Building Her Work Of Art - Rebecca Hoffberger - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, August, 2000

Rebecca Hoffberger's gift for persuasion raised millions to create a very UNUSUAL MUSEUM.

Name: Rebecca Hoffberger, 47, Baltimore

Achievement: In 1995 founded the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore to spotlight the work of self-taught artists outside the mainstream.

Signs of success: Congress designated her vision a national museum, and it won the Urban Land Institute's highest award for architectural design.

How she did it: Left a job raising funds for a program for the mentally ill at a Baltimore hospital, and talked the city into donating land for redevelopment; raised $7.5 million from donors.

Sources of help: Her family and her husband, LeRoy, who sold his art collection to help finance the museum.

Lessons learned: "Make clear plans, and raise money only from kindred spirits whom you admire."

Next goal: Lobby Apple Computer's Steve Jobs to donate money for a new museum wing.