Fund for the Future: Visionary Women Launch Ambitious Campaign

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For Immediate Release Contact: Leah Ammon, (408) 961-5814

December 11, 2012 [email protected]

Visionary Women Launch Ambitious Endowment

Campaign with $15M in Gifts$10Mthe single largest gift to a South Bay arts organization

pledged to Montalvo Arts Center by local philanthropists Sally and Don Lucas

ABOVE: Historic Villa Montalvo, photo by Jerry McCreary

SARATOGA, Calif. As Montalvo Arts Centers centennial year comes to a close, two Bay Area

women are stepping forward to safeguard the future of this vibrant Saratoga cultural institution and

historic estate. Executive Director Angela McConnell, who assumed leadership of Montalvo three

years ago, has announced that 2013 will mark the launch of a $50Mcampaign to secure Monalvos

long-term sustainability. This will ensure that the historic Villa, which is on the National Register of

Historic Places, and the 175-acre grounds and gardens are maintained and preserved for future

generations. The augmented endowment will also guarantee support of the Sally and Don Lucas

Artists Residency Program and provide a bedrock for the institutions mission to engage and inspire

the community through performance, education, visual, and literary arts.

"Over the past century, Villa Montalvo has been shaken by catastrophes, ranging from the Great

Depression to numerous treacherous earthquakes," said McConnell. "There have been times when


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Montalvos future seemed anything but certain. The funds raised by this campaign will help ensure

that the Villa and the organization continue to thrive for another hundred years."

This major campaign will be led by Montalvos two Life Trustees, Sally Lucas and Charmaine

Warmenhoven. Sally and Don Lucas have pledged a stunning $10M earmarked in support of

Montalvos distinguished international residency program, named for them in 2004. Historically, this

$10M donation signifies the single largest gift given to a South Bay arts organization. The Lucas

donation to the endowment is magnified by an additional $5M pledged by Charmaine and Dan

Warmenhoven in support of the preservation of Montalvos historic Villa and the grounds.

Sally Lucas and Charmaine Warmenhoven are both committed to legacy giving, whereby their gifts to

Montalvo are designed to inspire other donors to come forward and commit to supporting this major

Silicon Valley cultural institution, a regional and national treasure. Both co-chairs recognize the

important role that the creative arts play in the success of the South Bays global center of technology

and innovation.

In addition to the $15 million lead gifts, the campaign is supported by a $500,000 grant from the

David and Lucile Packard Foundation to fund operating expenses of the campaign.

Both Sally Lucas and Charmaine Warmenhoven have been longtime and passionate supporters of the

Montalvo Arts Center, as well as other cultural and educational causes in the Bay Area. Both women

have served as President of the Montalvo Board of Trustees.

The Case for Montalvo

Since its founder, three-time mayor of San Francisco and the first popularly-elected Senator James

Duval Phelan, bequeathed it to the public in 1930, the Montalvo Arts Center has served the

community as a unique and invaluable cultural resource. Open to visitors 364 days a year, its formal

gardens and pristine grounds, miles of public hiking trails, century-old historic Villa, and innovativeoutdoor sculpture installations offer visitors inspiration and contemplative calm in the midst of

bustling Silicon Valley. Montalvo has operated as an arts center for the past 82 years and it has

become a gateway to a balanced quality of life for the surrounding communities and beyond.

Its programs are remarkable not only for their breadth of focus, but also their world-class quality.

Every year, the institution mounts a dense schedule of musical, theatrical, and dance performances


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that draw inspiration from the diversity of the Santa Clara Valley. The organizations commitment to

furthering arts education for students of all ages is absolute. To ensure that children, regardless of

their economic background, have access to these educational resourceswhich include performing

arts series, classroom outreach programs, and its innovative summer arts campsMontalvo grants

thousands of dollars in scholarships every year. The Lucas Artists Residency Program, the third-oldest

in the country and the oldest west of the Mississippi, has served 300 artists from 33 countries, and

has gained international acclaim for its innovative emphasis on community engagement. Montalvo

has managed to accomplish this with the support of the initial endowment fund and the generous

support of its members and donors.

Montalvo provides a wealth of opportunities for all ageswhether thats families with children, art

lovers, hikers, nature enthusiasts, advocates of sustainable livingto be inspired by and participate in

the creative process. said McConnell. With this bold fundraising initiative, we are making an appeal

to the people of the community we have served for decades and continue to serve to join with us in

preserving Montalvo and sustaining its mission.

The priorities of Montalvos Fund for the Future are to:

Restore and enhance Montalvos historic Villa and create an endowment to steward thiscommunity and national treasure.

Restore and revitalize Montalvos lush, historic gardens and Arboretum and provide a stablesource of funding to support their care.

Engage a large cross-section of Silicon Valley residents through exciting, inclusive programsand performances that awaken a sense of wonder

Establish Montalvo as a notable Sculpture Park a destination for Valley residents and visitorsfrom around the world.

Establish an Education Center for K-12 teachers sustaining the positive influence of the artsin our schools and on our future workforce.

Raise the global profile of Montalvo and its Lucas Artists Residency Program, which nurturestalented, visionary performing, visual, literary and culinary artists drawn from an international

pool and contributes to the arts that will shape the contemporary art scene, in Silicon Valley

and throughout the world.


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# # #

Now concluding the celebration of its centennial year, Montalvo Arts Center is an oasis

of culture and nature whose mission is to create and present arts of all types, nurture

artists, and use our historic Villa, buildings, and grounds in innovative ways that engage

people in the creative process. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga hills, Montalvo

occupies a Mediterranean-style Villa, built in 1912 by Senator James Duval Phelan,

surrounded by 175 stunning acres, including the campus of our international Lucas

Artists Residency Program. Senator Phelan bequeathed the villa and grounds to the

people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature and architecture, a

mandate that Montalvo has carried forward ever since its founding. For more

information, call (408) 961-5800 or visit www.montalvoarts.org.

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Fund for the Future: Visionary Women Launch Ambitious Campaign