Depot Foundation’s annual grant awards sustain local visionary programming
When Depot Foundation board members talk about nourishing the long-term visions of the nine Participating Member Organizations (PMOs) that apply each year for grants from the foundation, they really mean it.By: Thomas Vaughn, for the Duluth Budgeteer News
- Making ice cream
When Depot Foundation board members talk about nourishing the long-term visions of the nine Participating Member Organizations (PMOs) that apply each year for grants from the foundation, they really mean it.
“I’d like to see a coffee shop here, like a Starbucks kind of thing, where people come in and sit down,” said board member Ken Schoen about the Depot building.
When that coffee shop opens, Duluth Children’s Museum CEO/President Michael Garcia will be happy to bring the ice cream. The DCM has just opened the new 500-square-foot Nano Science Exhibit, an interactive mini-exhibition about nano-scale science, engineering and technology, with the help of a $20,000 grant from the Depot Foundation.
Last Friday, the first visitors to the Nano exhibit tasted ice cream made in 5 minutes with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -320F. The exhibit is part of a National Science Foundation pilot program offered to only six museums in the United States.
“The curriculum for this exhibit is all new to us. So, this particular grant allowed staff to take the necessary time to train themselves at the Science Museum of Minnesota, learn the programs, and experiment. Then, we can bring school groups to the museum here to actually interact and play in the exhibit and learn something while they’re doing it,” said Garcia.
The Depot Foundation board distributes grants from a managed endowment that supports initiatives requiring more funding than a single yearly collection could provide. In the case of the DCM, the long-term visionary goal is met in two ways. First, for the next two years, children coming either with school groups, family or friends will be able to spend time exploring the Nano science exhibit. With such a lengthy period of operation, many more visitors will be able to experience the exhibit than if it stayed active for only a few months. Second, the exhibit looks far into the future, as it is designed to get young people, from toddlers to young adolescents, excited about possible careers in the sciences.
“The most important thing we want them to realize is that by careful observation of the world around them, they can develop critical thinking skills that make them want to learn more about what they see, ask more questions, do more experiments that are science-related, and increase their capacity for maybe adding to the scientific wealth of knowledge that we’ve acquired as a human species,” said Rich Jaworski, vice president of operations, programs and collections at the DCM.
The Depot Foundation endowment fund differs from capital campaigns by individual PMOs such as the St. Louis County Historical Society, the Arrowhead Chorale or the Duluth Art Institute. The endowment is also distinct from the money raised through the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center’s yearly campaign, this year called “It’s Better when we’re Together,” which is spent immediately. Instead, the Depot Foundation endowment is a permanent, growing investment fund that accepts donations at any time. The fund grew by 16 percent in 2010, allowing for several disbursements to PMO grant applicants. In its fiscal year 2012, the Depot Foundation board approved a total of $150,952 in grant awards.
Future grants for long-term enhancements include possible funds to refurbish the historic main entrance to the Great Hall of the Depot and money for improved interior and exterior directional signage along with ongoing grants to the PMO entities that bring artistic, cultural and educational events to Northland residents and
visitors.
“A relatively small amount of money can leverage a lot of activity, so we’ve been sharpening our grant-making to stimulate activity down here that brings in people,” said Schoen, who brings years of professional foundation work experience to his role as a foundation board member.
To learn more about the Depot Foundation and its programs, go to www.depotfoundation.org.
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