Federal agency restores grant enabling conservation work on Millvale church’s Maxo Vanka murals

For 22 days last month, the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka labored over figuring out how it could carry on its mission after the Institute of Museum and Library Services terminated the remaining funds in its Save America’s Treasures $471,670 grant.

Then on April 30 Executive Director Anna Doering opened her email to find out the grant had been restored. The letter – addressed generically to IMLS Grantee – stated, “Based on additional internal review, IMLS has determined that your grant is consistent with the agency’s priorities in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Acting Director Keith E. Sonderling signed it.

Relief, yes, especially because Doering, her staff and board had been working on an appeal due on May 12 for the remaining $156,000 from the 2022 award. But cautious relief, too. They know other organizations haven’t been reinstated. And news from the Trump administration and its allies changes often, sometimes daily.

The society had reached out to U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, for help in getting those last grant funds, and it let the community and its supporters know about the predicament and appealed for donations.

Deluzio’s efforts worked. “Over the last month, my office pushed the Institute of Museum and Library Services to reverse its out-of-the-blue termination of the grant that funds the important Maxo Vanka mural restoration work at St. Nicholas Church in Millvale,” Deluzio wrote in an email through his spokesperson Zoe Bluffstone. “I am thrilled that advocacy paid off and that the Administration reinstated this federal funding for the project to restore this beloved piece of American religious, labor and immigrant history.”

All the upheaval came as the society prepared for its third annual Vanka Block Party, held April 27. The media attention the termination received drove up attendance – the society reported 350 people registered and 600 showed up – and a fundraising appeal brought in $20,000 from donors and the community.

Doering said her staff created two fundraising pieces, the first an alert about the termination and then a second one hand-edited with Sharpies, appropriately, letting the community know the nonprofit has had a reprieve.

In addition to the money, many attendees completed volunteer applications, the executive director said.

“Definitely, people were paying attention,” Doering said. “Once they got into the sanctuary, they saw what the work was like. The silver lining for us is that more people are aware of the murals now. They’re discovering the murals now. We’re again grateful for building our audience.”

While the leaders of the society worried over the funding loss, the mural restoration work continued. “Nothing has changed,” Doering said. “We are committed to doing the work.  We’ve been continuing our regular operations. Our reserve is what we have been relying on to cover expenses. We have plans for those funds. We had a little bit of a backstop, but it’s a backstop that we need [now] to reimburse.”

She’s been told the first $16,000 of expenses she submitted at the end of March will be forthcoming, but because the IMLS staff has had severe cuts – only about 15% of it remains – it will take time.    

The society has committed the remaining funds to be spent by the end of the grant period, largely to pay staff and to install a much-needed climate control system in the church.

Doering is grateful to the IMLS staff for doing its work and the reinstatement. But, she says, they remain somewhat uneasy.

“No huge sigh of relief yet. We will stay vigilant,” she said. Talking to the IMLS program officer provided her with some calm. “We have to prepare for the worst but hope for the best. And in the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. That’s our mission. That’s our commitment.”

During the upheaval, Doering said her board was united 100% to keep moving forward. Members asked how they could help problem solve and find ways to replace the remaining grant funds. She said they did their own research, and made or suggested new connections for fundraising.

The climate control system is the biggest piece of the $500,000 the society had to raise as Save America’s Treasures grant match. It has more than that in place, Doering said, for that installation. But it will be a different type of reimbursement process, slower than what she has come to know.

What she and her board and staff also know is that they will all have to steward their resources so they can complete this part of the project. It also means adjustment, including plans for the next few years, including restoring the altar mural, adding in more appropriate lighting, and purchasing and then renovating the school building on the church’s campus. It all adds up to more fundraising.

“We are going to continue to ask for support to keep making sure we’re in good shape,” Doering said. “We’re going to build a $100,000 contingency fund that is sort of a backstop for everything, pay it forward into those next projects.”

One thing she is certain of in the midst of all this is the floor-to-ceiling scaffolding in the church sacristy will come down at the end of May. It’s important because St. Nicholas Church will be celebrating its 125th anniversary on June 1.

The church’s mission statement on its website includes the murals as well as the structure’s historical significance: “St. Nicholas is the oldest Croatian Catholic church in the United States. Our ethnic heritage instills in us a deep abiding faith in Jesus Christ and love for His Blessed Mother. Our church’s magnificent murals by Maxo Vanka continue to remind and inspire us to preserve our rich religious heritage. We are nourished and strengthened by the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, as we strive to share faith, hope and love with all God’s people.”