“More than a dozen New York cultural institutions are planning major projects, and fundraisers are racing to tap into the deepest pockets,” writes Robin Pogrebin in Friday’s (10/9) New York Times. “Sixteen arts institutions in Manhattan alone are in the process of raising more than $3 billion for projects from the ambitious (the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new wing for modern and contemporary works) to the more modest but long awaited (the Irish Arts Center’s new Hell’s Kitchen home). It’s the kind of boom that can be stirring for art fans but that raises questions about how all this money can be raised simultaneously.” The article notes that planned building and endowments projects include the $500 million renovation of David Geffen Hall by the New York Philharmonic, which is holding a “gala concert on December 3 in celebration of Frank Sinatra’s 100th birth anniversary.” The article includes profiles of four people “who can get arts organizations to their fund-raising goals”: cosmetics magnate Leonard Lauder, soprano and board member Renée Fleming, businessman David Rubenstein, and hedge fund manager Bruce Kovner. Also included in the article are sections on corporate funding, how to do “the ask,” common mistakes for fundraisers to avoid, strategies for smaller organizations, and the intersection of philanthropy and the tech industry.
Posted October 14, 2015
