$13 million more pledged for "Grand Bargain" -- saving Detroit Institute of Arts' masterpieces (June 11, 2014)

from DETROIT FREE PRESS ONLINE newspaper (www.freep.com): Two more leading national charitable foundations have pledged a combined $13 million to the grand bargain to protect the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts from having to sell its treasures while easing cuts to city pensioners in Detroit’s bankruptcy. The New York-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has committed up to $10 million and the J. Paul Getty Trust of Los Angeles has pledged $3 million to the federally mediated deal. Announced today (June 11, 2014), the donations will count toward the DIA’s commitment to raise $100 million. They come two days after Detroit’s Big Three automakers announced contributions totaling $26 million (Monday, June 9). The centerpiece of the city’s restructuring plan, the grand bargain brings together the equivalent of $816 million from national and local foundations, the DIA and the state of Michigan in an effort to clear a path for a relatively quick exit from bankruptcy. It erects a shield around Detroit’s world-class museum and mitigates against the possibility of debilitating cuts to city retiree benefits. As part of the plan, ownership of the ownership of the museum will be transferred to an independent charitable trust, putting it out of reach of creditors pushing for a sale of art.