Center Stage Receives $120K Grant From VCF

Center Stage is excited to announce that they are recipients of a three year, $120,000 grant from the Valley Community Foundation. This generous grant guarantees the theatre $95,000 plus up to an additional $25,000 in a dollar-for-dollar match with their supporters. The combination of the grant and matching funds gives Center Stage the potential to receive a grand total of $145,000 ($120,000 from the Foundation in grant dollars plus $25,000 from supporters).

The provisions of the grant are as follows:

• Year One: $50,000 outright
• Year Two: $40,000 ($30,000 outright and an additional one-to-one match for every dollar supporters contribute up to $10,000)
• Year Three: $30,000 -- $15,000 outright and an additional one-to-one match for every dollar supporters contribute up to $15,000.

This grant is given to provide general operating support for growth and education through performing arts programming and participation in live theatre.

Center Stage became a 501(c)3 not-for-profit theatre in 2007. During the course of these five years, the Valley Community Foundation and its affiliate, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, have continuously shown their support for Center Stage, providing the theatre with a variety of grants. An early grant from VCF enabled Center Stage to bring an original musical, The Emperor and his Nightingale, into all of the Shelton elementary schools. The VCF then assisted Center Stage in expanding its theatre education classes for children, and also funded the vitally important theatre’s strategic plan for the future. More recently, the VCF provided Center Stage with funds to assist with producing Guys & Dolls as well as the organization’s Youth CONNection production of Legally Blonde and its recent Teen Musical Theatre Workshop.

Executive Director Francesca Scarpa said, “Receiving this grant is a big vote of confidence from the Valley Community Foundation. We are grateful to the VCF for recognizing the importance of the arts and arts education in our community, With their help, we have been able to build a strong base for a long future, and to continue to be a vital arts organization in the Lower Naugatuck Valley.”