ARTS ON UPSWING
Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli’s charitable giving priorities are education, health sciences and the arts.
Education because the universities aren’t graduating enough high-tech-trained people.
Health sciences because it’s his wife’s passion.
And he gives to the arts because the arts are one of the keys to maintaining a good quality of life and Orange County’s rich art environment is a great recruiting tool for his company.
“The No. 1 thing that high-tech workers look for is the quality of life,” who has donated some $65 million to various schools and groups in the past year.
The arts,including music, performing arts and dance,are contributing to the economy of OC to the tune of nearly 5,000 jobs and more than $282 million according to Chapman University. And that is being fueled by an increasing population of wealthy high-tech executives, who are adding to the base of developer- and real-estate-dominated arts givers.
Developers have traditionally been the largest contributors to non-profit art organizations, said Cristofer Gross, director of public relations for South Coast Repertory. Although developer donations are still strong, the booming high-tech industry is emerging as a major art patron. SCR received its largest contribution to date, $1.2 million, from Henry Nicholas, Samueli’s partner in Broadcom.
SCR’s staff of 71 has grown 10% over the past 5 years and its $8 million budget is up $1.1 million since1996, Gross said.
The total economic impact of the non-profit arts in OC was $282 million in 1997, compared with $252 million in 1993 and $187 million in 1983, according to studies prepared by the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University. Contributions to non-profit arts organizations increased 68.8%, up to $35.1 million in 1997.
Taken as a whole, non-profit arts organizations employ 4,725 in OC, Chapman says. And that number is likely to keep rising as OC continues to prosper.
“People in general, having more income, are going to spend more money on leisure,” said Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center at Chapman.
The success of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, founded in 1974, illustrates the flourishing arts climate in OC.
The organization employs 93 full-time and 200 part-time workers. OCPAC’s $28 million budget is met with no government funding, and its endowment is worth more than $20 million.
And the money continues to flow in. OCPAC has four concert halls and recently raised $4 million in seed money to build a new $200 million, 2,500-seat concert and music hall.
The number of corporate sponsors is also on the rise, said Jerry Mandel, president of OCPAC.
Mandel attributes the success of OCPAC to the swelling OC population in general and the burgeoning high-tech industry.
“People in high-tech have an affinity for the arts” he said.
Businesses also participate in the arts in more hands-on ways such as joining art organizations, serving as board members and offering in-kind services. For example, Deloitte & Touche donates office space to the 19-year-old Orange County Business Committee for the Arts. About 120 companies pay between $1,000 and $5,000 annually to be OCBCA members, and when OCBCA needs to advertise for its annual fundraiser, it gets free ads in the local newspapers. The organization puts executives together with arts organizations looking for board members and advisors.
John Evans, senior vice president in private client services for Wells Fargo, found his spot on Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s board through OCBCA in 1986 and has been there since.
“I have a real appreciation for classical music,” he said.
Evans said his company encourages giving back to the community and estimates he spends 20 hours per month on various board duties.
“It’s good for the company,” he said.n
