2009-2010 Annual Report

Quality Place Translates to Rich Community Cultural Opportunities

Old Town Playhouse, the region’s long-time and popular community theater showcase, recently received a Rotary Charities organizational capacity building grant (OCB).

The multiple-year grant commitments are used to strengthen the operating capabilities of the region’s nonprofit organizations, explains Becky Ewing, Charities’ program officer.

“These awards, which range from $5,000 to $50,000, are focused on improving nonprofits’ ability to better meet the needs of their communities.”

In the case of the Playhouse, the $40,000 award was to be used to hire a development director and create an organizational sustainability plan. As of August this year, the director has been hired and OTP is in a new and different operating mode. Phil Murphy, executive director, explains that the OCB grant was the second step in a process that began with OTP securing a Rotary Charities’ planning grant. Designed to assist nonprofits with developing successful strategies for capacity building, capital and program projects, the $5k planning grant allowed the Playhouse to completely revamp their organization from the inside out.

“Our focus and vision for the future all changed,” notes Murphy. “We were not fund-raising like many organizations and had to change our entire way of operating. We are now rebuilding from the base up, rewriting bylaws, developing an annual plan, while implementing a strategic plan and budgeting.”

He says a new OTP board is in place, an external community-based board, in contrast with the former internal board. The new board is responsive and views their fiduciary role in a whole new way. “The audience we listen to has also changed.”

Incoming OTP board President, Larry Avery, was a participant in the original Charities’ organizational capacity building grant review. But the process, notes Avery, actually started when OTP linked with NorthSky Nonprofit Network. “They guided us through the process of looking at the most successful community theaters across the nation. We analyzed what they were doing and formed a plan to put some of those strategies to work here.”

Faced with a tough economy, OTP recognized that to remain profitable, it had to do more than just fill theater seats. “New sources of revenue had to be found to keep us growing and raising the bar of one of the state’s finest community theaters.”

Today, Avery notes, with the hiring of a development director, the future is on the upswing at the OTP. “She has her sights set on making an immediate impact. And together, I think she and Phil Murphy will make a very effective team.”

He credits Rotary Charities grants with making all this possible.