I like this idea of use of money to keep the museum from raising prices every few years. Id like to see them lock in the current rates for at least another decade or longer, till 2030 would be nice, especially for international and out of state visitors IMO. That's what the donors would really like to happen, all cost raises, but gave most of the money without restrictions.
I would also like to see a big portion of the 50 M used in an endowment or used to create wealth in a mutual fund of some sort to grow larger over the years and make it untouchable for a long time and not blow it all in one stupid Warhol POS purchase or something like that. I'm ok if they use the rest of the non invested money to cover the rail tracks and create an additional wing for their Asian art and ancient Indian sculpture collections and free up that space for their other art that is just stored away. That would expand the footprint and allow more visitors access at the same time.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...418-story.html
Art Institute lands largest cash donation, $70 million in total
The Art Institute of Chicago publicly revealed
the largest announced monetary gift in its history Tuesday, an unrestricted $50 million donation from trustee Janet Duchossois and her husband, Craig Duchossois, officials said.
In addition, trustees at Tuesday’s board meeting received news that board Chairman Robert Levy and his wife, Diane v.S. Levy,
had ponied up another $20 million for operations and acquisitions at the not-for-profit institution.
..
There are no specific, immediate plans for the new money, Rondeau said, but he suggested it could be influential in shaping the museum’s future. The museum’s long-range plan has included hopes to put up a new building, possibly devoted to Asian art.
...
Levy said he hopes one of the things his family’s gift will do is “provide support to limit future price increases. … For us, access is a very important issue.”
The museum has had at least two price increases this decade. Most recently, in June 2015 general admission went up to $20 for Chicago adults, $22 for Illinoisans and $25 for those from outside the state.