KVPAC Awardeds Challenge Grant from Houston Endowment

We are so pleased to announce that Katy Visual & Performing Arts Center (KVPAC) has been awarded a $30,000 Challenge Grant from Houston Endowment, a philanthropic foundation established by Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones in 1937. It is one of the region's largest and most respected funders and is a private foundation that exists to improve the lives of people in the Greater Houston Area.

KVPAC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating, healing and unifying through the arts in Katy. We annually serve more than 23,500 children, youths and adults, 70% served free-of-charge.

What does it mean?

KVPAC must raise $30,000 in order to receive the matching challenge grant from Houston Endowment.

HELP US MEET THE CHALLENGE!!! NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL!!

Please donate a cash gift in the amount of your choice by visiting www.kvpac.org.

The Challenge Grant was awarded to assist in the funding of KVPAC's building expansion including renovation to our new space for our established programs as well as specific build-outs for much needed improvements. The expansion of our facility has also allowed for new gallery showings of local artists' works. KVPAC will be hosting the Texas Children's Cancer Center's Making A Mark; An Exhibit of Art by Children Touched By Cancer in our new gallery beginning April 29, 2010.

Monies raised through this Challenge Grant effort will continue to support the programs KVPAC has committed to providing the Katy community. KVPAC's Outreach programs slated for 2010 are:
Books Alive! Literacy Through the Arts (KVPAC's signature touring program that instills a love of reading to young children through musical theatre adaptation and workshops)
Brookwood Community (private performances for residents of Brookwood, an educational and residential facility designed to enhance the lives of adults with intellectual disabilities)
Tuition Scholarships (awarded year round to theatre, art and prek students who qualify for financial need)
ARTS for All! Family Festival (KVPAC's largest annual community service event providing free entertainment, activites and artistic demonstartions in partnership with LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch)
Healing Arts (KVPAC entertains the Arts In Medicine patients and their families in both out-patient and in-patient units at Texas Children's Hospital's Cancer Center)
Masterpiece Art Series (professional presentation and instruction of classic works/artists to local Katy elementary schools, both public and private)
Parents Night Out (provides activities and venue for parents of children with Cerebral Palsy)
Saturday Family Art Workshops (collaborative arts & crafts projects organized for families with children of all ages)
Empty Bowls (community project that supports food banks and soup kitchens through Katy Christian Ministries and SEARCH Homeless Centers)

Those served by KVPAC programs include the general public and underserved populations such as those who are financially disadvantaged, at-risk youth, and mentally or physically challenged.

"We are very grateful to Houston Endowment for helping us realize our goal of establishing a quality arts and cultural center for the Katy community," said Lisa Connolly, KVPAC Marketing Director. "The impact of this grant will be felt for many years to come." KVPAC had exhausted its operating expenditures in order to complete the recent build-out, so the grant will replenish much needed funds to continue daily operations and enhance current programs.

The commitment of the Katy community is the key to acquiring the Challenging Grant for KVPAC. We ask families we have served and businesses we have partnered with to help us now achieve this goal. Individuals should be aware that the company they work for may very well match charitable donations made by their employees. Through these programs, when you make a donation your company will make a donation to the charity in the same amount or "match" your gift. That plus the matching grant parlays into a considerable donation from just one individual. It is the 4 for 1 scenerio:

An employee of ABC Corp pledges $100 to KVPAC. It is matched by ABC Corp per the terms of their 'matching gifts' program. That $200 is then ultimately matched by the Challenge Grant when we reach our $30,000 goal. This equates to the initial contribution of an employee of ABC Corps of $100 to be worth $400 to KVPAC!

To participate, stop by your human resources office for a matching gifts form and send it in along with your gift to KVPAC, 2501 South Mason Road #290, Katy, TX 77450.