March 27, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles announced a campaign Tuesday to build its endowment to $100-million and said it has already secured pledges to reach the $60-million mark, the Los Angeles Times writes.
The formal launch of the drive, dubbed “MOCA Independence,” comes a week after the contemporary-art museum’s board rejected a proposed merger with the Los Angeles County Art Museum that would have carried a potential $100-million cash infusion. MOCA’s total investments, including endowment funds, stood at $23-million early this year, according to the Times.
MOCA has suffered for several years from deficits and by the late 2000s had nearly exhausted its endowment to cover operating costs. Billionaire arts patron Eli Broad’s 2008 bailout package for the museum included a $15-million endowment pledge, contingent on MOCA’s trustees raising an equal amount, but the match effort had stalled at $6.25 million until now.
