a strong foundation - Maryland Institute College of Art

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G W E N D A V I D S O N
EVENTUALLY
14 < M I C A ’ 0 5
When I started thinking about how I could contribute financially
to MICA, I got a sense of the wonderful things
happening there, met many students, learned about their
interests, and realized that many have musical talent. There
wasn’t a piano in the entire institution at the time. I talked
with Nancy Haragan about this, and we decided to make it
happen. It was one simple, special thing that
A PIANO WILL NEED TO BE
would make a tangible difference in the lives
REPLACED, BUT THE ENDOWMENT WILL
of students.
ALWAYS BE THERE. IT’S AN ONGOING GIFT.
The gift of a piano was an easy gift.You can see it, touch it,
see students’ enthusiasm for it. It’s a gift you can put a bow
around.A gift to endowment is more abstract. It’s less easy to
see the benefit to students, but in the end it’s more important
for the long-term health of the institution. Eventually a piano
will need to be replaced, but the endowment will always be
there. It’s an ongoing gift that provides a continuing source of
income you can rely on.
Chairing the Annual Fund has put me in a position to talk to
alumni, parents, and friends of MICA. It has been wonderful
to meet these people and hear how fond they are of MICA,
how grateful for the time they spent there, and how much
they want to get together with one another and to support
the institution. MICA creates such a meaningful and lasting
impression on people that it’s a tie they want to maintain.
MICA is clearly at the top of the list of organizations I support,
and it comes down to the culture of the institution. It’s a world
that encourages people to think freely,to come up with creative
and novel solutions.The whole institution is dedicated to the
artistic enterprise, which is always an expression of one sort or
another about life or the world in which we live.
I’ve served on a number of different boards, and MICA’s Board
of Trustees is distinguished by a sense of family, a long-term,
abiding involvement in the institution. How many former
board chairs are still serving on the boards after their chairmanship
is up? At MICA, currently, four.That’s a strong testament
to their commitment to the institution and its mission,
their belief in its leadership and vision.