Performing artists got a boost this week when a charity donated $200,000 to the Port Coquitlam Community Foundation.
The gift from the Port Coquitlam Theatre Society, which ran the Terry Fox Theatre on behalf of School District 43 until last year, will support programs and projects involving dance, music, film, performance, production, higher learning and other new arts initiatives.
The new performing arts endowment fund was to be made public before the PoCo city council meeting Monday evening. Details are now being finalized but grant applications will be accepted starting next month.
"We are committed to honouring the legacy of the Port Coquitlam Theatre Society by using these funds to support further development of performance arts in Port Coquitlam," foundation president Janine Davies said in a news release. "The generosity of the original donors will act as a catalyst for new opportunities that will inspire and connect our community."
(The society also made a contribution to the Vancouver Foundation for a scholarship/bursary fund for SD43 graduating students to help with post-secondary tuition for performance arts. In addition, it bought equipment for the Terry Fox Theatre.)
This past summer, the two-year-old PoCo Community Foundation handed out its six inaugural grants totalling $12,000 and set up its first donor-advised fund from the PoCo Minor Lacrosse Association.
Over the next granting cycle, the municipality will also kick in $100,000 in matching cash for the foundation's general community fund.
For more information about the foundation, visit pocofoundation.com or email [email protected].
@jwarrenTC
