CLEVELAND, OH.- Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum announced that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation will create a $5 million endowment fund to ensure the nonprofit museum’s experience and related technology remain vibrant. The fund was generated by proceeds from the history-making Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts held at Madison Square Garden in October 2009 with a lineup of more than 40 legendary artists from Jerry Lee Lewis to Bono.

“Rock and roll is an art form, and arguably one of the most accessible art forms that is well known and loved around the world,” said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “This gift is also about the artists’ endorsement of the Museum’s mission: to celebrate and preserve the art form and to provide education activities to inform the public about its worldwide impact.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation has been the largest single contributor to the Museum and their support has been instrumental in the success of the Cleveland landmark. The Foundation has leveraged its presence in one of the major world capitals to bring artists to Cleveland and to create fundraising opportunities. In the past five years, the Foundation has contributed more than $13 million to the Museum in Cleveland, including annual support for capital improvements, $8 million gift toward the Capital Campaign, $1 million gift to develop a long-term digital strategy and a complete redesign of the Museum’s website.

“This support from the New York Foundation helps ensure that we will continue to …… and I want to thank them for this very generous gift,” said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and Museum.

The endowment gift comes at a time that the Rock Hall is within $1.5 million of completing an ambitious $35 million Campaign for the Rock Hall. The capital campaign will support a Museum redesign and the construction and operation of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Library and Archives in downtown Cleveland.

Rock Hall Business Model
The Rock Hall has developed a model that uses “door and store” revenues to fund operations and using contributed income to support education programs, special exhibits and programs. The fact that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has been able to support basic operations through earned income makes its model unique among museums. Throughout its fifteen year history, the Rock Hall has operated in the black. Development efforts are critical in supporting educational activities such as the Museum’s nationally-recognized Rockin’ the Schools, On The Road (Distance Learning), award-winning Toddler Rock and upcoming Rock and Popular Music Institute programs – and taking them to the next level.

Now that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has established a sustainable long-term vision, is nearing completion of the Campaign for the Rock Hall and finalizing plans for the Library and Archives and Museum redesign, the focus will shift to raising long-term funds like this generous endowment gift to help secure the Museum in perpetuity.