Annual
Report
(2003)
February 25, 2004
Gregory P. J. Most, Chair
g-most@nga.gov
(202) 842-6100 –o
(202) 789-3068 – f
Leadership
The Development
Committee (DevCom) was chaired by Gregory P. J. Most, National Gallery of Art.
Incoming chair for the term commencing at the annual conference is Kim Collins,
Emory University.
Members
Committee members for the year are Marilyn Berger (McGill University), Kim Collins, Ted Goodman (Avery Index, Columbia University), John Hagood (National Gallery of Art), Milan Hughston, (Museum of Modern Art), Merrill Wadsworth Smith (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Board Liaison is Treasurer Phil Heagy (Menil Collection). Milan Hughston also serves as Fundraising Coordinator for the New York Conference. Faith Pleasanton (Metropolitan Museum of Art) kindly offered to assist the committee by contacting potential conference sponsors.
Activities
The ongoing
success of the Society Circle continues to surprise the Committee. The number of
members who wish to support the mission of ARLIS/NA through a financial donation
appears to be increasing. In response to the suggestion that a more formal tool
for soliciting funds from the membership might be advantageous, the Committee
revised the text for the Circle and a donation/renewal card was produced. It was
mailed in December, but there is some question as to whether it was received by
the entire membership. Next year, it is advised that the mailing be made earlier
in the fall to avoid any confusion at the end of the year but to coincide with
other charitable end-of-year donations.
The Society Circle’s presence on the ARLIS/NA web site was enhanced with a redesigned web page. Thanks to the excellent assistance of Jonathan Franklin, the whys and ways of giving to the Society are clearly presented. The first page lists by category, the donors to and mission of the Circle. The second page consists of a printable donation sheet that can be mailed to headquarters. Next year, it is hoped that an online donation page will be in place to more easily assist members when joining the Circle. It should be noted that cumulative donation to ARLIS/NA that reach the $100.00 mark automatically enroll the donor in the Circle.
The Society’s
administrator has developed a donation tracking spreadsheet for both the Circle
and for conference sponsors. It is regularly updated and is sent by e-mail to
the chair, and pertinent Board members. Revisions to the organization and
function of the spreadsheets so they will more ably serve the needs of the
Committee will be discussed at the 2004 business meeting.
The Chair revised the conference fundraising guide and donor prospectus this summer. It was distributed to the Committee in September to allow even more time than last year for contacting prospects. Given the rather bleak economy, the outlook for 2004 conference fundraising was not initially rosy. Compared to this time last year, the committee has almost raised the same amount as in Baltimore, Donations are still coming in, and hope remains strong that we will meet our budgeted goal. Abundant thanks are due to the hard-working members of this Committee and the New York conference fundraising coordinator for their dedication to the financial success of the annual conference.
At the
Committee’s business meeting in Baltimore, a sub-committee consisting of the
President, Past-President, Vice-President/President-Elect, Executive Director,
and DevCom Chair was formed to review a proposal for a Business Affiliate
sponsorship package. This sub-committee has reviewed the proposal again and will
discuss it as the upcoming DevCom business meeting in New York with the entire
Committee with plans to implement it this year.
The Chair wishes to stress again that all fundraising done in the name of the Society or its chapters is to be co-ordinated through the Development Committee. This insures that important donors are not barraged with requests and that new donors are added to our fund-raising lists. It is believed that the Development Committee has met all of its action items as stated in the ARLIS/NA Strategic Plan. The Chair wishes to thank the members of the Committee, the Executive Board, and headquarters staff one more time for all their assistance and hard work this year.
Respectfully
submitted,
Gregory P. J. Most
Chair, ARLIS/NA Development Committee
Chief Slide
Librarian
National Gallery of Art
Washington, DC