The Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) proudly announces that the 2013 Peak Arts Fund Campaign has achieved its ambitious goal to raise $50,000 for 18 local nonprofit arts organizations. The united fund for the arts distributed checks during a private Campaign Wrap Party on August 14, 2013 at The Ivywild School, attended by artists, staff and boards of local arts organizations, donors and businesses who supported the campaign.ย The event was hosted by the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR), sponsored by Wells Fargo Private Bank and featured performances by Millibo Art Theatre and Velvet Hills Chorus.
The total raised represents a groundswell of support for the arts community from citizens and businesses across the region. Together, 132 individual donors and 16 businesses contributed to the total amount raised during the 5 month long campaign. Campaign Co-Chairs were Jocelyn (Jolly) Wall, VP for Kirkpatrick Bank and Toby Gannett, entrepreneur, innovator, civic leader and board member for the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance. According to Wall, “Peak Arts Fund reminds usย that the artsย are all around us each day, woven into the fabric of our communities …and that it is necessary to support them if we want to continue to benefit from all they contribute to our lives”.
Thoughout the workplace giving campaigns and public fundraising events, COPPeR emphasized that a healthy arts and cultural community is vital to economic development, education, civic life and a sustainable future for the Pikes Peak region. Local arts nonprofits generate $72 million in annual economic impact and create over 2,000 jobs, an economic impact significantly above the national median.ยน The arts also contribute to the vibrant quality of life that attracts and retains an innovative workforce, residents (from young professionals to retirees) and tourists. Gannett says, “A vibrant arts community is an indicator and instigator of innovation, the kind of innovative culture that 21st century businesses need in order to thrive. A strong creative community and strong business community fuel one another in a flywheel of cultural and economic development.”
The success of Peak Arts Fund’s 2013 Campaign is part of a larger momentum in the creative sector across the Pikes Peak region. Over 240 arts and cultural nonprofits now operate in the region, a growth of 9% in just the past 4 years. Expanding the scope to include for-profit businesses in the creative sector, the Pikes Peak region ranks 23rd for creative businesses per capita out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas.ยฒ And the new Ivywild School complex, where the Campaign Wrap Party will be held tonight, has created a new hub for creativity in the community that crosses the visual, culinary and performing arts.
Peak Arts Fund is a program of COPPeR, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region. It is an annual campaign to raise public awareness and financial support for eligible arts nonprofits. From March-July 2013, the campaign raised support through workplace giving campaigns with Arts Breaks, local public events and grassroots individual donations. Donors who gave at least $60 received a Peak Radar Pass, good for discounts to the arts all year.
The 18 arts nonprofits supported by this year’s campaign are: Business of Art Center, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale, Colorado Springs Choral Society, Colorado Springs Conservatory, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association, Cottonwood Center for the Arts, Imagination Celebration, Millibo Art Theatre, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Ormao Dance Company, Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, THEATREWORKS, Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, and Velvet Hills Show Chorus.
For more information, visit www.peakartsfund.org.
ยน Source: Arts & Economic Prosperity Study, available at https://www.culturaloffice.org/resources/aep-report/
ยฒ Source: Americans for the Arts
