Gifts of any amount, whether through lifetime giving or annual giving, are vital to the University Museums and the future of Iowa State University. All donors to University Museums are considered members for the fiscal year in which their gift was made. Donors to the University Museums’ most prestigious donor recognition societies believe in creating opportunities that will aesthetically and educationally transform student lives at Iowa State. Their gifts of $15,000 or above are considered lifetime giving.
Cumulative giving, bequests and other deferred gifts qualify for potential inclusion in University Museum recognition societies.
The University Museums acknowledges the following giving societies (click to expand):
Giving Societies
- Annual Membership
Annual giving of $50 to $14,999
Annual members play a critical role in the daily success of University Museums, providing continuing, steadfast support year after year. These benefactors renew their membership through outright gifts of cash annually. As an annual member you will be invited to museum receptions and openings, exciting special events, public art dedications, artist lectures and special speakers, and receive regular news from the University Museums to keep up with all the University Museums has to offer.
As a University Museums Annual Member, you will receive the following benefits:
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Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
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Invitations to special events and lectures
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Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
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10% discount on University Museums publications
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- Curators Associates
Gifting of $15,000 to $34,999 over three years
Established in 1988, Curators Associates are the museums first major donor group. A lifetime recognition group comprised of individuals who have given generously of their time, talents and resources. The group assists the University Museums in its educational and cultural mission and has advanced many museum accomplishments, including building the permanent collection by adding over 600 works of art to the permanent collection; conserving the Farm House Museum, a National Historic Landmark and founding structure for Iowa State College and Agricultural Farm; identifying and conserving Christian Petersen sculptures; establishing a sculpture garden; funding exhibitions and educational programs; and providing museum internships for ISU students.
As a member of Curators Associates you will receive the following benefits:
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Opportunity to participate in University Museums Advancement Council
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Art travel opportunities
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Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
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Invitations to special events and lectures
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Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
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10% discount on University Museums publications
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- Christian Petersen Society
Cumulative giving of $35,000 to $99,999
Christian Petersen sculpted and taught at Iowa State University from 1934 through 1955 and is considered the founder of the Art on Campus Collection. University Museums strives to preserve his legacy and continue his tradition of art on the Iowa State University campus through exhibitions and educational programs. The Christian Petersen Art Museum exhibits works of art by Petersen in addition to a rotating schedule of exhibitions that includes contemporary art, public art, and exhibitions that engage a diverse group of departments across campus.
As a member of the Christian Petersen Society you will receive the following benefits:
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Invitations to meet artists and to attend special events
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Opportunity to participate in University Museums Advancement Council
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Art travel opportunities
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Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
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Invitations to special events and lectures
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Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
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10% discount on University Museums publications
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- Art on Campus Society
Cumulative giving of $100,000 to $499,999
Iowa State University is home to one of the largest campus public art programs in the United States. Over 2,500 public works of art make up the Art on Campus Collection, and are located across campus in buildings, courtyards, open spaces, and classrooms. Iowa State’s public art is not required to be beautiful, but it is required to be intellectually relevant to the contemporary campus and utilized in curricula. The Art on Campus Collection and Program, formalized in 1980, includes acquisition, care and maintenance, in addition to scholarship and educational programming. Christian Petersen, Iowa State’s first artist-in-residence, is credited with beginning the Art on Campus program that we know today at ISU.
As a member of the Art on Campus Society you will receive:
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Opportunity to participate in Collection Advocates Committee
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Invitations to previews, dedications, behind-the-scenes tours of the Art on Campus Collection
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Invitations to meet conservators who care for the collection, curators and campus public art committees who commission the Art on Campus Collection
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Art travel opportunities to tour cultural destinations including artist galleries, museums, historic landmarks, and homes of major art collectors
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Invitations to meet artists and to attend special events
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Opportunity to participate in University Museums Advancement Council
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Art travel opportunities
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Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
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Invitations to special events and lectures
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Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
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10% discount on University Museums publications
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- Radical Imagination Society
Cumulative giving of $500,000 to $999,999
The arts ignite our radical imagination, by unleashing the customary boundaries we place upon our minds and opening them to unlimited possibilities. The world has been changed by radical thinkers. Imagine a world if individuals like Edison, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, and the Wright brothers had dared not to dream. Now more than ever, the arts are in position to create and produce the cultural changes that will lead to social, educational, political, economic, and public policy change. The Radical Imagination Society supports the dreamers of the world who see opportunities where others see obstacles, possibilities where others see problems, and the ability to articulate those ideals to the world. Radical Imagination Society members will have the unique opportunity to interact and learn from artists and collectors in settings that ignite imagination and genius.
As a member of the Radical Imagination Society you will receive the following benefits:
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Invitations to select events and opportunities to interact with the University’s leadership team, artists, and students
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Opportunities to review major potential art acquisitions for inclusion in the ISU Art on Campus program
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Advance tickets for special activities, such as artists’ lectures and landmark celebrations
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Networking with collectors, donors, artists, art historians and museum staff
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Priority museum facility rentals
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Opportunity to participate in Collection Advocates Committee
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Invitations to previews, dedications, behind-the-scenes tours of the Art on Campus Collection
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Invitations to meet conservators who care for the collection, curators and campus public art committees who commission the Art on Campus Collection
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Art travel opportunities to tour cultural destinations including artist galleries, museums, historic landmarks, and homes of major art collectors
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Invitations to meet artists and to attend special events
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Opportunity to participate in University Museums Advancement Council
-
Art travel opportunities
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Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
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Invitations to special events and lectures
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Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
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10% discount on University Museums publications
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- Ann and Henry Brunnier Society
Cumulative giving of $1 million+
Ann Brunnier’s promised gift of art in 1961 was one of the largest gifts to ISU - estimated at the time to be over $50 million. Ann Brunnier was inspired by Dr. Hilton’s dream of the Iowa State Center being a place to learn, celebrate, and commemorate through the cultural arts, while transforming Iowa State to a comprehensive university. Henry Brunnier gifted a major stock portfolio to build the Brunnier Art Museum.
Members of the Ann and Henry Brunnier Society demonstrate a commitment to University Museums through their transformational gifts. Together, Ann and Henry established the first campus art museum at Iowa State. Members of the museums’ highest level of recognition have provided cumulative gifts and pledges of $1 million or more to University Museums.
As a member of the prestigious Ann and Henry Brunnier Society you will receive the following benefits:
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Invitations to select events and opportunities to interact with the University’s leadership team, artists, and students
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Opportunities to review major potential art acquisitions for inclusion in the ISU Art on Campus program
-
Advance tickets for special activities, such as artists’ lectures and landmark celebrations
-
Networking with collectors, donors, artists, art historians and museum staff
-
Priority museum facility rentals
-
Opportunity to participate in Collection Advocates Committee
-
Invitations to previews, dedications, behind-the-scenes tours of the Art on Campus Collection
-
Invitations to meet conservators who care for the collection, curators and campus public art committees who commission the Art on Campus Collection
-
Art travel opportunities to tour cultural destinations including artist galleries, museums, historic landmarks, and homes of major art collectors
-
Invitations to meet artists and to attend special events
-
Opportunity to participate in University Museums Advancement Council
-
Art travel opportunities
-
Invitations to museum receptions and exhibition openings
-
Invitations to special events and lectures
-
Weekly emails and special communications about exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and special events
-
10% discount on University Museums publications
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To learn more, contact Sue Olson or Kelly Applegate.