Support Our Capital Campaign

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Dec 25
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Category:Updates

If you’ve read the recent article in our Fall Newsletter, “Helping Us Realize Our Dreams,” you already know how far we’ve come—and how close we are to making the Huntingdon County Arts Center everything our community deserves. Now, we need your help to take the next big steps.

Over the past year, we’ve tackled some major improvements to secure the future of our beautiful building—installing a new roof, restoring the painted brickwork on our historic façade, and refreshing our classrooms and galleries with new paint. These efforts have made the Arts Center more welcoming, more beautiful, and more sustainable.

But there’s still important work ahead. To continue providing a safe, accessible, and inspiring space for everyone, we’re launching a Capital Campaign to fund several transformative projects—each vital to our mission and too large to cover through our regular operating budget.

Here’s what your support can make possible:

Accessibility Upgrades – Installation of a lift and ramps to allow all visitors—especially those with mobility challenges—to access every level of our facility. (Goal: $245,000)
Social Hall Renovation – Improved lighting, ambience, and fully accessible restrooms to make gatherings more comfortable for everyone. (Goal: $185,000)
New HVAC System – Energy-efficient climate control to ensure year-round comfort during performances, classes, and exhibitions. (Goal: $64,000)
Performance Lighting – Theater-quality lighting to enhance our concerts, plays, and community events. (Goal: $17,000)
Commercial Kitchen Modernization – Upgrades to plumbing, cabinetry, and countertops to host food-related workshops and community meals. (Goal: $190,000)
Enhanced Security Systems – Modern systems for secure, remote monitoring and better control of access. (Goal: $16,000)

Every one of these improvements will make the Arts Center more inclusive, more functional, and more vibrant—a true hub for creativity in Huntingdon County.

You can make a meaningful difference. Whether you choose to direct your gift to a specific project or provide an unrestricted donation to our Capital Campaign Fund, your contribution will help us continue to grow and serve the community for generations to come.

To designate your gift, please note “Capital Campaign” on your check or include instructions in an email to John Kearns ([email protected]) if donating by credit card. If you’re eligible to give through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (for those over 70½), you can also specify your desired project designation.

Together, we can build a stronger, more accessible home for the arts. Thank you for being part of our story—and for helping us shape the future of creativity in our community.

With gratitude,

John Kearns
Executive Director

Support the Capital Campaign with Online Donation

All donations with this link ONLY apply to our Capital Campaign.

Make a Capital Campaign Only Donation with this link

Support the Capital Campaign with this Mail in Form

Capital Campaign Donation Form

Support Our Capital Campaign

Capital Campaign Donations

We are running a Capital Campaign to support our efforts to upgrade the former 12th Street Methodist Church into a true Arts Center.

We have a long list of projects, and we need your support to accomplish them.

Help Us Realize Our Dreams

Regular visitors to the Arts Center have seen us work through some of our most pressing concerns for the long-term viability of our space. Major projects have included the installation of our new roof, and the stripping and sealing of the painted brickwork on the old part of our structure. Alongside those major projects, we’ve done a lot of interior refreshing with new paint in our downstairs classrooms and mezzanine galleries. All of this has been positive and much-needed task to both preserve the building for the future and improve the aesthetics of our most-used spaces.

However, there are a number of other big projects we’d like to undertake, and all of them are expensive. Therefore, we ask for community support. Here’s where your help may come into play. Think about what you’d like to see happen in our lovely center and whether an earmarked gift to our capital campaign is something you can imagine doing. Here is a list of big-ticket projects we’d like to undertake and our best-guess estimation of what we would need to accomplish our goals.

A lift and associated ramps to allow mobility-challenged visitors to move safely and comfortably from the entry level to the mezzanine and to our downstairs classroom spaces. We are aiming for a goal of ADA compliance. Estimated cost – $245,000.
Renovation of our social hall to improve its ambience and lighting, and provide for accessible bathrooms. This item is also in pursuit of our ADA dreams. Estimated cost – $185,000.
Replacement of our HVAC system to provide adequate cooling in the summer and warmth in the winter, in an ecologically friendly fashion. Those of you who have attended summer concerts will know that we are challenged in keeping our concert hall comfortable on warm sunny summer days. Our antiquated, and only partially operational air conditioners, are simply not up to the task. Replacement of the existing units with efficient and effective air exchange heat pumps would allow us to improve air quality. Estimated cost – $64,000.
Theater-quality lighting for our performance space. Estimated cost – $17,000.
Modernization of our kitchen so that we can offer meals and food-related workshops in a commercial-compliant space. (upgraded plumbing, new countertops, new cabinetry). Estimated cost – $190,000.
Security systems providing better control of access to our facilities and a way to monitor space utilization remotely. Estimated cost – $16,000.
Undesignated: Bear in mind that while we want to fund these earmarked projects, unrestricted gifts are ALWAYS appreciated and allow us to utilize funds where they are most needed.

If you wish to make a donation to our Capital Campaign, either unrestricted or earmarked toward one of these projects, don’t forget to indicate that on your check, or if contributing by credit card, with the link below, in a separate email to John Kearns. Please note how wish your gift to be applied.

Contributions made by Qualified Charitable Deduction (for those in the over 70 ½ crowd) provide an opportunity to designate how the gift is to be utilized. Please make sure to designate that the donation is for the Capital Campaign.

All donations with this link ONLY apply to our Capital Campaign.

Make a Capital Campaign Only Donation with this link

Support Our Capital Campaign

Dec 25

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