KeyBank donates $10 million to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, largest donation in museum’s history – By Susan Glaser (Cleveland.com) / April 14 2018
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced Saturday night the largest single donation in its history, $10 million from the KeyBank Foundation, which will be used to build upon an ongoing and expanding series of improvements at the museum.
Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris said he couldn’t reveal exactly what the donation would be spent on, promising details would come later this spring. “I’m going to give you a cliffhanger,” he said in a phone interview in advance of the public announcement, which took place on stage at the induction ceremony at Public Hall.
Beth Mooney, the CEO for KeyCorp, called the Rock Hall “a national icon and a true regional treasure.” She said the gift would “help preserve and support its transformation – and make sure it remains accessible and relevant for our communities in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
“For all the Rock Hall does for Cleveland, we’re extending that back,” said Mooney, who added that she was “shedding her banker’s attire” to attend the induction ceremony.
The gift is part of stepped-up effort by the Rock Hall to increase its relevance and profile, both in Cleveland and beyond.
The public has responded: Attendance, among locals and out-of-town visitors, has increased dramatically over the past three years, up nearly 30 percent to 568,000 in 2017.
In the past year, the Rock Hall has opened several major attractions, including the Power of Rock Experience, an immersive film focused on the inductions, which debuted last summer; and the new the Hall of Fame Floor, with an interactive Voice Your Choice exhibit, unveiled last week.
In addition, the hall has added concerts and other programs to engage visitors.
The improvements are designed to reinvigorate the Rock Hall, which Harris conceded had grown stale as it approached its 20th birthday in 2015. “All of our survey work reinforced that it was time to amp it up,” he said, adding: “It was a great place for the first 20 years. Now we’re fueling it for the next 20.”
Part of that “fueling” has come via increased giving from the community.
In 2017, the Connor Foundation, along with Sara and Christopher Connor (the retired executive chairman of Sherwin-Williams Co.), donated $9 million to the Rock Hall, in what was previously the largest gift to the museum. In return, the hall named its new movie venue the Connor Theater, which houses the Power of Rock Experience.
Last month, PNC Bank and the PNC Foundation announced a $4.1 million gift to the Rock Hall to be used for youth education and community engagement programs.
The $10 million Key donation will be spread across over five years, according to Mooney. The Cleveland-based bank has a long history of supporting the Rock Hall from its earliest days. The space in front of the iconic, I.M. Pei-designed building is called Key Plaza.
Mooney said supporting the Rock Hall fits with Key’s philanthropic mission, which promotes arts and culture in its communities.
“Key strives to be the long tent pole in all the communities we serve,” she said. “How do we make sure we are part of thriving communities? We believe access to arts and culture is core to that mission.”
She noted that Key had also made recent and substantial contributions to other local arts institutions, including Playhouse Square, the Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Museum of Art.
The Rock Hall, however, is unique – with its international profile and splashy, celebrity-filled induction ceremony every two years in Cleveland.
“All eyes in the music world are on Cleveland,” she said. “We’re Cleveland proud. I think Cleveland rocks.”
http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2018/04/keybank_donates_10_million_to.html
