Theaters getting a box-office boost

$250,000 collaborative grant goes to Capital Repertory, Proctors

Proctors and Capital Repertory Theatre, which more than a year ago merged administrative operations, are the first recipients of a grant from a new local fund designed to encourage arts and cultural organizations to explore ways to work together for fiscal savings and programming synergy.

The two organizations were awarded $250,000 from the Arts & Cultural Collaborative Fund, established by The Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region. The grant will help pay for expanded ticketing and other box-office operations managed by Proctors for its own shows as well as those presented by resident groups that perform at Proctors, including The Eight Step folk series and Capital Rep's season at its Albany home. Proctors has also begun managing ticketing for smaller organizations; among the first to sign up are Schenectady Civic Players and Albany Pro Musica.

"The effectiveness of nonprofits depends on relationships with other community organizations," Karen Bilowith, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, said when the grant was announced Tuesday. A news conference and panel discussion at Proctors called the Strategic Alliance Event attracted more than 60 directors, staffers and board members from Capital Region arts and cultural organizations.

Given the continuing economic strain faced by nonprofits since the worldwide financial crisis began nearly four years ago, corporations, foundations and private philanthropists are receiving unprecedented appeals for funding, said Jeffrey Stone, president of KeyBank.

"The arts have a direct impact on the health and vitality of our region," said Stone, noting that the bank was among a dozen donors that contributed to first grant from the Arts & Cultural Collaborative Fund. However, he added, given the state of the economy, innovative strategies developed jointly by cultural and other nonprofit organizations are more appealing to funding groups than simple appeals for financial relief.

Examples of savvy, effective collaborations exist across the state, said Doug Sauer, executive director of the New York Council of Nonprofits, who consulted on the Proctors-Capital Rep administrative merger.

A public television station took over and rescued a historic theater in Rochester, for example, and a vacant theater in Newburgh became a renovation project and job-training site for a nearby shelter for the homeless.

To encourage future collaborations, the Community Foundation posed a challenge to participants in Tuesday's discussion: The most innovative idea suggested at the event would win a $2,500 grant to explore ways to implement the idea. The Arts & Cultural Collaborative Fund is also encouraging grant applications for larger projects like the one undertaken by Proctors and Capital Rep.

Said Bilowith, "This is an important trend for the sustainability of our arts and cultural community and the seeds that were planted in conversations today are likely to blossom into major initiatives for the region going forward."

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