BELIEVERS IN THE ARTS: INVEST IN ONE OF THE BEST SMALL MUSEUMS IN AMERICA.
From the Museum Director
“Moving into the Future”
We are moving into another successful year of art, music, and programming. As you know, I took over as Director of the North Dakota Museum of Art in 2022, after Laurel’s retirement. My biggest fear was thinking donors would begin to pull back with her departure–Laurel was an impactful person in the arts, not only in the State, but around the globe. To my delight, the departure did not happen. In fact, our friends have truly stepped up their support of the Museum. Memberships have crept up, the Permanent Collection continues to grow, and programming has expanded. I have come to realize we have the best supporters one can ask for.
As we move into the future, I wanted to tell you about a few areas we would like to expand or build, and with your help, the Museum will continue to be a vibrant cultural center of the Upper Midwest and beyond. The staff and I are focusing on areas of importance to continue bringing the highest quality art and education experiences to those our community, supporters, and the countless visitors that find their way to the Museum each year.
In providing educational opportunities for school children across the State, strengthening communities with renowned classical performances, or preserving cultural life, the Museum needs your help to make it happen. Since 2022, we have collected more than 300 new works of art, which has created new and exciting exhibitions from the Permanent Collection. This number is projected to grow immensely in the coming two years with the support of an anonymous donor whose sole passion is to assist us in building a world-class collection. This anonymous donor was instrumental in helping the Museum expand into the long-overlooked area of graffiti art, of which the Museum now holds approximately 50 new works. In 2026, the Museum will lead its first-ever summer art camp for children with disabilities, creating equal educational activities for all of our community members. And, in continuing with serving all community members, we have rolled out Monday Music in Schools, a new program that shirt tails the classical concert series. Through a few grants and private donors, the Museum launched a trial expansion of the series to ensure all community members can experience the joys of classical music. Monday Music in the Schools takes the renowned musicians out of the gallery and into selected schools the day after their performance at the Museum. Musicians perform, demonstrate, and/or give master classes. This has become highly competitive and in demand.
I would love to meet with you sometime to discuss how the Museum might fit into your giving plan, estate plan, or your thoughts on establishing a named fund in support of a Museum program you find meaningful. What follows is a list with short descriptions of some existing options primary to Museum future plans, plus a few we’d like to see come to fruition.
Sincerely,
Matthew Wallace, Director
Foundation Board
The NDMOA Foundation was organized in 1998 for the sole purpose of supporting the North Dakota Museum of Art.
Current Members, 2025 – 2026
Brian Larson
Clifford Haugen
Amy Rohlk
Bob Sorlien
Lowell Nelson
Julie Blehm
Lance Breiland
Ashley DiPuma Shea
North Dakota Museum of Art
Legacy Giving and Estate Planning
Since the 1970s, the North Dakota Museum of Art has been the cornerstone of a vital cultural life on the Plains by providing consistent quality programming and artist opportunities for children and adults. From exhibitions to summer art camps, from classical music to outdoor summer concerts, the Museum provides the highest quality programming for its audience. This, of course, is only accomplished with the support of those who believe in our mission and vision. As we forge our way into our next 50 years, we ask that you consider the Museum in your estate planning, fund naming opportunities, or annual pledges. To assist, the Museum is providing select programs and funds for you to explore that may help in your decision making.
Laurel Reuter Directors Fund (Managed Fund)
The Laurel Reuter Directors Fund was established in 2022, upon the retirement of Laurel Reuter, Founding Director and Chief Curator of the Museum. For 50 years Laurel built the Museum from the ground up. What started as a student gallery on the 3rd floor of the Student Union, grew into an internationally recognized mid-size museum with a stellar collection and dynamic exhibition program. The Laurel Reuter Directors Fund was initiated by Reuter with a personal gift of $100,000, followed by contributions from individuals and foundations. This moderate-risk invested fund allows the Museum to continue her legacy of presenting world-class contemporary art on the Plains, the development of Native American Initiatives, commissions of new works and artistic publications, general operating expenses, and more. Today this fund has grown to over $2,000,000. The Directors Fund is managed by Capital Resource Management, the Museum financial investment firm, and has a goal of $5,000,000.
