Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Receives Grants
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has received several grants to fund technology updates and digital-access opportunities for the community. The grants will allow Taliesin West to continue its evolution from a traditional house museum to an engaging site infused with interactive, technology-enhanced experiences.
“Ongoing investment from foundations, corporate supporters and, most critically, our individual donors and members will allow us to take this work to more schools and to offer more programs to our visitors,” says Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the foundation.
In its first grant to the foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust awarded $307,100 to improve the foundation’s core information technology operations. The funds will provide for the installation of a mile of fiber-optic cable to the Taliesin West campus, ensuring reliable internet connectivity that gives the foundation the ability to create web-based programming on and off campus. The grant also will fund new systems for volunteer engagement, allowing the foundation to expand its work.
American Express donated $40,000 to fund two projects at Taliesin West, including informative new kiosks for the visitor entry court and enhanced security through relocation and restoration of the vehicle entry gates created by Wright’s apprentices.
In 2017, the foundation also received grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Society of Architectural Historians, ON Semiconductor, Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation, Scottsdale Arts and the Rio Salado Architectural Foundation.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation maintains two large National Historic Landmarks, Taliesin in Wisconsin and Taliesin West in Arizona, as well as the community outreach programs and preservation needs of both properties. Grans fund 20 percent of the foundation’s annual budget.
