MUKILTEO — The nonprofit organization that runs the Future of Flight Aviation Center has a new name — the Institute of Flight.

The change comes 10 years after the group began and as it dives into ambitious plans to turn the center into an attraction to rival the Boeing Tour with which it is paired. The names of the center and tour are not changing.

The new name lets people know that the nonprofit group is independent from the Boeing Co., the visitor attraction — the Future of Flight Aviation Center &Boeing Tour — and Snohomish County, which owns the center.

The group’s former name — the Future of Flight Foundation — was too close to the center’s, and led people to believe they were one in the same, Institute of Flight Executive Director Bonnie Hilory said.

It also made fundraising difficult and obscured the group’s mission to advance aerospace education. The rename will clarify the group’s mission and “remove obstacles by differentiating between us and the attraction,” she said.

Having “foundation” in the group’s name also hampered fundraising. Private foundations are a major source of money for educational nonprofits such as the Institute of Flight. However, federal tax code strongly discourages foundations from giving money to other foundations. So, when the Future of Flight Foundation sought money from private foundations, it often was summarily turned down.

“When I called some foundations and asked, ‘Did you like the presentation?’ They said, ‘Yes, but we can’t give to other foundations,’ ” Hilory said. “It was difficult to explain what we do.”

So what do they do? The group operates the center — and oversees about 40 vendors — for Snohomish County. It coordinates the Boeing Tour with Boeing. It markets and advertises both attractions. And it teaches people about aerospace and aviation.

The institute’s ambitious plans include adding event rooms inside the center at Paine Field, increasing and improving the exhibits, and adding educational programs. It will cost from $12 million to $20 million, and take five years or so, Hilory said.

The group has a new tagline: Where imagination soars. It is designed for flexibility, as “imagination” can be swapped out as needed, she noted.

The institute also introduced a new logo that is a silhouette image of an adult and child throwing two paper airplanes. It captures the “real human interaction” and excitement of flight, which are central to the group’s mission, she said.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.