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Swope Museum seeks up to $250,000 to finish capital campaign project; board asks for alternative funding steps
Summary
Swope Museum representative reported $6.7 million raised toward a capital campaign and requested a $250,000 contribution to finish a construction phase; the board asked staff to explore existing city redevelopment grants and regional arts survey outcomes before deciding.
Fred Nation, a Swope Museum representative, told the Capital Improvement Board on Sept. 24 that the museum has raised $6.7 million toward a $6 million-plus campaign (including an endowment), and that construction under a $3.5 million contract is underway. He said the museum is about $300,000 short of completing the current phase and asked whether the CIB would consider $250,000 toward finishing the work.
"We now stand at $6,700,000 raised, subtract 2.5 for the endowment. That leaves 4,200,000," Nation said, describing work already contracted with a local contractor and an expectation the current phase will be complete by year-end. The requested CIB contribution would close the gap and enable the project’s current phase to finish.
The nut graf: board members asked staff to first check other local funding sources and the outputs of an ongoing regional arts-and-culture survey before recommending a transfer. The board’s redevelopment director said the city has a facade grant program and notified the meeting that an additional $100,000 redevelopment grant was available; staff asked the museum to let the city provide required grant paperwork.
Board members also discussed using other grant opportunities, including conversations with a casino foundation that the museum said were in preliminary stages. The board recommended tabling the CIB decision pending (1) confirmation and exhaustion of available downtown facade and redevelopment grants, (2) review of the regional arts survey results for youth programming outcomes, and (3) potential private or foundation matches.
Less critical: Nation emphasized the museum’s regional reach, noting visitors from multiple states and countries and the museum’s near-term plans to complete upgraded HVAC, elevator and secure storage for the collection.
