Charlotte Banks Brown

Her Dedication is a $27 Million Labor of Love

Charlotte Banks Brown, director of development at the Arkansas Arts Center, says she’s never happy with the status quo.

That might be one of the reasons she’s worked so hard to raise money for the Arts Center’s expansion, which director and chief curator Townsend Wolfe says will make more patronage and exhibits possible.

“It’s been a remarkable journey, and we’ve been humbled by the [Arts Center] leadership and public,” she says.

For five years, Brown has overseen the Arts Center’s Capital Campaign to raise money for its 30,000-SF expansion, which opened this month. At the outset, the task might have seemed daunting. Brown says the Arts Center has raised more than $21 million for the project, $11 million more than some thought possible.

“The strong perception in the early and mid-stages of the AAC’s Capital Campaign was that we would never be able to raise the money that we needed,” she says. Arts Center supporters proved those perceptions wrong, she says.

Of that $21 million, about $8.5 million was used to renovate the Arts Center and finance new construction. About $10 million will support new endowment funds. Other funds go to pay for the increased operating costs of the larger center and incidental building costs.

In addition to the Capital Campaign, Brown’s duties include managing the Arts Center’s day-to-day fund-raising efforts and directing operations in the development office.

In her eight years at the Arts Center, Brown says she’s had a hand in raising more than $27 million in capital funds. To obtain donations, Brown works with everyone from Arts Center trustees to volunteers to people who have never contributed money.

“It combined my love of working with people with my love of the arts,” she says. “I wanted to be a major part of helping take the Arts Center to the next plateau, which included sharing great art with all the people of Arkansas…”

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