The Seattle Art Museums five-year endowment
campaign has received an unprecedented boost with a $10 million,
two-for-one, challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
Brooks Ragen, president of SAMs Board of Trustees, announced today. In
making this commitment, the Foundation stipulated that the museum must raise
$5 million in matching funds by Dec. 31, 2000.
The Gates Foundation pledge is the largest ever to an arts organization in
this community. A gift of this magnitude to an endowment campaign is
particularly noteworthy. It helps create a reliable income stream to
support museum operations and activities.
We are pleased to support such a fine institution, and we hope our gift can
act as a catalyst for the endowment campaign, says Patty Stonesifer,
co-chair and president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
SAM will use this landmark gift to strengthen and stabilize its education
and artistic programs. SAM also has plans to create a state-of-the-art
conservation department, a necessary component of a world-class museum. The
Gates Foundations challenge grant will provide momentum for these efforts.
And, in accordance with the campaigns unique Percent for Art feature, 15
percent of all endowment gifts are placed in an art acquisition endowment.
The size of this gift will have an immediate impact on SAMs efforts to
expand and strengthen its collection.
The Gates Foundation pledge will generate approximately $500,000 per year
and will help the museum to maintain the significant strides we have made in
the areas of education and exhibitions, and will further our efforts towards
innovatively using technology to enhance visitor experiences. Building an
endowment is an essential part of any organizations growth, says Ragen.
The museum launched its Century Endowment Campaign in fiscal year 1996. To
date, SAM has raised $31.5 million, including the Gates Foundation pledge.
The campaign goal is to raise $40 million by December 2000.
When we started this campaign, the museums annual budget was about $9
million, says Faye Sarkowsky, chair of the endowment campaign and former
president of SAMs Board of Trustees. In the past two years weve seen
significant changes in the museums goals and level of activity, to the
point that the budget for this fiscal year is $16 million. The museums
long-term objective is to cover 25 percent of its operating budget with
income from its endowment, so as the budget grows, so must the endowment.
As one of the leading arts organizations in the Pacific Northwest, the
Seattle Art Museum has long received remarkable community support, which has
helped the institution grow at a rapid pace. Nevertheless, the museums
current endowment lags behind those of comparably sized art museums around
the country. For example, the Walker Art Centers operating budget for
1998-99 is $14.3 million and its endowment stands at $160 million.
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