With local corporate giving still struggling to recover from the effects of the Great Recession, a former Bank of America CEO is spearheading a campaign that has raised $34 million for arts groups in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer reports.

In the summer of 2012, Hugh McColl quietly launched the Thrive Campaign to provide financial stability for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, which had posted deficits for years. Administered by the Foundation for the Carolinas with input from the Arts & Science Council, the campaign soon exceeded expectations, and organizers set a new goal of $45 million, broadening the scope of the campaign to include other cultural institutions in the area. "In order to have a great city, you have to have great arts and professional sports," McColl told the Observer. "I got it in my head that we've got to do something about it."

Early next year, major donors to the campaign, including individuals, large companies headquartered in the city, and philanthropic organizations, will form a committee that decides which organizations are to receive grants and what performance standards they will need to meet. The symphony was awarded $2.25 million in unrestricted funds in 2013, and has been promised $2 million this year if it balances its budget and an additional $250,000 matching grant if it boosts donations from foundations and families.

According to the Observer, the campaign was in a quiet phase for more than a year in part because McColl's effectiveness as a fundraiser outpaced the group's development of a strategy to spend the money. Local business conditions also worked against a higher profile for the effort, as Bank of America worked through a series of issues with federal regulators and Duke Energy found itself involved in a merger with Progress Energy. 

In June, the Arts & Science Council's Cultural Life Task Force issued a report that called on government to increase its support for the arts by $3.5 million annually to help local arts groups build their cash reserves and endowments, while urging the private sector to step in with at least $2.5 million a year for ten years. "This is the personification of that recommendation," said FFTC president Michael Marsicano. "One can argue we are maturing in our philanthropic landscape."