General Endowment
Long-term funding and predictability are necessary for successful longevity. When thinking about planned giving, an endowment gift may be ideal. Endowments can be designated for specific functions or given with the understanding the Museum will use it as needed. It is the donor’s wish. The Museum’s Foundation was organized in 1998 for the sole purpose of supporting the North Dakota Museum of Art. In 2001, the Foundation received its first donations from 5 donors contributing $54,000. Since then, the Foundation has received over $2,552,000 in additional donations. These donations are classified as “Permanently Restricted” where the donors have restricted the earnings of the donation for a particular purpose (the donations themselves must be preserved permanently), “Temporarily Restricted” where the donors have restricted the use of both the earnings and donation for a particular purpose, and “Unrestricted” where the donors have not placed any restrictions on how the earnings and donations may be used in supporting the Museum. Since the original donations, the Foundation’s investments have generated almost $1,241,000 in earnings and growth. The Foundation has disbursed almost $1,300,000 to the Museum in support of its programs and general operations. Today the Foundation’s total investments on hand are nearing $3,000,000. The Museum’s endowment is overseen by the NDMOA Foundation Board. If donors wish to designate gift to a particular program, the Museum will provide more information on the request.
Classical Music & Music in Schools
Shortly after the Museum opened in the current building, it was discovered that the expansive galleries were glorious for chamber music. Subsequently, the Museum Concert Series was born, and musicians from around the world were invited to perform against the backdrop of contemporary art. This Sunday afternoon tradition has continued for over thirty years and with the support of the community will thrive for generations to come. Recently, a small endowment was formed to support this very important program, however, to ensure this series stays the course, the Museum seeks individuals that truly care about classical music being accessible. There is no need to fly off to a grand performance hall when the musicians perform in an intimate setting here in Grand Forks. In addition, in 2024, the Museum started the Music in Schools as part of this series. Seeing school budgets being cut, the Museum now takes these musicians into the public school system for a Monday performance, class, or demonstration. This has been highly successful and competitive for schools. The Music in Schools program does not cost the schools as it is fully funded through private donors, Museum general operating, and grants when available. Endowments provide predictable income for such programs, but a named fund such as the Laurel Reuter Directors Fund can be established.
Children’s Education
The Museum provides numerous educational programs that are in constant need of financial support throughout the year – Summer Art Camps, camps for children 6 – 13 years of age that are taught by working artists who give budding artists hands-on experience in painting, printmaking, collage, and confidence building; Family Day – one Saturday a month between October and March, the Museum opens for a two-hour art-making session for parents and their children. All material provided free-of-charge to guests. Kids and parents can enjoy multiple stations throughout the Museum based on the current exhibition; and lastly, Student Bussing, throughout the year numerous schools in the region receive special tours of the exhibitions by the Museum Curator or Director of Education. These are hard to plan, as school budgets are planned well in advance. To help with this the Museum has asked Autumn Art Auction attendees to contribute to a fund the Museum can use to pay for school bussing costs. This is never enough as demand is greater than what is received.
Future Projects
Designated Artist Studio
In 2012, Margary McCanna passed away and left her 1920s French Country-style home, an outbuilding, ten acres, and a modest endowment to the Museum for the sole purpose of it being turned into an artist-in-residence home. The Museum opened McCanna House (open June – October) in 2014 and has since hosted over 100 artists from the United States and Canada. Residents apply, and if accepted, spend two to three weeks creating work. The Museum does not make them give public presentations, teach classes, etc. Instead, artists get unfettered time to focus on projects important to them, yet deemed essential to the open space McCanna provides. This residency sits 35-miles northwest of Grand Forks and is open to any serious artist in literature, music, or the visual arts. The Museum has hosted artists, documentary film makers, opera singers, poets, and touring musicians. As the house was built in the 1920s, it does not have a specific studio space for guests to create. The Museum has transformed the former “maids’ quarter” (a small bedroom in the rear of the house) into a makeshift drawing room and erected a Sheetrock wall in the screened-in porch for those wanting to work on a larger scale. Proposal – The Museum seeks funding to build a stand-alone modern studio on the property that is approximately 20’ x 20’ with electricity and running water to give artists a designated space to work. The studio would be a much-needed element to a successful artist-in-residence program. As stated, Margary left a modest endowment, but addition funding is needed for this project. Currently the Museum subsidizes the operation of the artist-in-residence program while continuing to fundraise for the studio project.
