dunbar has only been at the museum for four years. She came in December 2014, right after the Everson had to cancel two high-profile shows to avoid closing its doors. If those shows hadn't been canceled, the museum would have been $800,000 in the red; that's a massive loss for an institution with a $2.5 million budget. In 2012 and 2013, it had losses of $500,000.

The building was as underwater as the finances. There were leaks everywhere, including the men's restroom.

Now, the budget has been back in the black for four years. The leaks and air conditioning have been fixed. Potential donors don't feel like they're throwing money down a hole, but, instead, funding a future. Some of the money raised will go to the build the endowment, which at $5 million is small for an institution its size, Dunbar said. The goal is to have a $10 million endowment and to continue to renovate the inside of the museum while fixing the outside, so the building will last.

Like its contents, the building, too, is a work of art. It's the first museum ever designed by Pei, who later designed the Louvre Pyramid. The opening made national news as a new kind of architecture. Pei also designed the Newhouse 1 building at Syracuse University.

"We have this amazing building that needs to be celebrated," Dunbar said. The quirky concrete that makes the building so unique requires lots of maintenance, especially in Syracuse weather.

Many needed repairs had been put on hold when the museum was struggling financially. When Dunbar arrived, she started to tick through the list. First up were things like leaks in the roof and the ventilation system.

The auditorium also has been completely renovated. It only had a few working lights when Dunbar arrived. Like so much in the building, the wires were encased in cement, which made the fixtures difficult to fix. Now the lighting is all new along with the stage, the seating and the carpet. Also, the row of windows at the top of the auditorium, which allowed natural light in, have been uncovered. They were boarded up for decades because of leaks, Dunbar said.

The ceramics gallery, where the pieces and arrangements went largely unchanged, for years, have also been completely renovated. The exhibits are now constantly changing there. For the first time in decades, the museum, known internationally for its ceramics collection, has a ceramics curator. That position is being funded through part of Phillips' gift.

The ceramics collection is about 5,000 pieces; the museum's total collection is 10,000 pieces. One of Dunbar's goals is to put more of ceramics collection out into the light of day. One of the planned projects for the future is to create a display space and room where people studying ceramics can examine pieces from the collection.

Something many museum visitors wrinkled their noses at has been fixed: the restrooms. While they are still the same size, the bathrooms, which hadn't been upgraded in 50 years, are now completely renovated.

A new cafe is also in the works for the museum. It will have a kitchen for catering and something no other museum has: art work you can eat off.

Louise Rosenfield, a ceramics collector from Texas who serves on the board, is donating her collection of more than 3,000 plates and cups. The pieces come with one caveat: they must be used. So when you come to eat at the Everson cafe, you will dine on one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

"If it's not used, it's ... dead," Rosenfield said of her collection. She had originally planned to donate the collection to a restaurant. Then the idea of the planned Everson cafe came up and it seemed a perfect fit for her collection.

Dunbar said she thinks the museum will be the only one to offer such an experience.

The Everson is also adding a kiln in its education area, which has also been redone since Dunbar arrived.

"You will have a full-on experience here," Dunbar said. Her hope is that someday people will come to the Everson to experience ceramics the same way they go to Corning to explore glass.

Under her leadership, the museum has more than doubled its outreach from around 3,000 people to nearly 7,000. The museum has increased its classes and events for kids and adults, offering everything from "Pottery and Pour" events to kids' birthday parties.

The museum will be celebrating the building's 50th anniversary with events throughout the year.

"Our core mission is our collection and our exhibition. But how do we get people in the door? Every which way possible," Dunbar said.

Marnie Eisenstadt is an enterprise reporter who writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246