Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • November 27, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com After two decades, Kane reshapes Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Q&A talks to Katherine Kane, ex- ecutive director at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, who will be stepping down from her post next spring after 20 years leading the organization. Q. You'll be retiring next spring after two decades as the executive director of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. What have been some of the bigger changes at the center over the last 20 years? A. The Stowe Center is a completely different organization than it was, and has gone from an insular historic house to an internationally known museum with in- novative programming, setting a national standard emulated by museums around the country. And we bring tourists and locals to our site in Hartford for experiences they don't have elsewhere. Harriet Beecher Stowe was internation- ally famous, best known for her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which challenged America's views about slavery. The Stowe Center uses Harriet Beecher Stowe's life and work as an example and catalyst inspiring people to create positive change. The Stowe Center is in demand for conver- sation-based programs built around issues Stowe wrote about that are still with us. "Sa- lons at Stowe" are community conversations bringing people together around solving an issue. And we host school groups at the Stowe Center and visit classrooms around the region. After 50 years and millions of feet, the Stowe House interior has also been completely renovated and full of items she had in her home. With new research and discoveries, the house closely reflects Stowe's vision of her home. We wanted to tell Harriet Beecher Stowe's story and show the impact of her work. Now visitors can listen to Stowe's words and sit in her parlor among her possessions. Q. Has the Center's business model changed at all over the last two decades? It seems like nonprofit fundraising has be- come a much tougher task these days. How has the Stowe Center adapted? A. The Stowe Center's business model is much more audience-oriented and the revenue stream has changed accordingly. We have a mix of revenue sources, and are fortunate to have enthusiastic supporters. Given the financial climate, we are trying to work smarter not harder in fundraising. Every museum has to find its niche, con- necting audience interests with the site's history and artifacts. Q. How do you get a younger audience interested in a history-based tourist attrac- tion like the Stowe Center? A. Young people are informed, connected and interested in issues. History is actually about the present rather than the past and we find young people respond to this approach. We look for entry points that are mean- ingful to them, and they are eager to share their views. Connecting the past and pres- ent, we tell stories about Stowe's time, and children make connections to their world. Each program has a "call to action" — a "what will you do?" question. Katherine Kane Executive Director, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center FOCUS: Nonprofits By Scott Whipple Special to the Hartford Business Journal W hen the nonprofit iQuilt Partnership announced re- cently that Hartford's Win- terfest, complete with free ice skating in Bushnell Park, was a go for another year, event supporters breathed a collective sigh of relief. The holiday festival and other special events in Hartford, from parades to an annual fire- works display, have been feeling the pinch from city funding cuts that started last year. Those cuts have forced nonprofit organizers to place a greater emphasis on chasing down private donations to put on many events. So far most, but not all, have found success. Still, there's a lingering question of whether or not relying on the private sector, as well as foun - dations and individual donors, to underwrite city events is a sustainable model. Most city and nonprofit officials agree there may be no other choice, at least in the short term. While the city of Hartford has avoided bankruptcy for the time being, its long-term fiscal challenges remain and city leaders are currently trying to renegotiate union con- tracts and restructure bonded debt. For a second year, Hartford's budget cut funding for special events, which previously received more than $800,000 from the city, much of it in staffing support. "The city can no longer subsidize these events," said Hartford city council Majority Leader Julio Concepcion, who is also a vice president at the MetroHartford Alliance. Concepcion said he has been calling on the private sector to step up "and they have in incredible ways." The iQuilt Partnership, for example, raised more than $255,000 this year from about 163 individual, corporate and founda- tion donors, to support Winterfest, which, in addition to free skating, provides no-cost skating lessons, photos with Santa and $1 rides on the Bushnell Park Carousel. The largest donation — $30,000 — came from United Bank, which recently moved its headquarters to downtown Hartford from Glastonbury. Jackie Gorsky Mandyck, managing direc- tor of the iQuilt Partnership, acknowledged that because of natural disasters in Califor- nia, Texas and Puerto Rico, fundraising was difficult this year. "These disasters deserved corporate and individual donations," she said. "Still, I'm gratified that so many people found money to support Winterfest." Mandyck said the city, which actually used to run Winterfest, at its peak provided up to $150,000 to support the event. That funding has since dried up, but she hopes some of it will return in the future. If not, "We'll have the same mountain to climb next year," she said. Bar, restaurant owners step up Hartford's St. Patrick's Day parade is a long-standing tradition. Filling the Gap As city financial support ebbs, nonprofits turn to private sector to fund Hartford's social, cultural events Hartford's social and cultural events, like Riverfront Recapture's fourth of July fireworks (left photo) and boat contests (bottom right) and Winterfest (top right), have turned to private funding now that city support has dried up. PHOTO | ANDY HART PHOTO | ANDY HART PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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