Croatian Naive Art Gallery to Hold Fundraising Events for Creative Clay August 9-12th
Art Gallery Begins Fourth Sector Work: Croatian Naive Art Gallery Initiates Benefit Fundraisers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., June 26 /PRNewswire/ — We have all begun to hear about this new emerging “fourth sector” in the business world, where companies not only support favorite causes, but actually incorporate as part of their mission statement a primary reason for existence as being a tool to raise funds for the benefit of others. Well, that is exactly what the recently opened Croatian Naive Art Gallery & Museum Collection in St. Petersburg, Florida is doing.
Their mission has always been to promote the art the founders love, but they have also discovered, according to Jim and Donna Nannen, the founders, “a way to fulfill our mission while at the same time raising money for, and the public awareness of, local organizations that need to find new methods of funding, in an age where money is tight, grants less available and communities throughout the US look for ways to tighten their belts.”
What the Nannens will be doing in their new Gallery is holding fundraising weekends monthly, for the benefit of organizations they support, to coincide with the Gallery Walks held in St. Petersburg on the Second Saturday of every month. They feel that since these Gallery Walks have been going on for years, there is a built in amount of extra publicity for them and community awareness of them.
“During these weekend events, we will offer substantial discounts on our unique reverse paintings of oil on glass to the buyer, while at the same time allowing an equal amount to be donated in the name of the buyer, to benefit the organization sponsored that month. Everyone wins,” says Mr. Nannen. “The artists we love win because we sell more of their paintings and they get greater exposure. The buying public wins in 3 ways because they receive a nice price reduction on unique art they love; they get the wonderful feeling one receives when doing good; and they get a tax deduction for a donation to a worthy local organization that thanks them for their support. Of course the organization receiving the benefit wins financially, but they also win because they receive greater community awareness of the good things they are doing locally. Our Gallery wins in that we accomplish three of our main goals: selling more of the art we love; working for the benefit of worthy organizations while profiting enough to remain viable; and having fun along the way. Being the largest gallery in the world and the only one in the entire Western Hemisphere selling this art, we wanted to do something that would make us stand out even more. We think our fourth sector work will help do this.”
Events are currently planned for the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts (http://www.fine-arts.org) July 19-22, Creative Clay (http://www.CreativeClay.org) August 9-12 and the St. Petersburg Salvador Dali Museum (http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org) September 6-9.