With your help, we can sustain Civic Theatre’s community impact for generations to come!

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For gifts over $1,000, pledge options are available. Please download this form and return it to McKenzie Rounds at m.rounds@grct.org or mail to the following address:

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

Attn: Development Department

30 Division Ave N

Grand Rapids, MI 49503

For nearly a century, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre has played a vital role in the artistic and cultural landscape of West Michigan. As one of the largest community theatres in the United States, Civic serves its residents in meaningful ways through its important mission.

In 2019, Civic Theatre launched the Behind the Curtain Campaign, a historic initiative aimed at raising funds to support new and enhanced programming and educational offerings, improve infrastructure and accessibility in our century-old buildings, and ensure long-term sustainability through the theatre’s Endowment Fund. To date, Civic Theatre has successfully raised over $8.3M from the State of Michigan and a dedicated network of over 150 initial donors. Now, we invite our wider community to play a pivotal role in bringing our campaign to a close by generously supporting our remaining priorities today.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s Young Artist Studio Cohort, created through the initial funding raised from Behind the Curtain, is a ten-month intensive training program aimed to provide experienced mentorship, advanced training, and growth opportunities for young artists in grades 7-12 who are considering a career in theatre performance or production. This group of passionate and dedicated students and performers spend a significant amount of their time within Civic Theatre’s facility. With Civic’s existing classroom and rehearsal spaces often reserved for regular school term classes, production rehearsals, and more, the Studio Cohort needs a designated place in the building to serve as a space to sharpen their craft, practice creative expression with one another and their professional mentors, and form lasting friendships.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s lightboard, house lighting control system, and soundboard have served the theatre diligently for nearly twenty years. Reliability, parts, and service are becoming increasingly challenging and costly to maintain. Quality performances remain at the heart of Civic’s offerings to the community, and the theatre is now in the position of needing to replace this old equipment with new, reliable technology that will bring Civic’s live productions into the organization’s next century of service to the community.

An important part of all productions at Civic Theatre is the ability to operate our fly rail. The fly rail allows important set pieces and scenic backdrops to be flown above the stage. In order to make this theatre magic happen, Civic Theatre’s volunteers are required to climb a ladder to operate the system backstage. This presents a safety and accessibility challenge for our volunteers. In order to ensure a safer option, Civic Theatre seeks the appropriate funding to build a spiral staircase to allow access to its fly rail system.

EDUCATION

Civic’s School of Theatre Arts offers educational opportunities for ages 2 through adult; newcomers and veterans can take classes acting, dance, technical theatre, improv, auditioning, and more.

THE HOLIDAY SHOW

The Holiday Show at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is a beloved community tradition. Close to 20,000 individuals come to see a family-friendly production like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, pictured here in 2023.

VOLUNTEERS

Civic’s volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization. We love celebrating the approximately 600 individuals who serve us each year. Here, some of our Front of House volunteers share a laugh at the 2023 Civic Celebration.

YOUNG ARTIST STUDIO

Mentors in the Young Artist Studio program help instill confidence and new skills while encouraging and educating our Cohort members.

TEN FOR ALL PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL

We love celebrating our community and providing opportunities. The Ten for All Playwriting Festival offers West Michigan playwrights the opportunity to submit original 10 minute plays to be fully staged by Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. At the 2024 Semi-Finals pictured here, 12 new plays were read on the Meijer Majestic Stage.

DEDICATION AND SERVICE

In 2023, Civic volunteers committed more than 36,700 hours to our organization. Two volunteers, Micah and Mary Kate, each earned recognition for 500 hours of service, while Dan, our scene shop volunteer, logged in over 750 hours of service.

YOUNG ARTIST STUDIO

“Studio Cabaret” is a concert and storytelling-style show where our Cohort members take center stage with solo songs, group numbers, and moments of sharing their journey as Young Artists with the audience.

COMMUNITY IMPACT

In addition to well-known crowd favorites, Civic also produces the kind of theatre that unites and educates. Clyde’s, performed in January of 2024, is a play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, and tells the story of recently incarcerated individuals starting over in mainstream society.

With Endowment Fund support as one of the original three pillars of the Behind the Curtain Campaign, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre graciously welcomes legacy gifts. Planned gifts can be a crucial source for building the theatre’s endowment fund, which contributes significantly to the annual operating budget each season, providing funding for our productions, programs, and School of Theatre Arts. Civic Theatre’s legacy giving program is called the Majestic Society. The Majestic Society was created to honor and recognize the dedicated friends of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre who seek to secure and safeguard Civic Theatre’s future through a planned gift.

Examples of ways to include Grand Rapids Civic Theatre in your planned giving are through a:

Will or trust
Charitable lead or remainder trust
Retirement plan
Life insurance policy
Grant recommendation to a private foundation or donor advised fund

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre thanks our Majestic Society for their generous and forward-thinking planning in preserving Civic Theatre’s artistic legacy and community impact for generations to come. If you are interested in joining Civic Theatre’s Majestic Society, we encourage you to meet with a financial advisor to determine which planned giving method best suits your wishes. If you have already included Grand Rapids Civic Theatre in your planned giving and have not already notified a member of our Development staff, or if you wish to become involved, please contact us so we can express our thanks and welcome you as a member of the Majestic Society.

The remaining naming opportunities related to this Campaign are listed below. For more information, please contact McKenzie Rounds at m.rounds@grct.org or 616-222-6658:

$500,000 – Concession Stand

$500,000 – New Elevator

$250,000 – Dance Studio

$250,000 – Green Room

$100,000 – Scene Shop

$50,000 – Tool Crib

$15,000 – Dressing Room Plaque (15 available)

$5,000 – Sewing Station (5 available)