Stuart Graff
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Banking on a Connection with the Larger Community
Buildings created in harmony with the world around them are a hallmark of famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright’s philosophy of “organic architecture” lives on in the mission and work of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation at Scottsdale’s Taliesin West, his winter home.
Stuart Graff, President and CEO, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, sees this sense of connectedness as central to the organization’s work today. “As stewards of the homes where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and educated young architects, we ask, ‘how do we extend Taliesin’s legacy and also sustain the larger community around us?’”
Not only is an extensive, inclusive community important for the 110,000 visitors who tour Taliesin West every year, but it also guides the well-positioned foundation in choosing business partners, including its banking resource.
Added Graff: “A lot of banks talk about community. The degree of connection to community service with Western Alliance's Alliance Bank is really important to us. We found a bank that feels and lives the same way we do.”
The foundation traded big and aloof for deeply connected and engaged. “Previously we banked with a very large bank and we felt anonymous. Alliance Bank was interested in helping us thrive – we felt tremendous alignment there in terms of our values of community and connection.”
Frank Lloyd Wright*
The products the bank has for nonprofits are helpful. Every bit of money we have gets poured back into our mission and benefits the larger community. It’s wonderful to have a bank that shares our values.”
Our experience in working with nonprofits led us to create customized products so that worthwhile organizations can put more of their resources toward their missions. It’s a tangible commitment to nonprofit businesses that goes beyond ordinary banking.”
Taliesin West photo by Andrew Pielage
*Frank Lloyd Wright photo courtesy of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York). All rights reserved.
