Endowment for the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC)

FAIN: CH-50057-04

Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation (Spokane, WA 99210-0201)
Bruce B. Eldredge (Project Director: May 2003 to November 2007)

Endowment for two humanities positions, Director of Exhibits and Programs and Director of the U.S. Bank Center for Plateau Cultural Studies, as well as for a humanities advisory council.

The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation requests $500,000, to be matched three to one, to establish an endowment for the Eastern Washington State Historical Society dba Northwest Museum of Arts &* Culture. This request is an essential component of the first phase of A $20 million endowment campaign to increase the depth, breadth and quality of humanities activities and stabilize long-term funding. The Museum is the largest preserver and interpreter of objects in the region and focuses on regional history, visual art and American Indian and other cultures. Endowment income will establish the museum's first institution-wide Humanities Advisory Council and endow the two key humanities directorships. The Council will consist of seven scholars from five local institutions of higher education with which the Museum has Memorandums of Understanding and two to four Smithsonian Institution scholars. The Director of Exhibits and Programs is responsible for the coordination of humanities activities for regional history and visual art, and designs institution-wide processes to increase quality programming. The Director of the U.S. Bank center for Plateau cultural Studies coordinates all activities in relation to the Museum's nationally recognized American Indian collection. Our feasibility study indicated an endowment campaign is important to supporters of the Museum; cruicial for sustaining a new level of humanities offerings and the newly expanded facilities; and shoud be initiated immediately. The Endowment Campaign is managed by the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation, a wholly separate non-profit established to raise funds solely for the Museum. Experienced Museum and Foundation staff and board provide oversign and facilitate the fundraising process. Volunteer leadership for the endowment campaign consists of experienced leadership members from the recently successful capital campaign and other community leaders.