NPT announces the establishment of the Beth Curley Fund for Nashville Public Television Productions, a new endowed fund in honor of recently retired CEO, Beth Curley, to directly support original NPT productions. Led by Charles W. Cook, Jr., NPT’s chairman emeritus, the campaign has already raised $400,000 towards a goal of $500,000 to launch the fund.
Curley, who retired in July, led NPT for 12 years and was instrumental in building the public television station’s capacity in local production with award-winning projects such as Next Door Neighbors, Children’s Health Crisis and Aging Matters.
“NPT is one of the most-watched public television stations in the country as measured by market size,” Cook said. “However, one of NPT’s challenges has been to find adequate funding for producing special programs. The Beth Curley Fund for Nashville Public Television Productions will be a restricted endowment fund designed to help finance at least one new documentary each year. This will provide NPT’s talented staff with the resources to create new programs for the community.”
With the fund in place, NPT will be able to tell even more of the stories that are unique to Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Previous projects in this vein include Music Row: Nashville’s Most Famous Neighborhood, which premiered earlier this year, and the popular Nashville: The 20th Century in Photographs and Memories of Nashville series. Upcoming projects include documentaries on women’s suffrage and Nashville’s historic Jefferson Street.
“Given Beth’s commitment to excellence in local production, this new endowment is the best possible way to honor her and recognize the impact she’s made at NPT and on Nashville,” said NPT’s board chairman Mike Koban. “We already have 100 percent board participation in this fundraising effort, as well as major commitments from some of NPT’s long-time major supporters.”
“The willingness of NPT donors and board members to support this effort has been truly heartwarming,” Cook said. “It’s a real testament to Beth’s legacy, and for that we are truly grateful. We’d now like to ask the entire community to join those individuals and foundations that have gotten us to this point, and push us to our final goal.”
Those interested in more information about the Beth Curley Fund for Nashville Public Television Productions or making a donation to the fund should contact Daniel Tidwell, NPT’s senior vice president of development and marketing, at 615-687-9935 or dtidwell@wnpt.org.