LANSING — After they were acquired last year by a Detroit-area women's nonprofit, two Lansing organizations have merged in a downtown office building with new leadership and a state-wide reach.

The Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame has moved out of the Meridian Mall and into an office suite on Allegan Street, where it is open alongside the former Entrepreneur Institute of Mid-Michigan, which was already operating from the site.

Both nonprofits were acquired by the Detroit-based Michigan Women's Foundation. Together, the groups re-branded as Michigan Women Forward, Chief Operating Officer Margaret Tallet said.

The foundation acquired the Lansing nonprofits in part to keep them afloat, Tallet said.

The Entrepreneur Institute helped Michigan Women Forward expand its economic development work to the Lansing region, in between its hubs in Grand Rapids and Detroit. The group now provides microloans.

The museum's objective — to improve life for women and girls through educational exhibits and recognizing notable Michigan women in a hall of fame — was similar to the foundation's, Tallet said. The museum has been re-branded as #HERStory.

"We decided that we were proud to be women in a state that has a hall of fame for women, but we thought it was incredibly under-actualized only because of insufficient funding," she said. "We thought we could be the conduit to getting more funding for it, more attention for it."

The museum and entrepreneur initiative are located in the basement of an office building at 105 W. Allegan St. in downtown Lansing. The exhibits are a scaled-back version of the more elaborate spread that had been at the museum's former home, the historic Cooley-Haze House on Malcolm X Street.

The museum moved to Meridian Mall in 2017.

Former museum leaders previously described the move to the mall as a way to attract a younger audience. But when anchor stores, including Younkers, closed, visitation at the museum plummeted, Tallet said.

Related: Michigan Women's Hall of Fame moving to Meridian Mall

A downtown location will allow the museum to participate in more events, she said.

"We hope to play a more active role in Lansing tourism," she said. "Those who tour our beautiful Capitol building will have access to this information about women."

Tallet said exhibits also will tour museums, libraries and schools around the state.

The museum's former executive director, Caitlyn Perry Dial, left for a position in development at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dial said she was happy to move the museum back to Lansing, where it is easily accessible to state workers and Capitol visitors, before her departure.

"It really belongs in Lansing," she said. "That’s where a lot of Michigan history happens."

The museum's new model isn't just about history, Tallet said.

"It’s about how we can move these forward, how can we use these stories, those lives and those accounts to really help women see themselves in these important roles in our state," Tallet said.

Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.