| “WHY DO YOU
SELL ART?” by Foundation President, Durk Dehner Recently I was asked that question by someone who thought it odd that the Foundation, which collects art, also sells it. There is an explanation. In the Foundation's permanent collection are many completed works by Tom of Finland. When Tom and I set up the Foundation, he brought to America more than 1,000 rough sketches. We knew the Foundation didn't need that many sketches, so we selected 500 to keep in the permanent collection, and determined that the rest could be offered for sale to help support the Foundation's work. Some of the money we realize from sales (through the Mark Moore Gallery in Santa Monica) assists us in operating costs, some goes into the museum fund - but it's all geared toward fulfilling the mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting erotic art. Other erotic artists donate their work to the Foundation and many times give us the option of adding it to the permanent collection, selling it, or trading it with other facilities. Sometimes an artist specifically donates a work to be sold - it's his or her way of thanking the Foundation and assisting us with funds to continue providing the services we offer. When you see an auction of art at “Tom's Bar”, for example, you know that the work has been given to us for that purpose.
< great work like that of Bastille is available for sale in the Erotic Art Gallery The Tom of Finland Company is a for-profit business. It is separate from the Foundation and it is through its store, gallery, and Website, I make my living so that I can continue to work for the Foundation free of charge. If you have any questions about our operations, please ask. We want everyone to know how we function. The more you know, the more we think you'll agree that what we do to promote erotic art is unique and important! WHERE DOES THE MONEY
GO? Whenever this subject comes up, I always encourage
those with curious minds to take a closer look at the
Foundation and get to know how we operate. If you look at
our revenues and expenditures (I've listed them for the
last three years in the accompanying chart) To realize those plans, though, we need to develop more resources, focus on fundraisers for the Foundation, and secure corporate sponsorships for our events and endeavors. If any of you out there have access to new ways of fundraising, contacts we might pursue, or ideas for helping, we encourage you to come forward. As an example, a group of Leathermen in Seattle are planning a fundraiser this March to coincide with Seattle's Leather Week. Another friend of the Foundation is working on a fundraiser which he will host in his home in Dallas, later this year. You can do it in your town and it can be a great way to enjoy an evening and make a significant contribution to the work of the Foundation at the same time. by Durk Dehner
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The Erotic Gallery by
Mail, on the other hand, is a venture which provides
revenue both to the artists and the Foundation. Works
offered for sale through the Gallery belong to the
artists, who request our help in offering them to the
public. We share the proceeds, with the artists receiving
80% and the Foundation 20%. 
you'll see that we
don't have much money to work with. We get by with one
full-time office administrator, Mary Jane Richardson, and
one part-timer, Dan Berkowitz. But, with the help of many
dedicated volunteers, we get a lot accomplished with our
limited resources, and we have ambitious plans for the
year 2000 and beyond. 