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
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 9, 2014
Ranked: Top religious sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Brasfield & Gorrie, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 29, 2014
The new College Football Hall of Fame opens in Atlanta
Adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, the three-story, 94,250-sf attraction is designed to celebrate the traditions of college football.
| Aug 29, 2014
Phifer and Partners to design 'transparent' Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
The design includes a stage that opens onto the city's Parade Square, so anyone passing by will be able to see performances.
| Aug 25, 2014
Ranked: Top cultural facility sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Arup, Gensler, and Turner head BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
