Chandler Cultural Foundation Receives $75,000 Grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

Sept. 7, 2012 - PRLog -- CHANDLER, AZ – [September 7, 2012]  —Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has awarded a $75,000 grant to the Chandler Cultural Foundation for a professional organizational assessment and creation of a long-range blueprint for the 23-year old Arts Center.   The Chandler Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is contracted by the City to raise funds and program the Chandler Center for the Arts.

A facility review study was conducted five years prior to evaluate the physical plant and facility improvement needs of the Center.  It was the 2007 study that guided the scope of renovation work that was completed in 2010.  Consequently, a long-range facilities plan was generated to address the longer-term facilities and resources expansion needs at the Center.

“The Center still operates on an organizational framework from 23 year ago, when the Center was first built,” said Katrina Pappas, General Manager at Chandler Center for the Arts. “In 1989, Chandler was a very different town with a much smaller population.”  Today, the Center often struggles to meet the growing demands of an expanding city and the increasing needs for multi-use space, enhanced technology and resources.    

A need to establish a long-range vision for the Center and to review its organizational framework was determined by Members of the Foundation Board, the Long-Range Planning Committee and the Staff.  
In 2011 the Long-Range Planning Committee, launched by former Mayor Jerry Brooks and currently chaired by Barbara Meyerson, hosted six professionally facilitated focus groups with patrons, volunteers, user groups, youth groups, community leaders, the staff and the board to determine the blueprint for what the Center will look like to meet the needs of the growing and expanding City of Chandler.  

These discussions served the purpose of identifying issues and trends that impact communities served by the Chandler Center for the Arts; such as implementing new technologies to cater to more of today’s tech-savvy population, updating the Center’s organizational model and partnerships and expanding programming beyond three days per week.

Ultimately, these focus group sessions led to the advent of a long-range vision for the organization, with a predominant goal of becoming “A Place to Arrive” in the Valley for culture and arts.

“The support from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is a tremendous benefit to the Center,” added Pappas.  “This grant is a crucial step in furthering our movement towards the goal of being a major cultural and gathering destination for the Valley.”

A Request for Proposals will be issued by the Chandler Cultural Foundation soon to select consultant(s) for the project.  The mission of the project is to distinguish the organizational capacities and adjustments needed to accomplish the Center’s vision and adapt to a changing community.



Located on the northwest corner of Arizona Avenue and Chandler Blvd, the Chandler Center for the Arts is Arizona's leading collaborative arts institution dedicated to reaching out to audiences of all ages with the highest quality of artistic work to continuously inspire audiences and artists to dream, to discover, to create and celebrate.
The Chandler Center for the Arts serves as a creative driving force, educational resource, and economic engine of entertainment vitality in Chandler by making visual and live performance arts accessible to the entire population.
About Chandler Center for the Arts

The Chandler Center for the Arts is jointly owned by the City of Chandler and the Chandler Unified School District.  The Chandler Cultural Foundation was contracted in 1989 by the City of Chandler as a means to facilitate programming and fund development for the Chandler Center for the Arts.  
As a nonprofit organization, the Center relies on a variety of funding sources to help underwrite internationally acclaimed artists, educate young audiences, create important community programs and maintain our remarkable facility. Ticket sales and other earned income do not completely cover the costs of the Center’s numerous programs and education offerings. Only support from individuals, corporations, foundations and our public partners can make these programs possible.
Membership contributions sustain a spectacular array of services and programs and make Chandler a better place to live and visit. To become a member or to purchase tickets with no per-ticket fee, visit the Web site at www.chandlercenter.org