Episode 25. Allan Cowen Past President & CEO, Fund for the Arts (1976-2011)
Allan Cowen takes a long view of life and believes that it is as great as one chooses it to be.
Allan is president and CEO of Fund for the Arts, the United Art Fund of Louisville, KY. He began his career with Fund for the Arts in 1976 as executive director and became president and CEO in 1982. Allan spent three years in arts management in Akron and Columbus as associate director of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem. He is a graduate of Kent State University in Ohio and the Harvard University Summer Institute in Arts Administration.
Fund for the Arts has experienced tremendous growth under Allan’s leadership. The donor base has expanded from 6,000 to 26,000, and giving has grown from $536 thousand to $8 million, a fifteen-fold increase. Total assets have grown from less than $50 thousand to over $20 million.
In 1992, Allan received the Michael Newton Award, the highest award given by the National Coalition of United Arts Funds, for excellence in united arts fundraising.