Small Capital Arts Grant for Nonprofits

Great River Educational Arts Theatre has several measurable outcomes that will be achieved with these capital purchases. The most important outcome is increased staff and volunteer productivity. All of these purchases, Vectorworks Spotlight and Renderworks software, Juki sewing machine, LG washing machine, and the Consew clothes iron, will enable Great River Educational Arts Theatre's artistic employees and volunteers to complete their work more efficiently with higher quality outcomes. For example, our current costume shop washing machine leaks, is in need of expensive repairs, and puts our office at risk of flooding and water damage. This requires unnecessary staff time to do basic tasks like dumping the overflow tray and constantly monitoring of the machine. The machineÆs spin cycle is also inadequate requiring a second spin cycle at the end of every load. The purchase of an LG high-efficiency washer will eliminate these unnecessary staff tasks. Another example of increased productivity can be demonstrated with the purchase of the Consew gravity feed steam iron. The reliability and quality of the steam and heat from the gravity feed iron will produce much higher results in a shorter period of time when compared to the current costume iron. A second measurable outcome achieved by these capital purchases, specifically the Vectorworks Spotlight and Renderworks 2012 software, is increased communications. The set designer, technical director, set builders, carpenters, and volunteers will have the increased capability to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs across multiple formats for staging and lighting. The software enables interface with multiple staff and volunteers and provides access to additional design resources and libraries. These resulting images can then be imported and exported in multiple formats, thereby enhancing communications. A third measurable outcome of these capital purchases will be an increase in staff and volunteer training. The Vectorworks software, the industrial sewing machine, and the industrial gravity feed clothes iron are all newer technologies the staff and volunteers will utilize to achieve greater results. As a community theatre our success is based on our staff and volunteer's skill attainment.Great River Educational Arts Theatre's 2011-12 season has been a year of information gathering, self-reflection, and listening to the needs of the community. We have surveyed all of our patrons asking for feedback on their mainstage performance experience, inquiring what they would like to see on the stage next season, and soliciting any other comments to ensurethe TheatreÆs excellence. All of this work is in preparation for our 15th anniversary season, which we will be celebrating in 2012-13. Next season we will be growing our participation opportunities for actors, volunteers, and patron. This engagement directly reflects our mission statement: Great River Educational Arts Theatre creates meaningful experiences for artists and audiences of all ages." As we have been evaluating our product this season, next season we will be assessing our process. All of our staff and volunteers will be asked to complete surveys about their participation, their involvement, and their artistic and technical growth. This analysis, conducted from September 2012 û July 2013, will help us measure the achievement of our intended outcomes: increased productivity, increased communications, and increased technical training."