New Orleans real estate developer Roger H. Ogden has established an estimated $20 million fund at the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) in support of his namesake Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Biz New Orleans reports.

The largest bequest in the museum’s history, the Ogden Fund will serve as an endowment to ensure an annual charitable gift to the museum in perpetuity while the fund grows over time in the foundation’s investment portfolio. Ogden, a GNOF board member, founded the museum in 1999 and it opened in 2003. The organization now houses Ogden’s private collection of more than 600 works of art as well as 4,000 other works donated to the museum.

“By endowing the Ogden Fund…Roger’s commitment to the museum will ensure it remains financially strong for the future,” said GNOF president Andy Kopplin.

“I am excited to partner with [the foundation] to help execute my vision for Ogden Museum of Southern Art in its 20th year,” said Ogden. “With this gift, we are working to solidify our impact long after we’re gone so that the museum will remain here showing visitors the evolution of arts in the American South.”

(Photo credit: Wikimedia/Flickr/Infrogmation of New Orleans)