Organizers of the Rees Theatre Project have identified another potential funding source. The Plymouth City Council Monday agreed to let the group move forward with a grant application to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, according to Clerk-Treasurer Jeanine Xaver.
“One of the requirements of the grant is that it be through a public entity like the City of Plymouth,” Xaver explains. “So basically, we would be the recipient, and we would be the pass-through agency. We would pass the funds through to the Rees Theatre.”
Xaver says most of the applications for this particular grant are for half a million dollars, according to project co-chair Randy Danielson. He told council members that the grant requires a certified grant consultant, and that the project committee plans to hire Shannon McLeod at its own expense.
The OCRA grant would be part of a larger fund-raising effort, which has already included a $300,000 grant from the Regional Cities Initiative. Xaver says Danielson gave an update during Monday’s council meeting. “He said they have received donations from 350 different entities and/or individuals, either pledges or in-kind donations, and they are currently within $850,000 of their goal,” Xaver says.
The project committee also announced this week that it recently got a $50,000 donation from 1st Source Bank. The overall goal is to raise a total of $3.46 million, to reopen the theater in time for its 80th anniversary in the spring of 2020.
