MoMA and Met Opera Led U.S. Arts Donations in 2005 (Update2) 2006-10-23 18:50 (New York) (Adds details about the Art Institute of Chicago's fund- raising campaign beginning in the 10th paragraph.) By Patrick Cole Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Museum of Modern Art raised more money from private sources in 2005 than any other not-for-profit museum in the U.S., while the Metropolitan Opera received the most donations among performing arts institutions that year, according to a new survey. MoMA in New York raised $239.2 million in its 2005 fiscal year ended June 30, a 106.5 percent increase over the previous year, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of the top 400 recipients of donations published today on its Web site. That year, the museum received its largest gift ever, $100 million in cash, from philanthropist David Rockefeller Sr. Rockefeller, 92, has given more than $200 million to the museum overall, his spokesman, Fraser Seitel, said in a phone interview today. ``We take our finances very seriously,'' MoMA Chief Operating Officer James Gara said in an interview. ``We have a very wonderful and dedicated group of trustees, and they have just been incredibly supportive of the museum.'' The Metropolitan Opera Association led performing-arts centers with $93.4 million, followed by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at $51.1 million; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts with $47.1 million; Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California at $46.3 million; and the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta with $45.9 million. Metropolitan Opera officials could not be reached for comment. `Like Plasma' U.S. museums and performing arts centers have been aggressively seeking donations as they expand their facilities to meet public demand for their programming. MoMA raised about $858 million to fund a 250,000-square-foot expansion of its facility, which was completed in 2004. ``Philanthropy to Lincoln Center is like plasma to the blood stream,'' Reynold Levy, Lincoln Center's president, said in a phone interview. ``It's absolutely essential.'' Lincoln Center is in the midst of a more than $450 million capital campaign to redevelop its 16.6-acre campus on Manhattan's Upper West Side that is home to 11 arts complexes and schools, Rosemarie Garipoli, executive director of the Campaign for Lincoln Center, said in a phone interview. The complex raised $52.3 million in its fiscal 2006 ended June 30, Garipoli said. The Art Institute of Chicago, which didn't make the Chronicle's top 400 list this year, is in the midst of its largest effort, a $350 million fund-raising campaign for its school and museum, Edward Horner, the organization's executive vice president for institutional advancement, said in a phone interview. About $260 million of that target amount will be spent on designing and building a new museum space designed by Architect Renzo Piano, Horner said. Arts Donations Decline MoMA is among the world's elite modern-art museums, along with the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Guggenheim museums. It is one of the most-visited museums in the U.S., drawing more than 2 million people in 2005. Founded in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera was started by a group of ``wealthy businessmen who wanted their own opera house,'' according to the organization's Web site. The 20 arts and cultural organizations in the U.S. that were among the top 400 in the Chronicle survey received a total of $1.5 billion in 2005, a 10.6 percent decline from the previous year, the survey said. By comparison, 129 educational institutions in the survey received $15.6 billion in donations, a 12.9 percent increase from 2004. About 37 social-service charities got $15.5 billion in donations in 2005, a 39.5 percent increase from the previous year, the survey said. ``It's very hard for arts organizations to get that donation,'' Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, said in a phone interview. ``One reason you see social service organizations doing so well is because of all the disaster relief, particularly the Hurricane Katrina giving.'' Houston Museum Levy said he's optimistic about Lincoln Center's fund- raising prospects in the coming years. ``We're situated in the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country on earth at a time when unemployment is low and inflation is low and tourism is at a record high,'' Levy said. ``If you put that together with a fabulous institution and a wonderful design, you have all the ingredients for a successful campaign.'' Next to MoMA, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston had the second-largest total of donations among museums and libraries with $210.2 million, a 12 percent drop from the previous year. The 300,000-square-foot museum, the largest in the southern region of the U.S., received a $450 million gift from oil heiress and art collector Caroline Wiess Law in 2005. About a third of Law's gift went to the museum that year, director Peter Marzio said in a phone interview. `Public Will' Individual donations make up 60 percent of the museum's development income with foundations providing another 25 percent and businesses contributing about 15 percent, Marzio said. The museum has an operating budget of $49 million, he said. ``If it wasn't for philanthropy, the museum wouldn't have existed, it wouldn't have started and it wouldn't continue, Marzio said. ``It's a product of public will.'' Houston's Museum of Fine Arts was followed by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington with $163.7 million, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with $96.4 million and the American Museum of Natural History at $84.4 million. Overall, donations to the largest charities in the U.S. totaled $62.7 billion in 2005, a 13 percent increase over 2004. The Chronicle of Philanthropy said the pace of giving for 2006 appears to be strong: among 49 charities on the list that project a rise this year, contributions are expected to grow by a median of 13 percent. --Editors: Romano (jiw/tcs/rjw/cus). Story illustration: For more information on the Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, see http://www.philanthropy.com. For more cultural news from Bloomberg, see {MUSE }. To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at (1)(212) 617-2072 or pcole3@Bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff in New York at (1)(212) 617-3486 or mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net [TAGINFO] NI NY NI NYC NI TX NI DC NI CA NI US NI IL NI EDU NI CHARITY NI MUSEUM NI ART NI GEN NI MUSE NI GEN NI CULTURE NI SCULPTURE NI OPERA NI MUSIC NI CLASSICAL NI ENT NI PUB NI MEDIA NI CST NI ARCHITECT #<530827.122724.1.0.7.4.25># -0- Oct/23/2006 22:50 GMT