Topeka (WIBW) - The Kansas Arts Commission received news of a first-of-its kind gift for them.

The organization is the beneficiary of the Robert Quinn Rohde Endowment Fund for the Promotion of Kansas Visual and Performing Arts. The fund was established at the Topeka Community Foundation.

The $100,000 endowment was provided by the Robert Quinn Rohde Charitable Trust. Interest from the endowment will be used by the Kansas Arts Commission to support visual and performing artists in Kansas.

Rohde served four terms as a Kansas Arts Commissioner and was an active participant in the arts and historic preservation.

“We are thrilled to become the beneficiary of this wonderful gift, the first of its kind in our 44-year history,” said John Divine, chairman of the Kansas Arts Commission. “Mr. Rohde was an outstanding Commissioner who served under four Kansas governors. His life’s work was to serve the arts, history and culture of our state, and now Kansas artists and arts organizations will always remember him.”

Robert Quinn Rohde died in 2003. He was a resident of Topeka and Neodesha. The son of Paul H. Rohde, member, board of directors of Standard Oil Co. of Kansas, and Edith Quinn Rohde, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin, Rohde graduated from the University of Kansas in 1939 and served U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

Rohde owned and operated Rohde's Antiques in Topeka and served as a Kansas Arts Commissioner during the years 1973-1975, 1976-1980, 1982-1986, 1991-1993. He also served on the board of directors of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Kansas Silver-Haired Legislature, the Kansas Humanities Council and the Kansas Film Commission. He was also a member of the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas and was a founding member and first president of the Sons of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin Chapter, Southeast Kansas.

The Topeka Community Foundation manages more than 325 funds created by individuals, families, businesses, civic and nonprofit organizations. Its mission is to connect donors with their interests and community needs, increase charitable giving in the community, provide leadership on key community issues and ensure stewardship and accountability for effective community investment of donor dollars.

The Kansas Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the State of Kansas and the National Endowment for the Arts, dedicated to promoting and supporting the arts in Kansas. Its mission is to provide opportunities for the people of Kansas to experience, celebrate and value the arts throughout their lives.