Damian Lair looks back with joy on school field trips to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art when he was a child living in Piqua, a small Kansas town about two hours southwest of Kansas City.
“Through these visits, the Nelson planted a seed early in my life, a love of art and the museum,” Lair recalls.
Today Lair, who turns 34 on May 13, is one of the foremost Kansas City arts supporters of his generation. Besides the Nelson, where he serves on the Young Friends of Art “Party Arty” committee, Lair donates time and resources to entities such as the ArtsKC Regional Arts Council, the Kansas City Chorale and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. He was recently appointed to the Kemper Museum Gala Committee for 2016. Lair also supports organizations outside the arts community, including Truman Medical Center.
“We all have a finite amount of time, and there is no shortage of organizations that need help,” says Lair, who holds a law degree from the University of Kansas and manages the Kansas City office of Juleanna Glover LLC management consulting. “You should do something that brings you joy.”
That attitude is emblematic of the next wave of arts supporters in the Kansas City area. With many causes to choose from, they hone in on the ones that resonate.
“They’re giving to what they believe is significant for them, not just financially, but also in terms of their time, in volunteering hours,” says Erica Terry, director of development for Nelson-Atkins. “We have a lot of volunteers who provide many, many hours that, if we were to hire staff to do that, it would be over a million dollars’ worth of time.”
Compared with previous generations of arts supporters, members of the next wave are more likely to face financial challenges such as paying off student loans, Terry says. Yet the up-and-comers also tend to devote themselves to more causes than the previous generation. “Perhaps there are a lot of passions.”
Next wave standouts in the Kansas City area vary widely in family philanthropic history, educational backgrounds and professional pursuits. What they hold in common is a passion for art and the organizations they support.
“I’m all about supporting Kansas City and supporting local artists,” says Dominique Hernandez, vice president of BARRE KC, an organization of young professionals who support the Kansas City Ballet. “It’s getting involved with leadership organizations and finding different touch points with interest and passion.”
Besides devoting time and energy to BARRE KC, the 30-year-old Hernandez is president of the Young Latino Professionals of Greater Kansas City. She regularly turns out for First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District, where she lives, and balances volunteer pursuits with job duties at Leawood-based AMC Theatres, where she is the manager of film marketing.
“If something’s important to you, you’ll make it a priority,” says Hernandez, who earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology from the University of Kansas. “If you’re passionate about it, it’s not really work; it’s something you enjoy, and you get to connect with the movers and shakers in Kansas City. It offers great networking opportunities, and you get to build some great relationships and friendships along the way.”
The same kind of passion emanates from 35-year-old Tim McCoy II, who was named a Nonprofit Connect Rising Star of Philanthropy in 2013.
“A big part of my generation is, we want to be involved,” says McCoy, a lifelong art lover who participated in an ArtsKC Arts Leadership Series panel this past March. “We want ownership. We want to see where our time and money are going.”
McCoy is the president of Brockton Creative Group in Leawood, which works in areas such as content marketing strategy and social media campaigns. He also is the chair of Young Variety KC, a group of young professionals who support Variety Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City and its services for children with physical and mental disabilities.
“My passion is helping others, and I’ve been able to foster this by building a strong business and strategic partner network for Brockton Creative Group,” McCoy says. “I’m also pretty darn passionate about being a Kansas City Chamber Champion, Young Variety International Co-Chair, a 25 Under 25 (outstanding small business award given by Thinking Bigger Business magazine) and Variety KC Board Member.”
But art is McCoy’s first love, and has been since his grandmother gave him a sketch book when he was about six years old. He kept up his drawing skills and took an Adobe Photoshop course while attending Florida A&M University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business.
Lair, Hernandez and McCoy work hard to balance the demands of their careers and volunteer pursuits. For example, Lair’s job includes advising clients such as Google, Snapchat, Uber, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Discovery Communications Inc., which operates the Discovery Channel.
“The fact that I work remotely and the fact that I can conduct a lot of business on my cell phone and be in my car on my way to a meeting enables me to give my time to various causes,” he says.
Lair, Hernandez and McCoy also are into collecting art. Lair’s collection includes one of Hunt Slonem’s bunny paintings and a silk screen print of the Damien Hirst sculpture For the Love of God, signed and numbered by the artist.
McCoy collects art by Suze Ford, a traditional oil painter. “She just moved into prints and I helped her with the business strategy side of that.”
Paintings, prints and jewelry find their way into Hernandez’s art collection. “That’s the beauty of it,” she says. “You can embrace it in so many different ways.”
