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Friends of the Dawn Theater seek $59,000 grant for $100,000 projector; board asks for plaque details
Summary
Friends of the Dawn Theater told the Dawn Theater Governance Board they plan a roughly $100,000 screen-and-projector project and will request $59,000 in grant funding (25% match required); the board asked for a concrete donor-plaque proposal before recommending it to TIFA.
The Friends of the Dawn Theater presented early plans Jan. 27 for a major fundraising effort to install a new screen and projector, telling the Dawn Theater Governance Board the project would cost about $100,000 and that the Friends intend to request $59,000 in grant funding. "The project will be approximately $100,000. Asked for $59,000 in the grant request," Mary Wolfram of the Friends said during the meeting.
Board members asked for additional detail before endorsing either the capital project plan or a proposal for a donor plaque. Wolfram described a preliminary donor-plaque concept that would list donations of $1,000 or more on the short wall to the left of the organ but cautioned the plan is in the brainstorming phase and may be treated as an alteration to the building requiring further review. Some members suggested a more visible lobby location and asked the Friends to return with concrete specifications — size, style, material, exact location and cost — before the Dawn Theater Governance Board would recommend approval to the full Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) board.
Wolfram said the grant the Friends plan to pursue requires a 25% match and that she will also apply to Meijer as an additional funding source. The board did not take a vote on the fundraising plan or the plaque; members asked that the Friends bring a fuller proposal to a future meeting so the board can consider recommending formal approval to TIFA.
The board also reviewed outstanding event revenue the Friends owe TIFA: a one-third split of net proceeds from two December 2025 events, listed in meeting materials as $435.00 (Hillsdale Classical School) and $161.73 (The Nutcracker), totaling $596.73.
The board and Friends will continue discussions; the board requested a detailed plaque mock-up and a formal grant-application summary before any recommendation is made to TIFA.
