For Immediate Release: September 18, 2024
Contact: Dylan Telerski, Marketing & PR Director, Stuart’s Opera House at dylan@stuartsoperahouse.org or (740) 753-1924
Transformational gift supports arts education expansion, strategic planning and $145k in matching funds in Phase One
Stuart’s Opera House and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation announce they have entered into a partnership that includes a multiyear gift from the Foundation to Stuart’s totaling $1M. The partnership will span 10 years and support the current rapid growth and expansion at the Opera House, the region’s premier non-profit arts education center and performance venue. The partnership aligns with both organizations’ missions to collectively improve the health and quality of life in southeastern Ohio and serves to enrich and foster the expansion of arts education and experiences for residents in Nelsonville and surrounding communities.
“As a cornerstone on Nelsonville’s public square, Stuart’s Opera House is an integral part of the community,” said Osteopathic Heritage Foundation President/CEO Terri Donlin Huesman. “The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to the Nelsonville community and we are proud to partner with Stuart’s during this period of unprecedented growth.”
Initial funding from the Foundation will support expansion of the Arts Education programs in order to serve more students and community members, including expanded access to music, theater, visual arts, and dance programs; technology, equipment, and software used in the Arts Education program will be updated; and funding will enable planning for the strategic growth of Stuart’s and its Arts Education program.
Stuart’s Opera House’s Executive Director Melissa Wales said the gift will be transformational for the Opera House in this time of vast growth and expansion in service to its mission.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation for this transformational gift of support for Stuart’s Opera House and its flourishing Arts Education programs,” Wales said. “It comes at a critically important time for the Opera House and will have a profound impact on our mission and our organization as we move through this period of growth. This investment in our mission and work is a reminder of why the arts and arts education are needed now more than ever. It’s not hyperbole to say that practicing and receiving the arts is absolutely community-building and life-saving work.”
To celebrate and kick off this transformational collaboration, and to celebrate Stuart’s Opera House’s 145 year anniversary this year, the Foundation has included $145,000 in matching funds as part of its $1M gift for a dollar-for-dollar Match Campaign beginning immediately. Now through 2025, for each dollar Stuart’s Opera House is given in support of arts education and Stuart’s Opera House’s operations, the Foundation will match it, thus doubling each gift, while match lasts.
“Stuart’s is thrilled to be entering into this partnership with the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation,” says Stuart’s Opera House Board Chair Kristi Brooks. “And the Foundation’s pledge of $145,000 in matching funds to celebrate the partnership and the Opera House’s 145th anniversary this year is incredibly generous and meaningful. We are so grateful for this support that will sustain Stuart’s for years to come.”
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