Consul General Speeches

To the MoMA Masterclass on Charitable Support for Cultural Institutions, Scheepvaart Museum, Amsterdam, September 28, 2006, 9:30 a.m.

I am very grateful to have been invited to speak to you as you embark on a day of conversations on charitable support for the arts. 
I see from the number and the wide range of Dutch organizations represented here today just how broad the interest in this topic is.  On behalf of the organizers, I welcome you, and am glad that you have taken the time to join in this discussion.  I would also like to welcome our distinguished visitors from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.     
John Adams, the second President of the United States and the first U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands said,
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty
to study mathematics and philosophy.  My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to
give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.
What an interesting philosophy about the progression in education.  And how interesting that, for a statesman, the highest expression of enlightenment would be seen in the arts.  What Adams was really talking about was cultural evolution.  And in doing so I think he illustrated how important sustainable cultural institutions are to all of us. 
Which leads me to the word “membership.”  I saw the word “membership” mentioned frequently in the materials leading up to this conference.  Membership is about being part of something.  About participating with a group of individuals in a cause greater than oneself.  It implies both privileges and responsibilities. 
But there is another, important aspect to this discussion on membership, and it is about charitable giving.  Giving in support of a cause greater than oneself. 
The philanthropic movement is well established in the United States and pervades almost every aspect of life in the U.S.  Indeed, philanthropy has been a part of America since the very beginning of my nation’s history.  From the founding of colonial public libraries and volunteer fire departments, the United States has build public institutions to help fellow citizens through donations of time, labor and of course money.  And American citizens from leaders in business, industry, entertainment and sport, to school children and others with lesser means, have supported cultural institutions from local art projects to our world renowned museums and orchestras.
In the United States, charitable giving takes many forms – from corporations, individuals, and communities.  To use a corporate example, let’s look at Microsoft for a moment.  In 2005, Microsoft as a corporation gave charitable causes $61 million globally in donated funds, as well as $273 million in donated computer software.  In addition, Microsoft maintains a matching fund program which allowed the company to match $20.6 million in private donations made by its employees. 
The assets of charitable foundations now total more than $500 billion, with giving at an all-time high of $33.6 billion annually.  Recent announcements from The Foundation Center, a resource organization on funding for the arts and culture, included the following for the month of September alone:

• Museum of Fine Arts Boston receives $10 million
  

• USC Film School receives $175 million from film director George Lucas
  

• MacArthur Foundation awards $5 million to the Field Museum for Conservation
  

• FedEx gives $1 million for Martin Luther King Memorial
  

• Clark Foundation awards $1 million for Folk Art Museum
  

• Joy McCann Foundation awards $1 million to Tampa PBS affiliate
  

• LA Opera receives $6 million for “Ring” cycle
  

• Tennessee Prep School Receives $1.5 million for performing arts center
  

• California State Northridge receives $10 million pledge
  

• McKnight Foundation announces artist fellowships, residencies
  

The list is twice as long if you include announcements from July and August.
And while foundations distribute literally billions of dollars within the United States and worldwide, individual Americans regularly donate more than seven times as much.  We are living in a time of real creativity as we look at new ways of bringing private wealth to bear to the benefit of the public good.
At the core of your discussions today is support for the cultural organizations that enrich the lives of so many. 
And as it is with most worthwhile endeavors, there is often a catalyst to spark an exciting development, or a leap into a new era of exciting possibilities.  With the reputation that the Museum of Modern Art has worldwide, and the recent success of the MoMA’s Capital Campaign – a campaign that raised 850 million dollars – 80 percent of which was in the form of individual contributions, I think that spark is here today.  I would like to thank Dorine Schreurs and the organizers of today’s program for inviting me to participate.  And I wish you all success as you explore together how to encourage charitable giving and membership support for the arts and to preserve our cultural heritage.