MOCA meets its goal and sets a new one

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Leaders of L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art say a campaign launched less than 10 months ago to quintuple its endowment to $100 million has met its goal, prompting them to keep the campaign going with a new goal of $150 million.

They see the achievement as a turning point after five years of financial instability that has led to budget and staffing cuts, including a winnowing of the curatorial staff from eight to the current two through layoffs or resignations.

TIMELINE: MOCA in flux

A written announcement listed 29 donations from individuals, couples or foundations, all but two of them from board members, their foundations or their families.The campaign also has elicited an unspecified number of anonymous gifts. MOCA provided no further details about the amounts.

Last spring, less than a month after launching the campaign, MOCA said it had received about $50 million in donations or pledges ranging from $1 million to $10 million, naming 19 board members without specifying how much each had given.

Museum leaders also said it's possible, but not certain, that MOCA facilities will be named in honor of the campaign's top donors.

"There's been this tremendous push by committed people who should commit and did commit," said Maria Bell, who, as co-chair of MOCA's board with David Johnson since 2009, has helped oversee the museum's recovery from near financial ruin after the fall 2008 meltdown of global investment markets.

Johnson said the campaign's success means that MOCA has "a sustainable financial future for the first time in its history."

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MOCA meets its goal and sets a new one