A recent story in the Birmingham (Ala.) Business Journal reported that so many local nonprofit organizations are competing for private capital to fund their building projects that there might not be enough money to go around. Among those projects is a new $25 million, 4.1-acre headquarters campus for the Salvation Army. Phase 1 of that construction—which includes a renovation of a former elementary school—is being funded by a campaign that raised more than $15 million, including $1 million pledged by Jim Gorrie, CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie, the GC on this project.
Birmingham is among the metros reaping the benefits of a spurt in nonprofit building. A recent article posted on the website of The NonProfit Times singles out several major capital campaigns to finance new construction of museums, hospitals, theaters, and other venues, at a time when contributions from local, state, and federal governments, while still essential to many organizations’ building strategies, aren’t as certain or steady as they once might have been.
Leading this charge has been The Smithsonian, which in October 2014 launched its first-ever fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising $1.5 billion, the largest ever for any cultural institution. (About $1 billion had been pledged even before the campaign officially got rolling.)
A portion of the $540 million 400,000-sf National Museum of African-American History and Culture, which opened in September, was financed by private donations. Most of the Smithsonian’s exhibits and programs are privately funded. And about 40% of the institution’s salaries and maintenance are defrayed by donors, compared to 30% prior to its initiating the fundraising campaign.
The NonProfitTimes also points to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which has offset a decline in income from investments by contributions that rose to $160 million in 2015, from $78 million the previous year, mostly from a handful of major donations.
This museum is currently adding to its Rose Center for Earth and Space with a $325 million, six-story, 218,000-sf Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, scheduled for completion in 2019. The 84-year-old financier and philanthropist Richard Gilder contributed $50 million to this project, the largest single donation in the museum’s history.
New York City kicked in $15 million for this addition. The city is also playing a financing role in other cultural construction projects, such as the 57,500-sf “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibit in Coney Island. The city made a “major gift” to the Harlem Children’s Zone, which in 2015—the first year of its capital campaign—raised $193 million, versus $78 million in 2014.
The Task Force for Global Health, a nonprofit health organization in Decatur, Ga., is working with DeKalb County to acquire a six-story government building that would triple the square footage of this organization’s existing headquarters. The Task Force will soon launch a $15 million capital campaign to pay for the $12 million purchase and renovating the building.
Related Stories
Cultural Facilities | Jan 27, 2015
Henning Larsen designs an opera house that slopes above a lake in China
Henning Larsen, the firm behind the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, releases plans of a latticed opera house on a lake.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 13, 2015
Steven Holl unveils design for $450 million redevelopment of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts
Holl designed the campus’ north side to be a pedestrian-centered cultural hub on a lively landscape with ample underground parking.
| Jan 7, 2015
University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid
There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
| Jan 7, 2015
4 audacious projects that could transform Houston
Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.
| Jan 6, 2015
Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii
The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool, Dezeen reports.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 29, 2014
'Russian nesting doll' design provides unique fire protection solution for movie negatives
A major movie studio needed a new vault to protect its irreplaceable negatives for films released after 1982. SmithGroupJJR came up with a box-in-a-box design solution. It was named a Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction
Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.