Hello Volunteers,
You’ll recall earlier this year (March 2020), the Volunteer Council conducted an online vote, allowing volunteers to choose a project to support with our Volunteer Endowment Trust funds (more details below). The Gallery’s closure due to co-vid 19 interrupted our vote. The pandemic has also altered the Gallery’s timelines, so we’ve updated our original funding options and we’re conducting our vote again. Please see below for a little history of the Trust and this year’s funding options. – Holly
The Volunteer Endowment Trust (VET) was established in 2001 with a Letter of Agreement between the AGO, The AGO Foundation and the Volunteers of the AGO. The original capital that created the fund continues to remain invested and, each year, an annual distribution of 4% of the fund (approx. $50,000) is made available in order to fund a project. The AGO Development team identifies 3 projects for consideration that reflect the gallery’s strategic priorities:
1. Art
2. Access
3. Learning
As part of the Volunteer Council’s (VC) ongoing mission to demonstrate transparency in our decision making, we have created an online voting process for the volunteer community to help us choose the project we we want to support most.
The 3 options are listed below in greater detail and you can ONLY VOTE FOR ONE PROJECT.
Voting is open to volunteers from July 27 – Aug 14.
UPDATED: Volunteers have inquired how their funding is recognized. Here’s some more information:
* The Development team is still in the process of seeking lead support ($100k+) for both I AM HERE and the Montgomery project, so the Volunteers would not be lead supporter on either project.
* If the Gallery is not successful in securing lead supporters, the Development team will look at the positioning of the Volunteer recognition in the context of the gift levels of other supporters, but it would not be lead supporter.
* The Montgomery project has a significant group of supporters already. Volunteer recognition would be commensurate with your level of support.
The approximate $50/60K contribution of the Volunteers means that recognition will be included on:
• Exhibition title wall and on-site signage
• Exhibition catalogue
• Marketing and publicity materials including AGO website and select advertisements
• Annual Donor Wall and the AGO’s online Annual Report
• Introductory remarks at exhibition-related events
On to this year’s projects for consideration:
1. Exhibition Support – “I Am Here: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces” (Target dates: March 20– June 13, 2021, subject to change)
We love to look at ourselves—and we love for others to look at us. Since early humans first painted images on cave walls, and on through the age of social media, human beings have been compelled to document and share our daily experiences through art. I Am Here: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces celebrates and interrogates this universal drive, which spans millennia, crosses cultures and motivates renowned artists and everyday people alike. In the context of COVID-19 and a renewed focus on social justice, the exhibition will also illuminate the role of self-documentation in capturing and creating societal change.
By supporting this project, you will make it possible to:
– Bring our community together
– Spark vital conversations
– Welcome new audiences
2. Program Support: Access Initiative
In May 2019, the AGO launched the game-changing Access initiative to remove financial barriers and open our doors wide to the public. This new model offers free admission to those 25 and under; and a $35 Annual Pass that makes visiting the Gallery throughout the year affordable.
As of March 31, 2020:
· Almost 160,000 people have signed up for an Annual Pass – an average of 440 per day
· The influx of Annual Pass holders has resulted in AGO audiences that better reflect the diversity of Toronto
· With more than 105,000 Annual Pass holders aged 25 and under, we have connected with the next generation of AGO visitors
· 40% of single-admission visitors have converted their ticket into a $35 Annual Pass
· As of March 31, 2020, the AGO community now includes almost 290,000 Members and Annual Pass holders – larger than the membership of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The AGO believes in making art accessible and increasing the diversity of our visitors by age, geographic, ethno-cultural and socio-economic background, engaging with audiences that are more reflective of the people of our city. To sustain this great initiative, the AGO is seeking philanthropic support to ensure that affordable access to the gallery remains available for years to come.
3. Exhibition & Research Support: “The Montgomery Collection” (new!)
In 2019, the AGO acquired one of the world’s most significant collections of its kind, The Montgomery Collection — 3,500 photographs from the Circum-Caribbean, dating from 1840 to 1940. This collection brings to life the changing economies, environments and communities that emerged following the abolishment of slavery. It also highlights the work of many regional and international photographers and studios who documented the lands, people, and cultures.
Noteworthy is that this acquisition was made possible with the support of individuals from Toronto’s Black and Caribbean communities. The AGO takes great pride in acquiring a collection of such magnitude and is committed to undertaking rigorous scholarly research of this rich material. We have hired a researcher, Camila Collins Araiza, to work with our curatorial team with a goal of presenting an inaugural exhibition of the Montgomery Collection in 2021.
Philanthropic investment in both the research phase and exhibition will enable the AGO to celebrate this important collection, tell new stories, and engage the large Caribbean community in Toronto, and indeed in Canada and beyond. While this exhibition does not take place until the 2021/22 fiscal year, a significant portion of the project is pre-exhibition research, which also requires significant financial support.
VOTE NOW to support the project you want to see supported by this year’s Volunteer Endowment Trust Funds, by clicking on this link