Below you will find the text of Theatre Alberta Board President Michele Brown’s email to Theatre Alberta members sent on March 20 on behalf of the 100 Angels of Theatre Alberta fundraising campaign:

Dear Members and Friends,

From all of us at Theatre Alberta, Happy Spring! We need your help to ‘prepare the soil’ for 2012. 

There are only 12 days remaining in our “100×100 Angels of Theatre Alberta” campaign: www.theatrealberta.com/donate/100×100.

We are writing today to both thank those of you who have contributed since the campaign was announced in December, and to encourage 78 (or more) of you to help us reach our goal by Saturday, March 31. That’s seven $100 donations per day over the next week and a half! We will update our website daily so you can watch our progress.

Why now? March 31 is Theatre Alberta’s fiscal year-end, and our small but mighty organization is facing a manageable but nonetheless significant deficit situation. We are working prudently to maintain our programs and services despite a loss of more than 10% of our operating revenue over the past three years (due to cuts to the Alberta Foundation for the Art’s budget) and rising costs in all aspects of program delivery. And we have new ideas for programs that we want to bring to fruition with the same expertise and care that you are used to…

But in order to do so, it is crucial that we create a ‘culture of giving’ around Theatre Alberta. We must collectively defy the systemic downsizing of our arts organizations to ensure our success. As Russell Thomas, my former board colleague from Fort McMurray, put it: “There is strength in numbers and infinite potential in good intentions.”* 

Your contributions now will help ensure Theatre Alberta starts the 2012/2013 year on April 1 bolstered to provide Alberta theatre artists with the best possible programs and services: from education to information dissemination to audience development. That is our commitment to you – to dedicate all of our resources to identifying and meeting the needs of our community. 

$100 = $190. Theatre Alberta also receives support from the Government of Alberta’s Community Spirit Donation Grant Program, which last year matched 90% of individual contributions. Should that program continue post-provincial election, and we hope it does, your $100 donation will actually mean $190 for Theatre Alberta.

We are proud of and inspired by the work of our members, and we know that many of you are facing similar challenges. Please consider Theatre Alberta now and in the future when planning your charitable contributions, and please share this message with others who may be in a position to help and benefit. If you are receiving this email on behalf of one of our 175+ group members across the province, please consider participating by taking up a collection with your own members and/or colleagues; we can issue individual tax receipts for donations of $20 or more.

Herein lies our responsibility to protect, nurture and inspire Alberta theatre creation for generations to come. It will not end here. If you would like to discuss a larger gift or have contacts in the Alberta business community who may be interested in partnerships, please contact Theatre Alberta’s Executive Director Keri Mitchell (née Ekberg) at keri@theatrealberta.com or the phone number below.

To donate to our 100×100 Angels of Theatre Alberta campaign, please visit www.theatrealberta.com/donate/#Donate.

For additional ways to contribute and support us, please visit www.theatrealberta.com/donate. 

And as always, if you have any questions or comments about Theatre Alberta, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Here’s to Spring and a brilliant close to the 2011/2012 theatre season across the province. To see what’s still to come — and there’s a lot — check out our online Playbill at www.theatrealberta.com/playbill.

Sincerely, 

Michele Brown
President 
Theatre Alberta

3^rd Floor Percy Page Centre
11759 Groat Road
Edmonton AB  T5M 3K6

780-422-8162 / 888-422-8160
www.theatrealberta.com
Registered Charity 10669 3039 RR0001

*Read Russell’s full blog post about Theatre Alberta at http://middleagebulge.blogspot.ca/2010/04/theatre-alberta.html. 

What exactly does my donation support? 

1. Theatre Alberta Library – Canada’s largest fully circulating independent theatre library with more than 18,000 titles available to our members across the province.
2. The Playbill – Every production in Alberta’s theatre season listed in print, online and for your mobile phone or tablet.
3. Artstrek – A residential summer school for teens that has been exploring the exciting world of theatre and theatre production for over 50 years.
4. Dramaworks – A biennial theatre workshop series for adults, proudly serving the theatre community for over 50 years.
5. PlayWorks Ink – A biennial theatre conference, co-presented with Alberta Playwrights’ Network.
6. Workshops by Request – Subsidized professional instruction and seminars for community theatres across the province.
7. Emerge – An annual audition event for graduating post-secondary student actors.
8. All Stages – Alberta’s theatre magazine dedicated to all aspects of creation, performance, technical production, education and development.
9. Classifieds – Alberta’s premiere online theatre listings service sharing new auditions, jobs, special events, theatre news and other resources.
10. Publications – Including Buzz (our monthly enews), The Community Theatre Handbook, The Theatre Facility Handbook, Safe Stages and Library Indexes.
11. Support, Information and Advocacy – For the whole of the Alberta Theatre Community.