Theatre group gets second year of arts funding

Battlefords Community Players is one of 32 arts and cultural organizations that have been pre-approved for artsVest funding in Saskatchewan for 2013-14. This will be the second year in a row that the local theatre club will be involved with the artsVest program.

BCP has received pre-approval for $19,000, with the artsVest condition that matching funds are secured through sponsorship from business partners.

The club will be looking for businesses that will provide sponsorship for theatre productions for a three-year term and that are interested in discussing options for a mutually beneficial partnership.

Bill Wells, BCP president, commented, "All funds BCP receives go to providing the best theatrical entertainment possible for the enjoyment of our members, subscribers and patrons as well as encouraging the growth of live theatre in the Battlefords and area."

As the club is dependent strictly on volunteers, no funding is spent on salaries. Additional funding will be used by BCP for marketing and promotion to enlarge the audience base for theatre productions, for training to continually increase the caliber of live theatre and for covering interim costs of owning and maintaining a newly-purchased clubhouse.

In BCP's first year of artsVest funding, the club undertook a successful co-operative building and renovation project on its home base in Battleford. With the assistance of 25 local business sponsors, Territorial Youth Services and BCP volunteers, a much-needed garage for stage sets was completed and repairs and renovations to the main clubhouse were started. Next spring, repairs will continue with these funds, and exterior improvements such as landscaping and painting will take place.

The national program director for Business for the Arts, Laura Adler, commented, "The Battlefords Community Players were one of the great ArtsVest success stories in Saskatchewan last year. through implementing what they learned in the ArtsVest workshop, they were able to secure sponsorships - both in-kind and cash - far beyond their pre-approved amount. The partnerships formed between the Battlefords Players and local businesses were exactly the kind of synergy we like to see happen in communities with the artsVest program."

ArtsVest is a program developed by Business for the Arts, a national organization of business members, to strengthen arts and culture in Canada at a local level. It is now in its third year in Saskatchewan, with funding from Heritage Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport. The artsVest program provides matching incentive funds and sponsorship training to arts and culture organizations with the goal of developing sustainable, long-lasting partnerships between the private, public and cultural sectors. These partnerships have resulted in economic and social benefits for communities across Canada.