The Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild has launched a $200,000 Gofundme campaign to raise funds for a new Cultural Arts Center and to meet a challenge by the City Council.
- The Guild has already raised over $380,000 in cash and pledges and hundreds of thousands of dollars in in-kind donations.
- The City Council extended the Theater Guild’s lease by 6 months to allow time for studies and coordination.
On April 10, 2018, the Scotts Valley City Council approved a proposal to explore a partnership between the theater project and the library next door to create a combined City Cultural Arts Center to house the Scotts Valley Library and Performing Arts Center. At the same time, they challenged the Theater Guild to raise $200,000 by July 1, 2018 to show the community’s commitment to the project.
Pending studies and coordination with the Scotts Valley Library, the theater project will unite with the library system and join many other Performing Arts Libraries around the country in cities like New York and Las Vegas. To better facilitate this transition, the Theater Guild has redesigned the plans for their theater to create greater usability by the library, doorways between the library and theater space, and includes a coffee shop, maker’s lab, and a beautiful atrium lobby that will exhibit visual art from local artists.
Jenny Wood, Grant Writer and Fundraiser for the Theater Guild, said of the changes, “We are so excited for this opportunity! The Cultural Arts Center will be greater than its individual parts. It will not only upgrade our library and provide a community theater, but it will also bring sales to our local businesses, create a night-time economy in Scotts Valley, bring in fresh revenue to the city, and become the crown jewel of our planned town center.”
The Gofundme campaign was launched on April 27 and will run until May 8. During that time, they hope to raise $200,000 to meet the challenge by the City Council. Local businesses and leaders have already donated and committed to the campaign, including Zinnia’s, LIFEAID, TuTu School of Dance, and Togo’s, which is donating 20% of their sales from the evening of the 27th, the launch day of the campaign.
To support this effort, you can donate using the Theater Guild’s Gofundme page, “Build a Cultural Arts Center and Theater” at: https://tinyurl.com/y6vm3zjw.
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For more information about the Theater Guild: www.svctheaterguild.org www.facebook.com