Lowder successfully led museum’s recent $55M capital/endowment campaign

Nataly Lowder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS – The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is pleased to announce that it has promoted Nataly Lowder to the new position of executive vice president and chief advancement officer.

Lowder since 2016 has served as the Eiteljorg Museum’s vice president for advancement. Under her leadership as the museum’s top fundraising strategist, the Eiteljorg’s five-year, $55 million capital-endowment campaign, Project 2021, successfully reached all its goals. Lowder worked with major donors, securing commitments to the campaign of $29 million in planned gifts and bequests. Lowder also leads the museum’s development team and marketing and communications team, and serves a key role in the Eiteljorg’s strategic planning.

“Nataly Lowder has a passion for people and holds deep personal relationships with our donors and Board members. She is strategic, savvy and smart, which is exactly what is needed in a Chief Advancement Officer. This promotion acknowledges the role she has played for nearly eight years in helping to lead the museum. As a member of the Eiteljorg’s senior management team, she has been invaluable in ensuring the stability of the museum through our leadership transition during the past six months. I am grateful to work side by side with Nataly every day,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said.

Before joining the Eiteljorg more than seven years ago, Lowder was development director in the Office of Gift Development at Indiana University School of Medicine. There she participated in IU’s $3.2 billion bicentennial campaign, which involved working closely with donors, alumni, physicians and researchers on current giving and planned estate gifts.

Lowder earned her master’s in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from IUPUI, where she previously received a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Earlier she earned her bachelor’s of science in arts administration with honors from Butler University.

Lowder came to the nonprofit fundraising world from an unconventional background in the performing arts. She danced classical ballet professionally, directed and created dance programs and fundraised for those programs. Her previous employers include the Ballet Theatre of Carmel, the Jordan Academy of Dance at Butler University, and the American Cabaret Theatre in Indianapolis. For two years in the early 2000s, Lowder also lived in Taiwan where she taught classical ballet and English as a second language.

Since joining the Eiteljorg in 2016, Lowder has worked closely with members of the museum’s Board of Directors focusing intently on stewarding the museum’s working relationships with existing funders and cultivating new ones. She has been very active in organizing the museum’s popular major charitable fundraising events — including the nationally renowned Quest for the West^® Art Show and Sale awards gala each September — that draw hundreds of guests from across the country. Lowder and her husband, Jonathan Lowder, live in Indianapolis.

“I am proud and honored to be an integral part of the leadership of the Eiteljorg Museum. It’s rewarding to look back on my 25 years of leadership and fundraising experience in my career overall, including my seven-plus years here at the Eiteljorg with all of the wonderful people, board members, donors, artists and stakeholders,” Lowder said. “I’ve been fortunate to work with them and achieve great things. It is particularly inspiring to look forward to what is possible for the museum. I am excited to work alongside our new president and CEO Kathryn Haigh in a strategic way and be a part of the leadership team that takes the museum into the next era.”

About the Eiteljorg
A cultural pillar for nearly 35 years in downtown Indianapolis’ scenic White River State Park, the Eiteljorg Museum seeks to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the arts, histories and cultures of the Native peoples of North America and the diverse peoples of the American West by telling amazing stories. Located on the Central Canal at 500 West Washington St., the Eiteljorg is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Media Contacts

Bryan Corbin
Public Relations Manager
317.275.1315
bcorbin@eiteljorg.com

Bert Beiswanger
Director of Marketing and Communications
317.275.1317
bbeiswanger@eiteljorg.com

Brooke Sullivan
Digital Marketing Manager
317.275.1388
bsullivan@eiteljorg.com