Arizona Theatre Company hasnât shuttered. Yet.
Friday was the deadline for the statewide organization to reach a $2 million fundraising goal, and the day ended with just $718,000 committed.
But pending gifts have convinced the company to give themselves the weekend to reach the target. An announcement on the future of ATC is expected Monday.
âSo many people in the community, on the board and the staff have been working tirelessly since the middle of last month, and weâve had many good results,â said David Ira Goldstein, ATCâs artistic director.
âWeâre not there yet but we still have a lot of irons in the fire and I am hopeful that over the weekend we will continue to get good news.â
ATC has carried a crippling debt since 2013. It has been actively fundraising since early this year. But the pleas before performances and mailings did not produce the funds needed.
So the company announced in late June that if $2 million is not raised by June 30, the end of the fiscal year, the season may have to be delayed, or the theater may have to close permanently.
An anonymous donor gave $100,000 so that that deadline could be extended two weeks.
Tucsonan Mike Kasser, a member of the ATCâs board of trustees and a generous supporter of the theater for more than a decade, has committed to raising $1 million from Tucson if that amount were matched from Phoenix donors.
While Phoenix supporters have stepped up, the amount has not approached the $1 million mark.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, $718,805 had been raised from 670 donors across the state and elsewhere. The 417 Tucson donors contributed $350,132; 253 Phoenix donors donated $368,673.
Goldstein says there is reason to hope some significant gifts from Phoenix donors will come in over the weekend.
