Making a Priceless Donation to Arts--His Time

It was the leadership opportunity of a lifetime, but arts philanthropist Mark Johnson wanted time to think--long and hard--before saying yes to becoming chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Sure, it was the most prestigious perch in nonprofit circles. The center’s operating budget is $20 million per year. Yes, it would be a thrill to lead the likes of the center’s chairman of endowment, Henry Segerstrom, and to follow in the footsteps of Thomas Nielsen and William Lyon.

But when he hit 40 a few years ago, Johnson--founder of Chapin Medical Co. in Corona--recognized that life’s greatest gift is time.

“It was then I decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Johnson, whose critical-care pharmaceuticals company reels in about $50 million in annual sales.

He would step out, donate his expertise and wealth to the causes that were his passion--the arts, children, people in need.

Since then, he jokes, “I tell people I spend half of my time making money and half of my time giving it away.”

If he took the center position, which was offered to him two months ago, he knew it would be “all inclusive,” he said last week. “And I had to think about that. I have a passion for the center, but I have a passion for other charities too. I knew the job would require me to lessen my involvement with the others.”

After a few weeks of deliberation, he decided the position would be a good use of his time. And now, Johnson moves in social circles as center chairman-designate, with Nielsen at the helm of the board until the beginning of next year.

Truth is, confesses Johnson--who has donated hundreds of hours and nearly $400,000 to the center in the past three years--”my first comment, when they asked me, was ‘I think you’ve got the wrong man.’ ”

But in choosing him, the center knew it was getting what every organization seeks in a board leader: wisdom, wealth and a willingness to work.

“Those are the three components, the three areas we look toward,” says an insider.

Most often, wisdom and wealth are the hallmarks of the board leaders who help ensure the financial health of Orange County’s nonprofit organizations.

Many of them are corporate top guns who not only donate thousands of dollars to their favorite charities, but hundreds of hours of career wisdom.

Take Jim Selna, chairman of the Newport Harbor Art Museum. When the museum sued the National Education Assn. in 1989 over its refusal to award it $100,000 in grants (because the museum board balked at signing what they said was an unconstitutional, NEA anti-obscenity pledge), it was Selna, a trial lawyer with O’Melveny & Myers in Newport Beach, who took on the case, and won.

He not only got the museum its $100,000, but also saved it $100,000 in counseling fees. And Selna digs into his own pockets for the donations that help keep the museum viable.

Pacific Symphony board member Jo Qualls, a vice president of Tiffany & Co., saves the orchestra thousands of dollars with her fund-raising expertise. For the second time, she is chairing the orchestra’s annual Symphony of Jewels gala, with proceeds expected to be around $200,000.

And it is through her recommendation that Tiffany has donated $50,000 to help the orchestra underwrite the ball.

“The San Francisco Orchestra hires an individual to manage its Black and White Ball,” said Louis Spisto, executive director of the Pacific Symphony. “We have Jo Qualls, who gives an enormous amount of time.”

Orchestra board member M. William Dultz, owner of Travcoa in Newport Beach, has given the Pacific Symphony free vacation trips worth thousands of dollars to raffle at the ball. He has also deeded a $1-million beachfront property in Laguna Beach to the orchestra.

When a board member has more wisdom and willingness to work than wealth, he or she can also be a welcome addition, says Tom Tucker, chairman of the center’s nominating committee.

“We hope for a minimum donation of $5,000 from a board member,” said Tucker, who has given more than $100,000 to the center. “But when they are not able to do that, we ask them to bring in that amount of money, or work very hard.

“We are very interested in people who have a genuine interest in the vision of the center--now, and 5 and 10 years from now.”

How does one get on a board? “You get on a committee for a nonprofit organization you believe in, and you make your interest known,” said Olivia Johnson (no relation to Mark), who has served on the board of South Coast Repertory for 12 years.

“You have to be straightforward,” she said. “And you have to show that you have their best interest at heart. So, you get in there and work.”

The bottom line of keeping a nonprofit organization healthy is the dollar, said Olivia Johnson. “It’s the most important thing. And it all comes from networking. As a board member, you help find the people who have a love for an organization and money. And you put them together.”

According to Spisto, it is the person who is willing to work, to ask others for money, that is the toughest thing to find in the Orange County volunteer community.

“We have bright, wise people who guide us and who are also wealthy,” he said. “But to get someone to ask others for financial support is the most difficult.

“Very often board members would rather write a check than ask their friends for money. It’s hard to trade on your friendships. Ultimately, they all know they will be asked right back.”