Strand fundraising plan in works

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This article was published 01/05/2012 (5289 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Folk, Music and Art Society (BFMAS) has started to work on a fundraising plan to raise cash for the Strand Theatre restoration and have asked Mayor Shari Decter Hirst for expertise.

The fundraising project has become necessary in light of the federal government’s refusal to grant the BFMAS $1.8 million in Canadian Heritage funds on March 14. Prior to her election as mayor, Decter Hirst worked as a fundraiser for several organizations including the construction of Portage la Prairie’s arts centre, the Glesby Centre. She met with members of the BFMAS group at a downtown restaurant over the noon hour yesterday to offer her help.

“I have 30 years of experience with fundraising campaigns …and many organizations in Brandon have beat a path to my door asking for advice and guidance about fundraising,” Decter Hirst said immediately after the meeting.

“It’s always a mystery how you can raise millions for worthwhile community projects.”

The Strand project has secured $474,000 in Renaissance Brandon funding. However, that funding arrangement expires on Dec. 31, if other funding sources for the project, once listed as more than $4 million, are not secured by the deadline. Renaissance Brandon has already spent $100,000 of its commitment to keep the building stable when a portion of the Brown Block collapsed. MacNeill said Landmark Cinemas, who also chipped in $100,000 to keep the building stable, “has been our biggest supporter since Day 1.”

“They are our biggest contributors to this and they have seen projects like this in three different communities,” MacNeill said.

Neither Decter Hirst or BFMAS artistic director Shandra MacNeill could say how much money BFMAS needs to raise to get the project done with any certainty, but acknowledged there is a seven-month window for that fundraising work to take place, given Renaissance Brandon’s Dec. 31 deadline. For that reason, Decter Hirst said the fundraising component of that application will have to be “aggressive.”

“The Dome Building, Murray House, the Y is still fundraising and (Assiniboine Community College) and (Brandon University) are in the middle of campaigns,” Decter Hirst said. “I think it’s important for folks you are talking (with) to make the decision, rather than making a decision and deciding they wouldn’t be interested and not ask them.

MacNeill said her organization has been working on the fundraising campaign, planning and talking to potential donors for a few years.

“Until we have a federal commitments, you don’t want to ask people for actual dollars,” MacNeill said. “There will be an announcement and a kickoff when the campaign starts in earnest, and we are actually asking for money and say this is how much money it’s going to take to make it happen, for sure.”

MacNeill said work is underway on a second BFMAS grant proposal to the federal government, with a reduced request of $1.2 million. They hope to have that completed within a month.

Monday’s meeting with Decter Hirst was needed, she said, because BFMAS is resubmitting its grant proposal, and anticipates a need to raise $700,000.

“Working with the feds’ number ($1.2 million) we need to rejig the proposal but without compromising or change some of the things,” MacNeill said. “So you make sure the areas that generate the revenue are done first. Then the bells and whistles can come afterwards.”

Other efforts to find funding were underway as early as last week, as news was breaking the federal grant proposal had initially failed.

In an email dated April 25, obtained by the Brandon Sun through a freedom of information request, Brandon East NDP Drew Caldwell informed provincial executive council staff that the BFMAS grant proposal to the federal government, rejected on March 14, had been “denied over concerns with (the) business plan.” He noted the issue related to the lack of an operating line underwritten by government or urban arts centre operating funds.

“I spoke with premier today about getting subscribed to the urban arts centre program and he was supportive,” Caldwell wrote to former city councillor Vince Barletta, who now works for the provincial government as the director in the priorities and planning committee of cabinet, and Premier Greg Selinger’s special assistant, Martin Gautron.

“We will have to turn this around asap to get this back on track quickly … Would like (your) assistance doing this fast-track as the quicker we get a re-assessment, the better! An historic theatre on an historic downtown streetscape is pretty central to the development of an Arts and Entertainment Hub…. Sheesh!”

Decter Hirst was also a recipient of the email.

» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com