Patrick Tuck. Photo by Olivia McClure News Release Distributed 06/22/15
BATON ROUGE, La. – Patrick Tuck has been named the new executive director of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation, which is the fundraising body for the LSU AgCenter’s 4-H Youth Development Program.
A Canadian by birth with two advanced degrees from Louisiana universities, Tuck has returned to Louisiana after nearly an eight-year stint in Kentucky. He started his new position on June 15.
“The key to fundraising is building relationships,” Tuck said. “You have to match the passion of the donor to what 4-H can do.”
For the past two years, he has been with United Way in Lexington, Kentucky, where he was in charge of a grant to recruit volunteers to help with educational programs in schools. One of the partner groups he worked with was Kentucky 4-H.
“I was impressed by the structure and organization of 4-H,” he said.
Before that, he taught music for six years at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and did fundraising for philanthropic causes.
He first came to the U.S. in 1996 to work on a master’s degree in music at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
A trumpet player, he had been a music teacher and in sales for musical instruments. As school and community music programs continued to be cut, he realized the importance of raising money from private sources for the survival of the performing arts.
“My work with music educators to help them develop funding fueled my desire to learn about nonprofit education fundraising and program development,” Tuck said.
He has a doctorate in music theory from LSU, which he received in 2007. His undergraduate degree is from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
The Louisiana 4-H Foundation provides more than $400,000 each year to enhance the learning experience for 4-H members, including scholarships and travel to educational events.
More than 200,000 Louisiana youth participate in 4-H activities and clubs each year. 4-H is the largest youth organization in the state and across the nation.
Linda Foster Benedict