More good news for historic Klinkhart Hall: The National Grid Main Street Revitalization Program has awarded Klinkhart Hall Arts Center a $100,000 matching grant!
This extraordinary award means that we now have $1,000,000 commited to the restoration of historic Klinkhart Hall!
Take a moment to think about how extraordinary this is:
Yes, there is still a long way to go, but here, in tiny Sharon Springs, in rural upstate New York, and now in the midst of a pandemic, we are still making amazing strides towards our goal to reopen historic Klinkhart Hall as a permanent home for the arts for our community.
But it is a matching grant: in order to make it real we must now raise $100,000 to match it. This is no small effort, but with your help we can do it before year’s end.
We know these are difficult time; we know that there are many other calls for you help, but it comes down to this: the arts are essential. Not just nice to have, sometimes. Not just an add-on when things are better, maybe later. No, the arts are essential now.
In good times and bad, for as long as we have been human, no matter how dire the circumstances, we have turned to the arts to tell our stories, to express our fears for the present and our hopes for the future. No matter how topsy turvy things have become, we have always looked to the arts – poetry, songs, music, dance, drama, painting, and all the others – to show us who we are, to help us understand the world around us, and to teach us how we can better relate to each other. All of which is to say, the arts matter because people matter.
So, despite everything else going on, we need your help now: we’re asking you to do what you can, and to do it now. It will make a difference.
Be a part of it! It is for all of us! It’s for our community!
You can make a secure donation of any amount here on our website, or you can send your donation to us at Klinkhart Hall Arts Center, P.O. Box 101, Sharon Springs, NY 13459.
WHAT IS NATIONAL GRID’S MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION PROGRAM?
The Main Street Revitalization Program provides matching grants to municipal and non-profit development corporations undertaking efforts to revitalize critical main street/commercial corridors. This program is designed to assist communities in promoting “smart growth” and private sector investment in central business districts and commercial corridors that help their competitive viability, attract investment, and capitalize on their distinct development potential.
If that sounds like a match with Klinkhart Hall — well, it certainly is! But in addition to providing funding for our project, National Grid’s award recognizes that a revitalized Klinkhart Hall will play an important role in our village, and have a profound impact on our community.
Read more about the restoration project, and see architect’s drawings and plans.