BMA receives $10M gift to establish education endowment

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The Baltimore Museum of Art recently announced it received more than $10 million from philanthropists Amy and Marc Meadows to support arts education at the museum with a specific focus on K-12 students in the Baltimore area. 

The Meadows’ Stoneridge Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization, will establish the Amy and Marc Meadows Education Endowment, BMA said in a statement. The Meadows Education Endowment will gradually distribute funds toward core educational initiatives that BMA outlined. 

According to BMA, the endowment’s “cumulative financial impact” makes it the single largest gift to the BMA in its 110-year history.

“With the Amy and Marc Meadows Education Endowment, the BMA will give Baltimore and our communities the resources they deserve: a thoughtful range of programs and opportunities for students, families and caregivers, and lifelong learners,” BMA Director Asma Naeem said. 

“It is an understatement to say that I look forward to what we will be able to achieve together through this transformational gift and model of civic and art philanthropy. We are immensely grateful to Amy and Marc for their generosity, collaboration, and forward-looking vision.”

The Meadows’ have an established relationship with BMA as Amy was a member of the museum’s board of trustees and has shown unwavering support for Naeem throughout her career, according to a release. “The promised gift announced today is the result of careful consideration of the BMA’s dedication to education initiatives and on the positive impact it can have on creating lifelong appreciation for the arts,” BMA said in a statement.

The funds are designated for six core initiatives that support engagement with the arts, encourage professional opportunities within museums and galvanize the next generation of museumgoers:

• Transportation for organized public school trips to the BMA
• Maintaining Free Family Sundays and other access-oriented public engagement activities
• Expanding the Close Encounters program
• Developing an internship program for teaching apprentices in museum education
• Creating a speaker series focused on the future of museums and community
• Endowing future positions for museum educators

“We seek to make a difference for others with experiences that we ourselves enjoyed,” the couple said.