When a group of rich benefactors and arts specialists gathered recently over canapés and local wine in Seattle, they were greeted with a bittersweet message.

Phyllis Campbell, the head of The Seattle Foundation, which matches donors with a wide range of local causes, congratulated those assembled for their work in supporting the conversion of a crumbling boarding house into a striking museum dedicated to the US city’s Asian-Pacific communities. But she also warned of funding shortages ahead – just as demand for aid of all sorts was rising.