JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Still searching for an executive director, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has received a $4 million gift to pay for the position, the second largest gift since the museum was founded in 1961.
The money comes from the New York-based Disosway Foundation, established by Dudley Johnson. A Jacksonville native, Johnson serves as a trustee for the Cummer Museum.
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The chief executive of the Cummer Museum will be known as the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Executive Director, named in honor of Dudley's grandparents, who were prominent Jacksonville citizens at the turn of the 19th century.
Ryan Schwartz is the chair of the Museum's board of trustees. Schwartz said the gift would leave a legacy for the museum and assist with the search.
“This is a remarkable and extremely significant gift, and it will have an immediate and lasting impact on the Museum," Schwartz said. "We are deeply grateful to the Foundation, and Dudley Johnson, and are excited to honor the legacy of the Gibbs family at the Cummer Museum. A gift of this nature underscores the value individuals place on the Museum and establishes a heightened level of prominence for our executive director‟s position both locally and throughout the art world.”
Museum officials said a search committee is working with executive search firm Koya Leadership Partners, and aims to have a new director established this year. Hope McMath, the previous director, resigned in 2016 after 22 years at the Cummer Museum.
Johnson's $4 million gift will be set in an endowment to fund and maintain in the chief executive director position. Endowments create proceeds of 4 to 5 percent a year, so the Museum will receive $160,000-$200,000 in the first few years, with the funds increasing as the principal grows.
“Endowment gifts, and especially those that support operational expenses, are an exceptional gift to any charity as they greatly help to ensure the continued financial sustainability of the institution,” Schwartz said. “Their permanency and perpetual nature allow for an organization to plan well into the future.”