The Daniel Edward Offutt, III, Private Foundation Trust recently awarded an unrestricted grant for $215,000 to Silvermine Arts Center. Silvermine was one of a number of non-profit cultural and arts organizations in Connecticut to receive funding.
“We are enormously grateful to the Daniel Edward Offutt, III, Private Foundation Trust for this significant gift. It will greatly enhance Silvermine’s ability to serve our vibrant community through our School of Art, Outreach Education Program, Guild of Artists, and five free, public galleries exhibiting contemporary art,” said Robin Jaffee Frank, Silvermine’s Director of Strategy and Development. “The timing of this generous gift is especially meaningful. With an upcoming centennial in 2022, Silvermine aspires to strengthen its role as an inclusive gathering space for transformative experiences with art that inspire creativity, build community, promote education, and offer enjoyment.”
Daniel Offutt was a Weston resident and stock-market investor. Richard Orenstein, Foundation Trustee, said of Offutt: “Dan would have described himself as a ‘farmer,’ but he was much more than that. Those who knew him would remember him (in no particular order) as a tennis player, traveler, sailor, metal sculptor, wood worker, fixer of anything, collector of everything, lover of projects, stock market investor, and a good friend.” Orenstein stressed that Offutt wanted his legacy to bring future benefits to those engaged in such endeavors.
Silvermine is one of several Fairfield County, Connecticut, non-profits that will benefit from grants from the Offutt Foundation Trust. Recipients include the Library Associations of Wilton, Weston, and Westport; Beechwood Arts; the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University; the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County; the Westport Historical Society; and others.