Art Museum Receives Major Endowment Gift
Cedar Rapids, Iowa— The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) has reached the halfway point in its $3,000,000 endowment campaign.
CRMA Executive Director Terry Pitts announced passing this milestone as a result of the generous gift of $425,000 from Board President Bonnie Schmidt and her husband Roger. The Museum’s goal is to complete the campaign by the end of 2012.
A strong endowment is essential for the CRMA as it helps fund outstanding exhibitions and educational programs that serve the many interests of the Cedar Rapids community. With the strong financial support of local businesses the Museum has been able to maintain attractive and affordable admission prices and a significant number of free admission days.
When asked to comment on their gift Bonnie said:
“Cultural arts are of vital importance to our community and Cedar Rapids has demonstrated strong on-going financial support for them. Our dramatic and operatic theatres, our musical variety from Orchestra Iowa to chorales and quartets; our diverse heritage museums and all forms of visual arts within the Museum and throughout the community are the lifeblood of Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa.
The Museum’s outstanding collection is admired far beyond Cedar Rapids. Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, Mauricio Lasansky, and the Riley Roman artifacts are well known internationally and continuously draw visitors from around the world. It is exciting to us to witness the growth of the Museum’s collection thru acquisitions and donor gifts.
In thinking about the importance of the endowment and our decision to make this gift we remember the words of our friend and Museum benefactor Bill Quarton on the subject of ‘perpetuity – that the most essential form of giving is that which perpetuates an institution and it’s purpose’. We share this belief and are privileged to be able to act in this way.”
To learn more about the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and how you can contribute to the endowment campaign, please contact Kelly Leusch at 319.366.7503 ext. 207 or kleusch@crma.org.
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The mission of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is to excite, engage and educate our community and visitors through our collection, exhibitions and programs. The Museum’s collection contains more than 5,600 works of art by hundreds of artists, including the world's largest collection of works by Grant Wood. For more information on exhibitions or related programs call the Museum at 319.366.7503 or visit the Museum's web site at www.crma.org. Museum Hours: noon to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday; noon to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday; 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.