Maxine Miller Legacy Fund Reaches Endowment

Maxine Miller at Maxine’s Tap Room.

The Maxine Miller Legacy Fund in the Gender Studies Program at the U of A has reached endowment. The fund raised nearly $35,000 in May during the most successful FundRAZOR crowdfunding campaign in campus history. The fund reached endowment thanks to an anonymous patron of the bar, whose grant was matched by three sources: Ozark Beer Co. at $1,000; Riffraff Fayetteville, at just over $1,300; and the proceeds of the 10th Annual Egg Nog Competition, which raised $2,880 and was donated by Hannah Withers and Ben Gitchel, current caretakers of Maxine’s. 

“We are extremely grateful for the tremendous groundswell of public support for the Maxine Miller Legacy Fund and for the individual and corporate donors who have prioritized this avenue for students at the University of Arkansas,” said Lisa Corrigan, director of the Gender Studies Program. “This new endowment will help us honor a groundbreaking local business owner, Maxine Miller, and attract and retain outstanding students through new scholarships, research funding and conference travel.”

As a 24-year-old single woman in 1950, Miller opened Maxine’s Tap Room with borrowed money from her parents. Her business proved an immediate success, and Miller paid the loan back within a year. A shrewd businesswoman and beloved character, she was present at the tap room every day from open to close and expected proper behavior in her establishment. Patrons fondly remember Miller’s famous last call, “May I have your attention, please? You have 10 minutes to drink and get the hell outta here!”

Maxine’s Tap Room was remodeled in 2013 and will celebrate its 75th year in business in 2025. The tap room continues to be an example in the hospitality industry of inclusiveness and care for patrons, staff and the community.

The Maxine Miller Legacy Fund was established through a partnership with Andrea Foren, Miller’s great-niece and current owner, who took over the bar when Maxine passed away, along with Corrigan and Withers, the current Maxine’s Tap Room caretaker.

“Maxine would be ecstatic over this fund reaching endowment so quickly. Throughout her life, she had loyal ties to the university, its students and the community. This fund is her everlasting way of giving back. I am honored and so thankful for Lisa and Hannah working so hard to help make this happen and am excited for it to grow as we continue to fundraise,” said Andrea Foren.

With a stated goal of raising $10,000 in May in celebration of Miller’s 99th birthday, the FundRAZOR campaign raised nearly $35,000 in one month. It garnered over 375 individual gifts, the most obtained by a single crowdfunding project in university history. The endowment will support U of A students now in perpetuity.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done in Maxine’s honor in the last 11 years, but are humbled by the amount of support her community has shared for her legacy fund. We feel lucky to be in a position to pay tribute to a woman whose life revolved around her small business. Leaders like Maxine Miller are the reason our Fayetteville community is so special,” Withers explained.

Those wishing to help support the Maxine Miller Legacy Fund in the next phase of its fundraising campaign, can donate here: bit.ly/MaxineMillerLegacyFund.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.