Operating Support

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2018 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$40,093
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
SteppingStone Theater Company AKA SteppingStone Theatre
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
July 2017
End Date
June 2018
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Douglas
Faribault
Hennepin
Pine
Ramsey
Sherburne
Wabasha
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Douglas
Faribault
Hennepin
Pine
Ramsey
Sherburne
Wabasha
Project Overview

Operating Support

Project Details

SteppingStone Theatre's mission is to develop the whole child by using educational theater programs and fully staged productions to build self-esteem, confidence, and a sense of community, while celebrating diversity in a supportive, noncompetitive atmosphere.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Member of the Smithsonian National Board. Former chair of the board, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Officer-at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse, Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund; Christina Widdess: Arts organization consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Member of the Smithsonian National Board. Former chair of the board, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Officer-at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse, Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund; Christina Widdess: Arts organization consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2017 Regular Session, chapter 91, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2018 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$40,093
Other Funds Leveraged
$926,047
Direct expenses
$926,047
Administration costs
$40,093
Number of full time equivalents funded
0
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Create mindful, research-based programs honoring youth artistic life using teaching strategies engaging full developmental power of performing arts. Increase quality and appeal of artistic offerings in all programs. Develop and execute formative evaluation for programs. Pilot programs linked to existing youth services and education infrastructure. 2: Evaluate and retool program focus, operational systems, and facility use in support of a mission-driven approach to theatre and education programming. Implement donor/customer data management with industry standard software. Improve cash management with proper cash projections. Develop dashboards measuring financial, artistic and educational outcomes

Measurable Outcome(s)

Steppingstone Theatre produced five plays for an audience of over 31,000, with an additional 4,200 youth in creative learning programs. Critics and teachers noted the quality and diversity of the five play season. Steppingstone planned and tested an early childhood program now serving multiple sites in the metro area including day care programs for low income families. 2: SteppingStone has reduced its budget by 25% in order to address debt issues and has completed a process of evaluating all programs and administration. Steppingstone is completing a two year process of transferring to a SalesForce based patron and donor management system. Steppingstone has improved its cash flow management (year two of 3). SteppingStone is implementing a Board reporting dashboard.

Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Mike Erlandson, Theresa Gravelle Foss, Leah Harvey, Rhonda Feist, Tamra Davis Cownie, Maggie Dayton, Tom D'Onofrio, Kathy Engesser, Gia Lyons, Seema Nambudiripad, Jennifer Prock, Ben Redshaw, Anna Tobin, Jared Kemper
Project Manager
First Name
Megan
Last Name
Krueger
Organization Name
SteppingStone Theater Company AKA SteppingStone Theatre
Street Address
55 Victoria St N
City
St Paul
State
MN
Zip Code
55104
Phone
(651) 225-9265
Email
megan@steppingstonetheatre.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency