Tag Archives: The Community Foundation

Fox Theater Foundation Helps Connect Community with Performing Arts

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(Includes excerpts from the April 5, 2013 story written by Jennifer Dean and Jose Marquezthe as published on PE.com)

The Fox Riverside Theater Foundation was established in late 2008 to support the work of the Fox Performing Arts Center, the landmark theater that was reopened in January 2010. The Fox Cultural Arts Fund was then established with The Community Foundation to provide financial backing to the theater foundation.

“The mission of the foundation is to support the Fox Performing Arts Center and enrich the community by inspiring participation in the life of the Fox through community-focused performances, community outreach and fundraising,” said Cynthia Wright, Fox Riverside Theater Foundation executive director.

The foundation’s mission is important to the region because it helps the entire community — even those with limited resources — have access to the theater.

“The Fox produces some shows that are very affordable, such as the Humphrey Bogart film series last summer and the holiday showing of ‘A Christmas Story,’ ” Wright said. “On the foundation side, we increase access through such programs as Students on Broadway, through which we provide tickets to high school students (primarily) to Broadway shows.”

Riverside high school students pose after watching a performance of Fiddler on the Roof in late March (photo source: Fox Foundation’s Students on Broadway Blog)

The theater foundation also partners with the downtown arts organization, First Sundays, through its Family Fun Days, in which free arts activities for families are available.

“My favorite recent example … was the March 14 presentation of ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ an American Theater Arts for Youth production for elementary schools,” Wright said. “Schools from around the region sent 1,200 elementary school students to the Fox that day and the foundation covered the cost of 500 of those tickets.

“It was a crazy, wonderful day and the teachers couldn’t say enough about what the experience meant for their students.”

By providing connections and exposure to the performing arts as well as to the Fox Theater, a repurposed historic structure, the Foundation enables the community to experience all that Riverside has to offer as a ‘Location of Choice‘ that provides an abundance of opportunities to be amazed, inspired and entertained.

Click here to read the full article as published on PE.com.

For more information on the Fox Foundation, click here.

Give BIG Riverside Proves to Be Much More than a Fundraising Campaign

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Several months ago, leaders of local nonprofits came together in an effort to improve the culture of giving in Riverside and develop a way to build capacity in organizations whose mission relies heavily on the financial support of the community.

Although charitable giving is a battle that the Inland Southern California region has struggled with for several years, the severity of the situation was brought to the forefront upon the release of the first-ever community-wide Quality of Life Index. It showed that while the region has many dedicated and compassionate residents and business owners, some of the community’s lowest quality-of-life scores were in areas of volunteerism and philanthropy.

The recent national economic recession certainly did not help the situation, but nonprofit leaders Pam Hogan, Kid’s Rock Free, and Bobbie Neff, Community Connect, believed the problem was not in the community’s willingness or ability to donate, but that the greater issue was simply lack of awareness.

As Neff explained, “We wanted to help all of us in the non-profit sector realize that the way to raise funds has changed dramatically; the Internet and social media must be a major component in a nonprofit organization’s business plan in order to effectively build relationships and increase engagement and support.”

Several other nonprofits and The Community Foundation rallied around this notion and the concept of a one-day event in which Riverside supporters could donate funds on-line to one or several organizations of their choice was born.

A potential donor learns more about the
Family Services Association
at the 11.13.12 Give BIG Riverside event.
(photo courtesy GBR)

In the months leading up to the Give BIG Riverside event, groups received educational trainings and were given “toolkits” for their own individual campaigns.  Resources such as email and flyer templates and how-to guides for setting up Give BIG landing pages helped participants refine their marketing messages.

This pre-campaign work was eye-opening to many of the nearly 100 non-profits participating in the event. According to  executive director Gail Egenes, “Prepping for Give BIG Riverside had an added benefit for Riverside Land Conservancy. We had to re-shape our messages to be succinct yet inspiring for online and social media promotion. We learned a lot and feel better prepared to connect with younger generations who love our natural environment.”

The day following the event, Veronica Dover of Family Services Association (FSA) explained  “I just got to spend an hour and half listening to our behind the scenes staff (administrative, HR and Accounting) share about how the Give BIG campaign gave them an opportunity to tell the FSA story and about the work we do and how much impact it has on the region.  Regardless of the dollars raised, that connection to mission and passion for our services is invaluable.”

Volunteers worked around the clock to raise
money & awareness for their nonprofits.
(photo courtesy GBR)

Dover’s reaction seemed to be a common experience by the participating nonprofits. Drew Oberjuerge of the Riverside Art Museum also reported that they had met and exceeded their Give BIG Riverside goal, and that although they had been talking for some time about the need to do a social media campaign, the day of giving caused them to execute an online giving event and that the organization looks forward to building on its 2012 success.

The event itself raised $207,0450 from 1,953 unique donors who made 2,701 gifts.  Aaron Norris, the social media and marketing wizard behind the inaugural day of giving and Vice President of The Norris Group (a presenting sponsor of the event), attributed this accomplishment to the unprecedented team effort.

“Riverside has spirit and pride – give us the opportunity to make a difference and we will. People were excited to participate and surprised by how much was happening in their community.”

In a Facebook post on the Give BIG Riverside fan page, Samantha Lynn Wilson of the Child Leader Project eloquently summarized the success:

“The goal was to empower, connect and inspire Riverside to give and care for each other– and, therefore, far surpassed the goal into an embodied vision.”

For more information on Give BIG Riverside and the sponsors that made the event possible and participating nonprofit organizations, visit www.GiveBIGRiverside.com or follow the efforts on Facebook or Twitter.

Give Big Riverside Campaign Encourages Local Philanthropy

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Give Big Riverside is a 24-hour online giving event engaging donors for the benefit of local nonprofits.

The Community Foundation Serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, in cooperation with a community task force is organizing the pilot Riverside Online Giving Day as an opportunity for Riverside nonprofits to collaborate under one gateway to inspire new and recurring donations from Riverside residents to local charities. Give BIG Riverside is modeled after similar ‘days of giving’ in Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and in California most recently Give Big San Diego, which raised nearly $2.4 million.

Efforts to spur local philanthropy have been hampered by several factors. While Riverside’s nonprofits are struggling to meet increasing demand for services, local, state and federal funding sources are also diminishing. In particular, educational, recreational, arts and cultural services have been severely impacted by the diversion of resources to meet basic needs. These art and cultural activities are personally enriching, and they also make Riverside a more unified city through significant contributions to economic and community vitality.

Festivals and events, performances, and visual and written art make a significant contribution to the local economy; they create jobs and provide important benefits to economic development, tourism, education, and community wellness, all key players in Riverside’s innovative economy. Each of these areas of vitality creates ripple effects that contribute to a stronger business environment, an increased tax base and an improved quality of life for residents.

To meet the economic challenges of today, nonprofits must seek innovative ways to connect donors (new and repeat) in order to sustain these “safety net” services and to continue providing quality and much needed services in our community.

The goals of Riverside’s first online giving day are:

  • Raise $500,000 dollars for at least 200 nonprofits.
  • Secure cumulative matching gifts of $87,000 from sponsors & private foundations
  • Train nonprofits in ongoing donor cultivation and online fundraising tactics, including effective use of social media

Give BIG Riverside asks local residents to understand that there is a crisis in their own community and that their help is essential. By donating to local nonprofits, Riversiders are directly contributing to efforts that improve our quality of life. The work of these nonprofits helps ensure that the community is one that serves as a catalyst for innovation and intelligent growth and one that continues to thrive as a unified city and a location of choice.

Through the Give Big Riverside online campaign, Riverside will enjoy long term benefits that help expand the philanthropic culture and increase civic engagement; promote long term fundraising capacity, maximize marketing potential and economic growth.

Visit giveBIGriverside.org to learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved!