Three years ago, for her 75th birthday, Ronni Lacroute was serenaded by local artists with performances in her honor at the Portland Playhouse. That’s because
Lacroute has bankrolled local artists and shows for 30 years. Her strategy is as innovative as the work it elicits: she directly supports individual artists and art projects (“too many to count!”), sometimes funding specific works or providing stipends for day-to-day expenses. “I’m not your usual grantor. I don’t even socialize with donors,” she says. “Some people call me their fairy godmother—that’s probably closest.” 

Lacroute, a former French professor who once co-owned Willakenzie Estate winery, is keen to share her funding strategy. She believes widespread support at all income levels—yes, $10 a month to your favorite theater company counts—is essential to the arts, particularly on the West Coast, where private funding often flows more easily elsewhere. “If you’re building a baseball stadium, you’ve got loads of people supporting that. But a year of artistic performance? Very few will want to participate. We’ve got to turn the culture.” She explained how to start.

Identify what thrills you. Lacroute began by attending arts events, and over time was introduced to artists. “It’s all about relationships—really close relationships,” she says. “Become friends with them.” This ignores the typical donor-artist hierarchy, in which artists submit proposals through organizations to high-rolling donors.  

Dream up ideas together. It starts with coffee, then meals, then tossing around ideas about the next project. Says Lacroute: “It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea. How can we make this happen?’” While an enormous checkbook is helpful, some project budgets are surprisingly modest. She sees herself as a collaborating community member, and gets her hands dirty, sometimes reading drafts and suggesting plotlines. She recently financed a performance of geologists lecturing about Oregon landforms, while dancers performed to original music about the landforms. “Who would’ve thought? It sounds weird, but it was fantastic. It was so good.” 

Support individual artists. Lacroute sets up multiyear residencies for artists. Rather than paying plump salaries, she typically pays enough to cover baseline expenses. The idea is not extravagance, but dependability. “They can just spend a few years creating, from scratch, not having to worry about anything else, because it’s taken care of,” she says. “In a few cases, it really launched people into sustainable careers, because artistic companies said, ‘We’ll pay you to do this.’” 

Don’t be afraid to offer. Many artists find it embarrassing to ask for money. “I’ve found myself saying, ‘I can help, and here’s what I can do for you.’ And geez, it just feels so good.” She suggests being forthright with, “‘I don’t have a lot, but here’s a little bit that I can throw in.’”

Stay small. She felt more satisfied early on, working with a few artists. “I get involved in too many projects, then I’m not able to do things well, because I’m overextended. But what happens is everyone tells their friends: ‘Did you call Ronnie?’” she notes with a laugh. “I want people to stop saying that!”

Talk to your accountant. Tax implications abound: for example, it can make more sense to donate to a nonprofit than a person. “We usually find an organization that is compatible enough to serve as a fiscal sponsor,” says Lacroute, where the artist has ties. For example, she sponsored the Lacroute Playwright-in-Residence at Artists Repertory Theatre. “It’s not always obvious. There’s no good way of doing it, because there’s no model.” 

Do your darn part. “In this country, there is no backstop. You can’t say, ‘Someone else will do it,’ because there isn’t someone else.” She points to dwindling arts funding organizations. “If you believe that arts are important to the welfare of your own family, support them. Fairy godmothers are rare.”