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Utah Museum of Fine Arts receives $400,000 endowment

The money, from Elizabeth and Jim Tozer, will contribute to the funding for special exhibitions at the museum.

(Utah Museum of Fine Arts) Gretchen Dietrich, center, director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, stands with W. James Tozer Jr. and Elizabeth Farrar Tozer, in the UMFA lobby that has now been named after them. The Tozers have given UMFA a $400,000 gift to endow special exhibitions, the museum announced on Feb. 23, 2022.

The funding for special exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts has grown, thanks to a gift from longtime supporters of the museum.

Elizabeth Farran Tozer (Zibby), who has been on UMFA’s board for 12 years, and her husband, Jim Tozer, a venture capitalist and real estate investor, have given the museum a $400,000 endowment. In honor of the couple and the endowment, the museum’s lobby has been named “the Tozer Lobby.”

According to a new release from the museum, The Elizabeth Farran Tozer and W. James Tozer Jr. Endowment will “provide funding in perpetuity to support special exhibitions consistent with the mission, vision and core values of the UMFA.”

The museum typically does two to four special exhibitions a year, said Mindy Wilson, the museum’s director of marketing and communication.

Zibby Tozer is an artist and designer herself, with a knack for floral designing. She has chaired the New York Flower Show twice. Jim Tozer is managing director of the Vectra Management Group, whose portfolio includes several commercial properties in Utah. The couple live in Park City.

Gretchen Dietrich, the executive director of the UMFA said in a statement, “The Tozers’ incredibly generous gift exemplifies their love for this organization, and helps secure the museum’s ability to create meaningful experiences for our community through life-enriching art.”

The contribution adds to one of the museum’s six goals to “to become a more strategic, deliberate and sustainable institution.”