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As an inquiry about art and organizational culture, this thesis aims to investigate the value of a corporate art collection to mission-driven non-profit organizations. Corporate art collections are traditionally found in the lobbies and plush offices of Fortune 500 companies. Operating under the principle of enlightened self-interest, the investment in art yields three tangible benefits for these corporations— office décor, employee engagement, and public relations. Non-profit development organizations on the other hand, typically do not have room in their considerably leaner operations budgets to purchase original works of art, fund its maintenance, or sustain an art education program for its staff. For the few that do have collections, works are typically acquired through donations or are overflow pieces from large corporate collections. This study probes how the known benefits of having an art collection translates to non-profit organizations with limited budgets and a distinct mission to champion the underserved. The art collection at the Academy for Educational Development (AED), a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of the world’s poorest, is the basis for this inquiry. AED has a significant yet undocumented collection of modern art mostly iii donated by prominent collectors John and Kimiko Powers. The eclectic collection of more than 400 works includes paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by importan