Task force to weigh benefits of new performing arts center

Administrator — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:55:55 -0600

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro City Council has asked The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro to convene a task force that will study the benefits of constructing a new state-of-the-art performing arts center.

The task force will be a large, diverse city-wide body representing a number of groups with a significant interest in such a project, including leaders and volunteers from the arts, business and foundation communities. Members of the task force are now being recruited.

The city has charged the task force with:

Creating an open, candid and constructive dialogue around the needs of a performing arts center;
Creating an economic impact report and a feasibility analysis of a downtown facility; and
Exploring private investors to complement public resources.

“There is a prevailing belief that Greensboro needs a quality performing arts facility – and that any public investment towards this as a means should bolster the economic vitality of our community as an end,” said Walker Sanders, president of The Community Foundation. “This is an important issue to examine for the future of Greensboro – and we should do so openly and with all voices clearly heard.”

Once task force members are in place, the group will host a full slate of open, public forums through which people can provide their input and opinions. The task force also will focus objectively and in detail on the economic impact of such a project, as well as visit other communities with performing arts centers that have provided the type of competitive edge Greensboro now seeks.

“Greensboro must maximize its economic vitality and attractiveness to pull in new jobs and retain the ones we already have,” Sanders said. “Our city now has a void in this regard because of the lack of a quality performing arts center. We want to ensure that a potential new facility can fill this void.”

With this in mind, the task force will include three committees:

· Economic Impact and Feasibility Committee – Develops a comprehensive report on the projected economic impact on downtown by a performing arts facility, including analysis of the impact on the city property tax base and comparison of impact by similar facilities in peer communities. It will also provide objective, factual data on the market demand and business model needed to sustain the operations of the facility.

· Arts Subcommittee – Part of the Economic Impact and Feasibility committee, this group will examine the project from the perspective of the benefits of arts programming for the community

· Development/Marketing Committee – Creates the strategy to raise $10 million from the private sector.

· Citizens Engagement Committee – Engages input and participation from all constituent groups in the city.

The Community Foundation has contracted with Greensboro marketing and advertising veteran R. Ross Harris to help manage the task force’s work, timeline and deliverables.

“The city is looking forward to working with The Community Foundation to examine this issue fully,” said Denise Turner Roth, interim city manager. “For many years, there has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of a new performing arts center here, and it’s time that we take a close look at what this would actually mean. We want to be deliberate and thoughtful in how this evolves and choose the path that most benefits Greensboro.”

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Women to Women raises more than $205,000 in 8 minutes!

Administrator — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:51:10 -0600

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Women to Women, an endowed grantmaking fund at The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, today (Nov. 16) awarded $25,000 to the Women’s Resource Center and joined the News & Record in naming Yolanda Leacraft the News & Record Woman of the Year. In addition, generous donors contributed more than $205,000 in a mere eight minutes!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS!

Women to Women’s grant to the Women’s Resource Center will help the organization’s New Choices program. New Choices educates displaced homemakers on how to make the transition back into the workforce. The program provides education and training geared towards self esteem, time management, resume building and interview skills. The program even provides clothing vouchers for program graduates to purchase professional attire that will allow them to project their best during interviews and on the job.

Leacraft (in purple in photo) a longtime community activist and volunteer and current member of the ABC Board of Greensboro, was recognized as the Woman of the Year for a lifetime of significant contributions to her community.

Women to Women also welcomed Dee Dee Myers, the first woman to serve as White House Press Secretary and author of the bestselling memoir Why Women Should Rule the World, at its second annual Celebration Luncheon.

The second annual Celebration Luncheon continues the work of Women to Women – the first permanent grantmaking endowment of its kind in the Greensboro area. This fund was established by women for women – to help improve the lives of other women and their families in the Greensboro area.

Three years ago, four Greensboro women – Louise Brady, Lisa Bullock, Ann Lineweaver and Linda Sloan – established the Women to Women Endowment at The Community Foundation. Their goal was

to provide large, high-impact grants to support issues relevant to women and their families in Guilford County.

Since then – and despite the worst economic climate since the Great Depression – the fund has raised $2.4 million of its initial $3 million goal. Now, Women to Women is asking women across the community to help raise the final $600,000. Once $3 million is raised, the fund is expected to award about $150,000 in grants each year.

In its grantmaking, Women to Women is focusing on the areas of education, social services, the environment, health and the arts, as they pertain to women and families. At its public launch luncheon in 2010, the group awarded its first grant of $25,000 to the Sherrie Denese Jackson Foundation for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Inc. – a move that many credit for helping the organization not only stay afloat but flourish, helping 150 women who may otherwise have continued to struggle alone.

In addition, this year Women to Women was pleased to partner with the News & Record, the luncheon’s Presenting Sponsor, in presenting the new News & Record Woman of the Year Award – recognizing a woman who has made a tremendous, positive impact on the Greensboro area. In addition to Leacraft, the other finalists were:

Ruth D. Anderson, Executive Director of The Servant Leadership School of Greensboro
Carole Bruce, Partner, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP
Goldie Byrd, Ph.D., Professor, Dean of College of Arts & Sciences, N.C. A&T State University
Jane Gibson, Public Support Coordinator, Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro

As the News & Record Woman of the Year, Leacraft received a $5,000 grant for her to award to a charity of her choice. This grant was made possible by an anonymous donor to Women to Women.

Dee Dee Myers served as White House Press Secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1993 through 1994. She was the first woman to hold that position. Asked how she dealt with an often combative press corps, she once said, "Never take it personally and never lose your sense of humor."

Since leaving the White House, Myers has been a sought-after political analyst, commentator, and writer. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Why Women Should Rule the World and a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair magazine, served as a consultant to the NBC television drama The West Wing and lectures on politics, current events and women's issues.

Media features Learn to Swim Fund!

Administrator — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:45:14 -0500

Check out this video about the unqiue Learn to Swim Fund -- which supports efforts to teach Greensboro-area students to swim. The fund was established anonymously at The Community Foundation. To make a gift to the fund, click here.

Holiday Fund (formerly Thanksgiving Fund) now seeking donations!

Administrator — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:43:08 -0500

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- For 23 years, a dedicated group of volunteers has served up a complete Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixins -- from turkey to mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie -- for Greensboro's homeless, hungry, homebound and elderly poor. This totals more than 4,000 meals each year.

Formerly known as the Thanksgiving Fund, the effort has now expanded and been renamed the Holiday Fund. Last year, Anna Freiberg, owner of Bender's Tavern, started a Christmas meal in the same tradition to the same population.

And it is time, again, to support this effort!

Greensboro Urban Ministry provides the kitchen facilities and dining room, but funds to support the dinners come directly from the community.

Gifts can be made quickly and conveniently through The Community Foundation's website by clicking here. Or you may mail a check, made payable to "The Holiday Fund," to The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, 330 S. Greene St., Suite 100, Greensboro, N.C. 27401.

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