While Ewarton initially secured five-million dollars in unsecured donations from two anonymous benefactors, they set a goal of twenty million dollars. With this budget, Ewarton could properly build the Stax Museum and Music Academy and possess enough cash for operations, staffing, and memorabilia acquisition. With some politicking, the City of Memphis and Shelby County committed two-and-half million dollars each to the Stax project. Both Mayors, Willie Herenton of Memphis and Jim Rout of Shelby County, understood the importance of the project. Mayor Herenton was from the neighborhood and attended LeMoyne-Owen College. Mayor Rout, who went to high school with Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn, and his trusted advisor, Tom Jones, who earlier expressed …show more content…
While this was Plough’s largest grant, it stipulated that Ewarton receive a matching amount of one million dollars from the city of Memphis, Shelby County, and the State of Tennessee. While the city and county exceeded the minimum amount required by the Plough Foundation, the state proved to be a tougher nut to crack. The State of Tennessee in the late 1990s was in dire financial straights, so much so that Governor Don Sundquist floated the very unpopular idea of a state income tax. While the state could not offer any funds towards the construction of the museum and music academy, it proved helpful in placing the highway signs that lead motorists to the museum once it opened. However, the Plough grant was conditional that all three government agencies provide matching funds or none of the three-million dollars would be …show more content…
While Senator Thompson showed no interest, Senator Frist proved a powerful and enthusiastic ally. The multifaceted partnerships coalescing to revitalize the South Memphis neighborhood most impressed him. Frist visited the Ewarton board and Stax site three times and secured another two-and-a-half million dollars in federal funds. In a letter to Senator Christopher Bond, Chairman of the Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, Frist argued that the appropriation will, “further encourage economic and tourism development in Memphis. More importantly, it will revitalize the surrounding neighborhood, enhance inner city education, and preserve and further the unique musical heritage and history of Memphis.” With the grant of federal money, Ewarton requested that Plough consider its success with the federal government as a replacement to the requirement that the funds come from the state government. Thankfully, Diane Rudner, the head of the Plough Foundation, adjusted the requirements to reflect Ewarton’s accomplishment with the federal government as a replacement to its failure with the State of Tennessee. With Plough’s three million dollars secured, Ewarton raised an additional three million dollars, from several $500,000 donations from the Hyde Foundation and other