The Destination ImagiNation Story
Destination Imagination, Inc. is the world's leading non-profit corporation providing creative problem solving programs for individuals of all ages. The organization of today is the product of two historical paths sharing a common commitment to creativity, problem solving, and teamwork. The result is that every year thousands of participants around the world join in the organization’s programs.The origins of Destination ImagiNation, Inc., are found in the 1983 incorporation of OM Association, Inc., as a federally registered non-profit organization with a mission of conducting programs in creativity for children. Throughout the next 15 years, OM Association, Inc., developed national, state, and provincial volunteer organizations to conduct annual programs and spread creativity around the globe. The organization achieved dramatic growth so that by the end of the 1990s, it had served more than one million students.
The other path to today’s Destination ImagiNation, Inc., began in 1999 when nearly 200 international volunteers came together through a variety of communication medium to create an entirely new creative problem-solving program. Working intensely throughout the summer months of 1999, this dedicated “super team” built the Destination ImagiNation® program from the ground up, finally releasing program materials and accepting participants in the Fall of 1999. By the time the organization welcomed 750 teams to its initial Global Finals in May 2000, more than 100,000 students had participated in the program - a stunning first-year accomplishment.
Shortly after the Destination ImagiNation® program was launched, in the Fall of 1999, the organization’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of OM Association, Inc., unanimously agreed to pursue merger of the two organizations. That merger was completed in 2000, and the new organization seated its member-elected Board of Trustees that August. In January 2001, the name of the new organization officially became Destination ImagiNation, Inc., with corporate headquarters located in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Destination ImagiNation, Inc., continues its focus on creative excellence to this day. With an extensive global network of staff and volunteers to carry out its programs, Destination ImagiNation, Inc. stands today as the world’s oldest, largest, and best producer of creative problem solving programs and activities for learners of all ages.
