CORPORATE GIVING
The MacDowell Colony must raise more than 60 percent of its operating income each year from corporations, foundations, and individuals who recognize the vital role MacDowell plays in nurturing and inspiring many of America’s finest creative artists. At its founding, the Colony was an experiment for which there was no precedent. It stands on its record with more than 5,800 artists — writers, composers, visual artists, architects, playwrights, filmmakers, photographers, and interdisciplinary artists — having worked here.

Corporations can provide essential support to The MacDowell Colony. Among MacDowell’s Endowed Fellowships, which support the residencies of one or more artists each year in perpetuity, are those provided by corporations, including Chubb LifeAmerica and the Philip Morris Company.

MacDowell board member and former president Thomas P. Putnam serves as our corporate chairman. He is chairman of MARKEM Corporation, chairmen of The Business Committee for the Arts, and a board member of the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts. He leads The MacDowell Colony’s business committee, which introduces colleagues in the business community to the mission, artists, and activities of the Colony. Committee members also play an important role in establishing a base of support for MacDowell in the business world through their participation in the Colony’s three major annual events:

NEW YORK BENEFIT
The New York Benefit, held every December, brings together members of the city’s arts, business, and philanthropic communities to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of MacDowell’s Colony Fellows at a festive dinner and program featuring prominent artists and performers. The funds raised by this event help support residencies at the Colony for more than 250 creative artists each year. Corporate supporters of the New York Benefit include HarperCollins, Random House, Inc., and The Thomson Corporation.

NEW HAMPSHIRE BENEFIT
Friends and artists gather at the annual New Hampshire Benefit to celebrate creativity and raise support for the Colony’s residency program, which brings more than 250 extraordinarily talented artists each year to work in the peace and tranquility of MacDowell’s 450 woodland acres in Peterborough, NH.  The 2006 benefit was supported by our Lead Business Sponsor, the law offices of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass + Green PA, and many local businesses.

MEDAL DAY
Medal Day, which is held every August at the Colony in Peterborough, NH, draws more than 1,000 neighbors and visitors to Colony as the Edward MacDowell Medal for outstanding contribution to the arts is presented to one of America’s most distinguished artists. Our corporate partner, Lincoln Financial Group, as well as more than two dozen other local businesses that sponsor Medal Day help keep this event free and open to the public.

Right: Guests of Jefferson Pilot Financial (now Lincoln Financial Group), our 2005 Medal Day Corporate Partner, enjoy the Medal Day picnic lunch.