Renovations at the Globe Theatre got a dramatic boost in its fundraising from an anonymous donation.
A half million dollars in donations will be matched, thanks to the donor who prefers to not be named.
The overall renovations to the Globe’s Scarth Street home will cost a little over $30 million, said capital campaign chair Trevor Boquist.
It’s part of the $12 million campaign goal the Globe has ongoing.
“About half of that will go toward finishing off the amount that’s left to redevelop the theatre,” said Boquist. “And then there’s about a $6 million extra that will be able to be used for programming and it will also be used to be kept to look after the theatre ongoing.”
Boquist said the anonymous donation came for the good of the community and the good of the project.
“That idea came up that they really wanted to see it being used in a way that would enhance the growth opportunity,” Boquist said. “It was their idea and we thought it was a great idea and it’s a nice way to get the campaign going early.”
Boquist said they want the community to look forward to being part of the new Globe.
The renovations to the former Prince Edward building on Scarth Street are expected to be complete by late 2023. Boquist said that a lot of times, money raised in campaigns such as this don’t go to continuing upkeep of the facility.
“So the goal is to have a $6 million cushion there to help continue to program but then also to make sure that the theatre lasts long into the future,” he said.
Jaime Boldt, Globe Theatre executive director said they want to make the space more public.
“We really want to start engaging folks who weren’t traditional theatre-goers into our building,” she said. “And so we are taking over the whole building… and we’re opening it up for community to come, hang out, have a coffee, use our free wi-fi and start engaging a little more in the Globe.
While they’ve had 70,000 patrons in seasons in the past, Boldt said they’d like to see 140,000 in future seasons.
To donate to the cause, head to https://globetheatrelive.com/support-us/capital-campaign
