NEW YORK, NY April 18, 2007 —The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is getting close to its fundraising goal. It's now raised $300 million for the construction of the memorial. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

The foundation has raised $165 million just in the last six months after Mayor Bloomberg took charge of fundraising. Most of the money raised came from corporations and individuals making gifts of $1 million or more, including donations of $10 million from American Express and the mayor himself.

According to foundation president Joe Daniels, the money really started to flow in once it became clear to potential donors that the memorial would be built. This, despite an Internet and TV ad campaign mounted by a group of 9/11 family members. They argue that the display of names at the memorial should include other information about those who died, such as their age and where they worked.

The foundation still needs to raise another $50 million from the private sector but expects to achieve that goal by 2009 when the memorial is scheduled to open. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.