Since its founding in 1951, The Corning Museum of Glass has been funded primarily by its major benefactor, Corning Inc. Now, the Corning, New York, institution has announced a high-level appointment on the development side that reveals its bid to diversify its sources of unearned income. With a number of as-yet-unnamed expansion plans set to follow the March 2015 opening of its $64-million North Wing, the museum that lays claim to "the world's best collection of art and historical glass" is revving up its fundraising engines. James Gerhardt, who will hold the title of chief advancement officer at the museum, brings extensive non-profit fundraising experience to the post, including a recent stint in Philadelphia as the chief advancement officer at the National Museum of American Jewish History, which opened in 2012. What makes Gerhardt's newly created position at Corning significant is that unlike previous development positions at Corning, he will play a role on the institution's leadership team when he starts on November 30, 2016.
Corning Museum president and executive director Karol Wight cited Gerhardt's "depth of experience both in the arts and in academia" in a prepared statement in which she discussed his hiring in light of a new set of strategic initiatives. Corning Museum chief operating officer Alan Eusden echoed this sentiment, praising Gerhardt's strategic leadership, vision, and skill set to champion the Museum’s philanthropic endeavors.”
In a follow-up telephone interview with the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet, Eusden said the significance of the hire was indicated by the fact that this new development position is part of the museum's "leadership team for the first time." Asked whether this might signal Corning, Incorporated wanting to step back from its role as primary funder of the museum, Eusden was unequivocal. He stated that there were no plans for the corporate parent to diminish its support in any way. Rather, the new funding sources that Gerhardt will seek to tap will help enable the implementation of new initiatives the museum is planning to announce in the coming years. Eusden would say only that these initiatives involve the Corning Studio and an increased engagement with the science of glass.
"I think it’s very important to note, and I can’t speak for Corning, Inc, directly, that they continue to provide significant annual contributions to us and other cultural institutions, both locally and across the globe," Eusden said. "We don’t see the unwavering support changing. The only change is that we are moving toward a very significant set of new strategic initiatives that we look at, and we say this is something even beyond our usual budgets. And so we are looking at supplemental sources of funding."
Eusden agreed that this move reflects increased ambition on the part of the Corning Museum of Glass under its president and executive director rather than decreased support from its longtime corporate funder.
Asked whether this might open the door for other corporate sponsors to possibly lend their name to programs or facilities at The Corning Museum, Eusden thought it unlikely. Rather, he poined to existing examples of named exhibition galleries such as the Heineman Gallery, or the Rakow Research Library, as examples of what the result of this new fundraising initiative might yield.
“I am honored to join Karol and her team of professionals who work to make CMoG an international cultural treasure,” said the newly-hired Gerhardt in a prepared statement. “I look forward to building a culture of philanthropy that not only expands the impact and reach of the Museum's programs, but also secures its leadership position among the world's great museums.”