Surprise grants boost Mesa arts groups

A number of Valley arts organizations - 37 in all - split $1 million as part of community relief grants funded by the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Three groups in Mesa that received the good news late this week include the Arizona Museum for Youth, the East Valley Children's Theater and the Mesa Arts Center.

Jane Ferguson, a spokeswoman for the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, said each of the 37 organizations received the additional funding without requesting it, and that the amount was determined by the size of the group.

"We did it on a proportional basis - based on budget - because the grants aren't meant to do substantial financial triage," Ferguson said. "Any dollars are valuable these days."

Ferguson said the operating budget for each arts and culture group determined their share of the $1 million, "including groups with a budget of $100,000 a year and others with a budget of $12 million."

Johann Zietsman, Mesa's arts and culture director, said the arts center received $7,000.

"I received the call just today," he said of the Friday philanthropic phone call from the charitable trust. "It's one of those truly unprecedented phone calls."

Zietsman said the center has yet to decide how the extra money would be used. "It will certainly go toward helping us with our outreach and education priorities," he said.

Sunny Spencer, the executive director of the Arizona Museum for Youth, said her group received $3,000.

"We will definitely put it in the area of programs," she said, citing free events for children as a costly practice of the museum. "It does cost money to have books and supplies."

Ferguson said the idea of the charitable trust extending the funding to arts and culture groups is to demonstrate the importance of funding programs that are free for the public.

The East Valley Children's Theater, located at 1 E. Main St., received $1,000.

Karen Rolston, the theater's artistic director, said the funding would help launch a new program early next year.

"It came at a perfect time," she said. "We were debating about starting a new musical theater troupe in January."

Rolston said the group would be called EVCT Bravo, using the theater's acronym, engaging youth between 8 and 18 years of age.

"If someone calls and says, 'we're going to give you money,' we're always excited," she said. "We always like to make sure a program is funded before we start it."

Other East Valley arts and culture groups that received funding include the Chandler Cultural Council, Scottsdale Cultural Council, and the Fountain Hills Community Theater.