The Many Hats of Development

Today we hear from guest poster Maggie Adler, the Addison's Development Director, as she describes her job as part of our occasional Blog Series focusing on the various jobs of museum staff:

The Development Director of the Addison wears many hats. My main role is to encourage gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations both to support the Addison’s annual operating expenses and to fund special endeavors such as educational outreach, public events, exhibitions, publications, building renovation and expansion, and even this website. We’re grateful to have a great group called Friends of the Addison who continue to support us year after year. You can find more information about becoming a Friend here. My colleagues and I also work with Matter Communications, our new public relations firm, to help get the word out that the Addison is a wonderful place to visit.

Speaking of getting the word out…I wanted to give you a window into my exciting first days here in March. On my third day, Addison staff member Austin Sharpe walked into my office with an interesting proposal. Apparently, he and another Addison colleague, Jason Roy (see left), are members of a top notch competitive paintball team. As the world of art would be nowhere without paint, because I was new and impressionable, and because I thought that a vast new world of potential museum goers might find out about us by attending world class paintball extravaganzas, the Addison agreed to sponsor their team: Northern Persuasion.

I suspect we may be the only museum dedicated to the finest in American art that can claim a paintball team as a point of pride. I am personally looking forward to the end of the season when the Addison labeled jerseys come back looking like Jackson Pollocks. I am told it would be a greater mark of distinction for the jerseys to reach the end of the season without a drop of paint on them…but only time will tell.

I hope that you will join me in supporting the Addison and in rooting for the home team! I look forward to the unexpected adventures that each new day at the Addison brings.