FIRM DONATES $15,000 TO THE SEALASKA HERITAGE ARTS CAMPUS
March 11, 2021
An Alaska firm has donated $15,000 to help build Sealaska Heritage Institute’s (SHI) Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus, currently under construction in Juneau.
The contribution was made by McKinley, owner of McKinley Capital Management and McKinley Research Group (formerly the McDowell Group), and puts the project one step closer to raising the remaining funds for the campus, which is scheduled to open later this year.
The gift marks the first time the group, which is based in Anchorage, has made a donation to a Juneau entity through its charity program.
“We’ve found that our year-long Charity of Choice partnership allows us to both focus our corporate giving and provide our staff with meaningful opportunities to share their skills and talents,” said Rob Gillam, CEO of McKinley. “It’s been well received by both staff and nonprofits, and we’re excited to partner with Sealaska Heritage Institute as our first Juneau Charity of Choice. This year, our Anchorage staff is supporting Covenant House Alaska, and our Chicago team is working with an addiction treatment program called Above and Beyond. We value the opportunity, and really the responsibility, to give back to the communities in which we live and work. It’s part of our core values at McKinley."
The donation is a boost to SHI’s larger goal, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“We are in the final stretch of raising funds for construction of the campus and are grateful to McKinley Capital for contributing to the project, which is part of our vision to make Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital of the world,” Worl said.
The campus, which will encompass approximately 6,000 square feet, will house indoor and outdoor space for artists to make monumental Northwest Coast art pieces, such as totem poles and canoes; classrooms for art programming and instruction in areas such as basketry and textile weaving and print making; and space for performances, Native art markets, an art library, artists-in-residence, faculty, and public gatherings. Instruction will be offered for both non-credit and credit for students seeking art degrees through SHI partners, the University of Alaska Southeast and the Institute of American Indian Arts. It will also have capabilities for distance learning.
The contribution includes $10,000 in in-kind research services, which SHI routinely uses to measure and evaluate its programs.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Amy Fletcher, SHI Media and Publications Director, 907.586.9116, amy.fletcher@sealaska.com.
Photo: SHI giving a tour of its building in Juneau to McKinley Capital and McKinley Research Group officers. From back, SHI Marketing and Development Director Ricardo Worl, McKinley CEO Rob Gillam, SHI President Rosita Worl, SHI Chief of Operations Lee Kadinger and McKinley Research Group President Susan Bell. Photo by Kai Monture, courtesy of SHI. Note: News outlets are welcome to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-resolution version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
