The story below is from our November/December 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
The Roanoke Cultural Endowment is swinging for the fences in changing the way the arts community in Roanoke is funded.
Shaleen Powell doesn’t flinch when outlining the Big Idea. “We hope to see $1 million annually in grants” eventually. “That would allow [arts organizations] to try something creative, something they haven’t been able to do because the focus [of those grants] would not be on operations. It would shift to creative risk, engaging the community. That would have such a big effect on what the arts does best.”
Powell is the executive director of the Roanoke Cultural Endowment, which began operations a few years ago and was hit hard—like so many organizations—by COVID. It has recently regained its momentum and finds itself a third of the way to its $20 million goal. That is little short of remarkable and the fact of it earned Powell a nomination for a Perry F. Kendig Award, the pinnacle of arts awards in the region.
Even with recent success, the Endowment still elicits puzzled looks when she brings it up. “We need to elevate our profile,” she says. “We have not put money toward that.” Additionally, she wants to stress that the Endowment is not seeking money arts organizations are getting from donations, but donations “would be in addition to those.”
“This,” she says, “is a visionary model. There is no other model like this nationally. But if it was easy, everybody would do it. It takes time to pay dividends.”
She points out that the pool for potential donors is not as large as it is for other organizations. “Endowments don’t donate to endowments,” she stresses. “And endowments don’t put donors’ names on buildings.”
Powell points to a recent study showing that the 24 arts organizations in Roanoke contribute $64.2 million annually to the city’s economy, which is significant for a small city.
And the word is trickling out: “I met a donor [recently] and asked point-blank for a gift. He just said, ‘Yes.’”
They will never all be that easy, but Powell is framing her requests these days in ways the business community can identify with—economic impact—and that is resonating. It’s arts and business in a perfect marriage.
The story above is from our November/December 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
