Selling on the arts

Alicia Lopez

Paul Lopez’ profession is one based on money: getting it and

convincing others to give it up. But Lopez has been able to turn his

daily focus to a higher cause.

The Huntington Beach man has combined his knowledge of advertising,

love for children and fascination with museums to help him excel at

Inner-City Arts, a nonprofit group based in Los Angeles.

It’s Lopez’ job to find the money to keep the program running. The

organization participates with the Los Angeles Unified School District to

find students from 14 Downtown schools to attend a 14-weeks of courses

that include visual arts, music, ceramics and animation.

“My office is right over the visual arts center so you can hear the

kids. They are creating, listening to classical music. Just watching them

is amazing,” he said.

“It’s a drive from Huntington Beach to Los Angeles, but it’s worth it.

I feel very proud at the end of the day.”

Lopez is doing such a good job of raising money for the organization

that he is receiving a New Professional Fund-raiser of the Year award

from the Assn. of Fund-raising Professionals of Greater Los Angeles on

Sept. 25.

He was nominated for the award by his boss, John Good, who said Lopez

has stood out from the beginning.

Lopez interned under Good in the corporate sponsorship office at the

Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, and his ability to handle great

responsibilities with little professional experience inspired Good to

give him a full-time position with the marketing department there.

“I was so impressed that when I left and went to Inner-City Arts I

took my assistant,” Good said. “He has done incredible work, especially

for someone with such little professional experience. He takes on an

incredible amount of responsibility.

“The fact that he came from advertising gives him the ability to do

professional-level marketing. Nonprofit organizations don’t usually have

the money for that level of marketing.”

Lopez said the influences of advertising, sociology and art have led

him to his current position. His internship at the Natural History Museum

in Los Angeles fueled his love for the institution and art in general.

“When you walk into a place like that you look at each individual

painting or piece or dinosaur and it’s amazing to think how it got to

where it is, and what the people were thinking when they created them,”

he said.

“Some of those pieces are hundreds of years old and they’re still

around. You think about what was happening during that time. You never

know what that artist was thinking.”

His love of art was kindled as a fifth grader at Wardlow Elementary.

And it flourished when he played the violin at Talbert Middle School.

“I wasn’t the best at it, but I enjoyed it.”

He had the same sentiment about his artistic abilities at Huntington

Beach High where he took art classes and studied art history.

His interests diverged when he attended Orange Coast College and then

Cal State Fullerton. He said his instructors in advertising and then

sociology were incredible, making the classes enjoyable and encouraging

him to stick with it.

“You know when someone loves what they do, they get other people to

get involved.”

With the other fields in mind, Lopez found it hard to focus solely on

advertising.

“I didn’t want to go to an advertising agency. I had an interest in

art history and I was drawn to it.”

Good said Lopez figured out early what it took him and others in their

profession a while to learn.

“A lot of people get tired after a while and go to a nonprofit

organization. Now there are people like Paul who right away say, ‘I want

to make a difference.’ They could get a corporate job and make more

money, but this is more fulfilling. It’s why I think they created this

award a couple of years ago. He can be an example to others.”

Margot Jenson chaired the selection committee for the Assn. of

Fund-raising Professionals that selected Lopez to receive the award. The

recipient was required to have been in the profession for less than five

years. Jenson said one of the things that stood out with Lopez was that

he achieved so much as an intern that a position was created for him at

The Natural History Museum, and that his boss brought him with him to

Inner-City Arts.

She said Lopez was also instrumental in pulling together an event that

raised much more money than the organization had set as a goal.

“Clearly, he was somebody who had made an impact in a short amount of

time,” Jenson said.Lopez said he hopes the award is not just about the

money he helps raise. “I hope it’s more about bringing more awareness to

arts education, especially in L.A.”He said the lack of funding for arts

education in public schools is tough but it makes his job more exciting.

“I’m trying to get the word out. Unfortunately I’m going to put myself

out of business getting arts into the schools.”