Haskell gives $5 million to MOCA Jacksonville endowment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville announced Tuesday that Preston H. Haskell is giving $5 million to the museum's endowment.

According to MOCA Jacksonville, the gift, which has no restrictions, is one of the single largest gifts from an individual contributor to a cultural organization in the history of Jacksonville.

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Haskell said the gift is meant to help launch a new phase in the life of MOCA Jacksonville by inspiring similar philanthropy to build the museum's endowment to sustain future programming.

"I am delighted to have this opportunity to support this institution, for which I have such admiration and affection, in the creation of a meaningful endowment fund," Haskell said in a news release. "Such a fund will complement and nourish the museum's collections, exhibitions and educational programs."

Haskell is the founder of integrated design-build firm The Haskell Company and a former chair of the MOCA Jacksonville Board of Trustees. Haskell currently serves as trustee emeritus, and his daughter, Sally Singletary, is a member of the Board of Trustees.

Haskell's gift to the endowment will help make the museum's initiatives possible for future generations, according to Marcelle Polednik, director and chief curator of MOCA Jacksonville.

"We are honored and inspired by Mr. Haskell's commitment to MOCA Jacksonville's vision and to sustaining its indelible impact as a center of artistic and educational excellence," Polednik said in a news release. "This gift is both a significant measure of confidence in MOCA's organizational capacity and maturity as well as a catalyst for the future growth of the museum's strides toward lasting sustainability."