Campaign 08

Did we do it?

ArtsinStark  Exceeds $1. 4 million

ArtsinStark had lots to celebrate Thursday afternoon at its “Victory Party” at the Blue Olive Jazz Club in downtown Canton. First, the 2008 Fund for ArtsinStark reached its goal of raising $1.4 million for the arts in the county. Second, the tight 12-week campaign, that started and ended on time, had raised the largest amount in almost 40 years. And, thirdly, over the last four years, ArtsinStark has grown the overall Campaign by a whopping 50%. “This was truly a banner year,” said campaign chair Ed Roth, who is President and CEO of Aultman Health Foundation. ”Our 100 volunteers and 16 workplaces for the arts worked so hard and donors responded because they could see the big difference the arts are making in our downtowns, neighborhoods, and schools.” ArtsinStark board chair Jane Timken called Roth “an inspirational leader who took the entire campaign to victory and hosted a workplace for the arts at Aultman that raised $200,000 and grew by more than 250%.” ArtsinStark CEO Robb Hankins called it “a truly amazing campaign that proved the arts explosion in Stark County is real and that folks here are ready to invest in it.”

A total of $1,401,000 was raised from the following sources: $335 from companies, $355,000 from foundations, and $638,000 from individuals. Five local companies (Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Black McCuskey, Day Ketterer, Sol Harris Day, and Innis Maggiore) were all given awards for having achieved 100% participation to get every single employee to make a donation to the campaign. The Artemis Society (individual donors of $5,000 or more) which began four years ago with just six members, brought back all 19 of last year’s members, then added six new ones -- to reach 25 members of the Artemis Society .

Ninety-one cents of every dollar raised by ArtsinStark, The County Arts Council, will go back into the community to support arts programs across the county. Next year, nearly $1.1 million will be allocated in grants to county non-profits. First there are the Special Project Grants to schools, churches, and non-profit arts and social service organizations to host creative arts projects that account for $150,000 - $200,000 of it. Next are Operating Grants totaling over $900,000 that will go to the county’s largest arts organizations: 1) The Canton Ballet, 2) The Canton Symphony Orchestra, 3) The Canton Museum of Art, 4) The Massillon Museum, 5) The Canton Palace Theatre, 6) The Players Guild Theatre, and 7) Voices of Canton, Inc. There will also be dollars to support the Cultural Center for the Arts, to build new audiences, and to continue the new SmArts Program to use the arts to supercharge learning in the schools.

“Four years ago we set out to grow the arts countywide in order to create smarter kids, new jobs, and healthier communities,” says Timken. “The success of four consecutive fundraising campaigns proves that people can see we’re succeeding and they want to be part of that continued success for the arts in our communities.”

Do you need additional facts about the campaign?  Check this out!

“Growing the arts to create smarter kids, new jobs, and healthier communities.”

The arts are exploding in Stark County. Whether you look at the downtown public art, the vast arts programming available every week or the increase in new arts businesses around town, there’s no denying it. The heat is on.

As the County Arts Council, we fuel that flame. For the last three years, since the creation of ArtsinStark, we have broken the million dollar mark in our annual campaign. We’ve used the new dollars to award over $500,000 in special project grants to over 75 different Stark County non-profits, many of which having never before received arts funding.

We also proudly operate the 330,000 square foot Cultural Center for the Arts as the home of the Canton Ballet, Canton Museum of Art, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Players Guild Theatre, and Voices of Canton, Inc. (VOCI). Those organizations have received more than $845,000 per year for programs that reach over 100,000 people.

In addition, we develop public art projects that revitalize downtowns and neighborhoods. We also fund partnerships between schools and arts organizations to supercharge learning (SmArts).

And we’re just warming up.