MUS I C AN D D AN C E
the gifts of giving Fundraising and thriving educational programs make for a bright outlook at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. IT GOES WITHOUT saying that audiences are eager to return to live music, dance and theater. § It does not go without saying that fundraising will sustain nonprofit venues such as Segerstrom Center for the Arts until that return is safe. § But the numbers are heartening, says Casey Reitz, the center’s new president. Its Raise the Curtain campaign, launched in spring, not only raised $1.5 million, but 300 of the campaign’s 1,800 gifts came from first-time donors. § “We didn’t know what would happen when we shut down,” says Reitz, whose tenure began three months before theaters went dark. “We didn’t know if everything would just squeeze down to a trickle or to nothing. So that was encouraging.”
28 PERFORMANCES FALL 2020
