On Tuesday the Dallas Museum of Art announced that it had received an anonymous gift of $9 million that will ensure that the institution will remain admission-free — a policy that went into effect last year — and will permit it to make its entire permanent collection available online. The donation, which the DMA will receive over the next three years, includes $4 million to cover general operational costs so as to allow the institution to remain free of access for the general public.

The $5 million portion of the gift will be used to publish the museum’s entire permanent collection online, and to develop educational programs to make use of this invaluable digital resource. In addition to the initial $9 million, the donation provides for an extra $2 million in matching funds for money that the DMA raises over the next five years.

“This is an exciting moment in the Museum’s history, and we are deeply grateful to our donor for the exceeding generosity and the significance of this gift,” DMA director Maxwell L. Andersonsaid in a statement. “With this donation, the DMA will become one of the world’s most open and accessible museums. This opportunity reinforces our deep commitment to serve as an important educational resource for our local and regional community, as well as for our growing online audiences worldwide.”

“It is a vote of confidence in the Museum’s efforts to make free experiences with art broadly available to the public, both onsite and online,” added DMA deputy director Robert Stein. “By providing Open Access to so much new content about our collection, this donation is making an important statement about the value of open cultural data for the future of our field. I’m thrilled about the opportunity this provides for the DMA to make a significant impact in the field digitally.”