Broadway Utica announces Community Foundation funds to support performing arts

UTICA, N.Y. — As a way to support, expand, and continue its impact for years to come, Broadway Utica has formed a permanent partnership with the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties.

The new Rise for a Purpose Fund is Broadway Utica’s annual and ongoing campaign for donor support. It also has two other funds that build on its collaboration with the Community Foundation to support student engagement with the arts.

“Partnership with the Community Foundation is an important step for us, one that will ensure that our organization continues providing enriching educational opportunities for young people and the entire community we serve,” Broadway Utica Executive Director Danielle Padula said in a news release. “Thanks to this collaboration and our generous donors, Broadway Utica will advance and enhance its efforts to bring high-quality touring Broadway productions to the Mohawk Valley.”

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties will invest and administer the assets of all three funds.

Rise for a Purpose Fund, Broadway Utica’s annual campaign, will benefit the community, area initiatives, student programs, and more. It establishes a permanent mechanism for building assets to support and enhance Broadway Utica’s mission to bring theater and the performing arts to the community.

Broadway Utica Youth Ambassador Program Fund will support the Bernadette A. Eichler Youth Ambassador Program as it engages about 50 high-school students annually in Broadway Utica productions.

Broadway Utica Students on Broadway Fund will support and sustain Broadway Utica’s efforts to encourage area K-12students to engage with theatre and the arts, enabling them to attend shows for little to no cost. The fund will help schools and nonprofit organizations send young people on field trips to see productions.

Founded in 1957 as Broadway Theatre League of Utica, Inc., Broadway Utica brings a variety of theatrical productions to the community in order to expose people of all ages to live theater and the performing arts.

Since 1952, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties has invested more than $100 million through its nonprofit partners in Oneida and Herkimer counties.