Capital Campaign

Our Mission. The Mission of the Sharon Arts Center, a non-profit organization, is to support and serve artists and craftspeople, to engage our community in the artistic process, and to foster the relationship between artists and the community through education, exhibitions, the promotion and sale of art and craft, as well as through special programs and events.

The Case For Capital. During the latter part of 2009 a Capital Campaign was undertaken to raise $1,000,000. The objective was twofold:

First, to acquire, at a discounted price, the space we are renting at Depot Square in Peterborough in order to reduce our operating costs significantly, and -
Second, to increase our unrestricted endowment so as to provide additional endowment income to help offset increasing operating expenses.

To date, we are halfway to our goal. However, we are delighted to announce that we are moving forward with the purchase of the Depot Square space that houses the Exhibition Gallery and the Fine Crafts Gallery (Store) – and plan to close on the property in early August, 2010. While the purchase has been made possible by an additional short-term loan, the move to ownership will reduce our operating costs by $62,000 annually.

But, we still have $500,000 left to raise in order to increase our endowment, as well as to liquidate the short-term loan.

Completing this campaign is critical to sustaining our Mission as well as the Sharon Arts Center itself, and will allow us to continue focusing on what we’ve done best for over 60 years: providing the highest quality cultural services to the Monadnock Region through our mission of education, and the appreciation and marketing of arts and crafts.

We are now approaching a wider group of friends, trusts and foundations to ask for their support and input to assure the continuing leadership provided by the Sharon Arts Center — a vital cultural resource that contributes historically, artistically and economically to Peterborough and the surrounding Monadnock Region.

For further information, or to participate in Sharon Art’s Capital Campaign, please contact:

Keri Wiederspahn, Executive Director at (603) 924-7256 x303