Endowed Curator
The Museum seeks a philanthropic donation for named fund to provide dedicated salary for a permanent curator, including position specific elements such as research, travel for artist studio visits, and publication purchases. In 2024, the Museum hired its first designated curator with the assistance of a Mellon Foundation grant. The Foundation awarded the Museum a three-year grant to be split between a new curator position and collection management. It has become obvious that this needs to be a permanent position within the Museum, but it is also not financially secured. This fund would also be a moderate-risk invested fund, but the Museum would only use the interest generated from the fund to secure a permanent curator. Having a permanent curator is essential in allowing the Director to focus on organizational concerns such as development, future planning, and directional programming.
Existing Restricted Endowments
McCanna House Endowment
In 2012, Margery McCanna passed away and bequeathed her 1920’s French Country-style home and ten acres to the Museum to be used as a creative space for artists across the US and Canada. Today, over 100 artists in all mediums have completed residencies in the house. This includes visual artists, poets, playwrights, musicians, and documentarians. Margery left a modest endowment of $100,000 upon her passing. The Museum seeks patrons to bring the endowment principal to $250,000 in order to offset annual operating expenses, general maintenance, and residency improvements to continue to provide the highest quality experiences for artists well into the future.
Elaine McKenzie Memorial Lecture Series Endowment
The Elaine McKenzie Memorial Lecture was established with a small endowment in 2002. The Elaine McKenzie Memorial lecture is an annual Museum event which honors Elaine McKenzie who was a founding staff member of the Museum, and, in the words of the Museum Director, Laurel Reuter, “ . . . one of the world’s loveliest women, a person with an educated heart.” Elaine Kai McKenzie was a Cantonese from Hawaii with a degree in literature from the University of Hawaii. In 2002, Elaine’s family and friends established an Elaine McKenzie Memorial Endowment within the North Dakota Museum of Art Foundation, which helps funds the lecture series. The series inaugural lecture kicked off with Native American artist Edgar Heap of Birds and has included other prominent figures such as White House Curator Betty Monkman, best-selling author David Treuer, Tim Duffy of the Music Makers Relief Foundation, and North Dakota native Teresa Baker. The endowment principal stands at $30,000 with a goal of $150,000.
Helgi Ederstrom Endowment
Helgi Ederstrom was born in 1908 in Torsas, Sweden and immigrated to Rockford, Ill in 1912. He earned a B.A. from Beloit College, WI, and received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Helgi taught for five years at the University of Missouri, and the St. Louis Medical School. He moved to Grand Forks and taught Physiology and Pharmacology at UND from 1952 – 1987. Helgi attended one evening art class while in St. Louis and followed the arts the rest of his life. He painted the outdoors in all weather conditions, but he especially loved painting in the winter. His work can be found in the North Dakota Museum of Art’s permanent collection, and in public and private collections throughout the region. An endowment in his name was set up to support the Museum’s Permanent Collection. This endowment is used to purchase new works for the collection, framing incoming works, maintenance and upkeep of the collection, and preservation projects. This is an endowment the Museum seeks to build as the collection has grown immensely since 2022. Today the Permanent Collection consists of over 3,000 works of art. Costs associated with a growing collection include: heating and cooling of the off-site facility, transporting work as needed, proper storage material, inventory, and labor for upkeep.