The Fairmount Annual Fund
Annual Fund Goal 2008-2009:         $40,000.00


Donations to the annual fund pay for everything from printer ink to painting the parking lot to replacing ceiling tiles in the art room to salaries for our administrative staff.  It is one of the most important funds that support Fairmount.  It allows us to plan, to act, to grow!

We hope you will join the hundreds of other friends of Fairmount that have given to ensure the continued success of the Center.  Your gift at any level will make a difference to The Fairmount Center.  Your corporate or foundation matching gift will be applied toward your total annual gift amount.  Please review the giving levels below and make your gift today.

Scholarships

Linked with the foundational mission of The Fairmount Center, which is to put our collective artistic talents to the service of life-changing educational arts programming for students of all ages. In both workshop and performance our programming challenges, enriches and nurtures - providing a self confidence and understanding that will help each student thrive as a creative individual.   Our scholarship program affirms and supports this goal by providing financial assistance to students who might otherwise be unable to attend.

Please note that scholarships are awarded at the Center's discretion; scholarships may not be awarded every year. For information on award amounts and criteria, contact the Fairmount Center Administrative Offices.

• THE DEBORAH MACLAREN DANCE SCHOLARSHIP
  The Deborah MacLaren Dance Scholarship was established in 2005 in memory of Debora MacLaren by her family.  The fund is dedicated to providing funds for individuals who wish to participate in dance education. Preference is given to those students interested in Spanish Dance.  It seeks to provide aspiring dancers aged 13-19 years with the opportunity to fulfill their dreams as a dancer.  The recipient will demonstrate a financial need equal to or greater than the value of the award and will be given first priority in each succeeding year as long as he/she meets all criteria. Selection will be determined by the Director of the School of Dance in consultation with the Executive Director of The Fairmount Center.  The fund is renewable and can receive gifts from other interested Fairmount donors.

  ABOUT DEBORA MACLAREN

• Debbie began dancing at Fairmont during her freshman year of high school. She graduated from Chagrin Falls High School in  1975.  During this time, as well as her regular dance classes, she studied under Jose Greco and his wife, Nana, Master Classes .After graduating from high school, she attended Lake Erie College , while continuing to dance with the Fairmont   Spanish Dance group.  She graduated from Lake  Erie College with a BA in Fine  Arts, majoring in Dance.

Following graduation in 1979, she left for Madrid , Spain .  Here she continued her  dance classes and danced with several different companies.  In 1980, she  was dancing with the well-known Spanish dancer, Paco Romero, when they opened a new nightclub in Andorra , and later toured in Equador.  She always spoke highly of her dance experience at Fairmont Center of the Arts, and credited it  for her continued interest in dance.  She died in Madrid on July 26, 2005.  The Maclaren Family made the initial contribution to establish this dance scholarship in her memory. 

For more information on contributing to this scholarship or creating a new scholarship for the Fairmount Center, please contact Fairmount's Fund Development Director, Perry Clark by calling 440-338-3171.

• Summer Camp or Training Scholarships
  Fairmount is always working to find ways to make our training affordable to the greatest possible audience.  This includes our outreach program that offers scholarships to a wide diversity of interested young artists.  Many students with talent can't afford to pay full tuition.  Your donation can help those students who could not otherwise come to Fairmount take advantage of our arts programs.

Guest Artists

Fairmount's evolving mission includes developing programming that offers students real-world experience by working with professional dancers, artists, actors, directors, gymnasts, musicians and writers from the vibrant professional community of Ohio and around the nation.  Each year, we bring in more and more professionals to teach and inspire our students.

For example, last year our theatre program brought in Andrew May, Associate Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Wayne Turney, former Play House actor and director, Sean Cercone, Artistic Director of Carousel Dinner Theatre - and many more.  Most of our guest artists will be returning this year.  Just recently, the dance department brought Marc Otlowski, from the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet to serve as ballet instructor at Fairmount.  Scott Lax, celebrated novelist and movie producer is now teaching creative writing at Fairmount.  This list is growing every session.  Your financial assistance in this initiative would be a great help to Fairmount.  And if this program excites you to give, please feel free to come and sit in on a class.  We'd love to have you!

Consider a Gift for:
1 Session Fee for a
Guest Artist in any discipline               $1,500

1 Workshop Fee a
Guest Artist in any discipline                  $250

Outreach Programs

Fairmount is not only a highly regarded arts center, it is located on a beautiful 4-acre campus just 2 miles from the border of Geauga and Cuyahoga counties.  It is a prime location and significantly placed to offer a country experience to disadvantaged and underpriveleged youths. 

Each year we reach out to schools, agencies, churches and other organizations that want to send their talented and arts-interested children to a great traing program.  Naturally this costs money.  Very few of these children have the means to pay full or even any tuition.  So we rely on the generosity of our friends to help provide tuition, transportation, lunches, cost of outings, field trips, etc.. 

Please join us in helping Fairmount serve the whole community - from our entire six county region:  Geauga, Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, Trumbull and Lake - we have students from all these locations.  And we hope to reach deeper and expand the impact of our outreach even further.

Youth Orchestra

Youth Orchestra

Starting in Fall 2006, The Fairmount Center will be forming a youth orchestra, under the direction of School of Music Director, David Williams, which will be made up of young musicians from all over northeast Ohio.  We have to pay a conductor, provide music, transportation, venue rentals marketing and provide many other ancillary services to bring this program to life. 

The students who are studying in their practice rooms need a place to perform - to share their discovery of the music inside them with the rest of the world.  The Youth Orchestra will be their stage.. And we will applaud them all!  Your help is music to our ears!

Consider a gift for

Endowments

Supporting our Endowment Fund through a Bequest
Any size bequest to Fairmount can build a legacy for the future of our center.  An endowment fund at Fairmount will provide for financial aid, scholarships, program enhancement such as the Fairmount Performing Arts Camp and the Youth Orchestra, and the renovation and expansion of our present facility. 

Bequests to Fairmount can be made by creating a new will or adding a codicil to your present will.  All wills and codicils should be prepared with the advice of your attorney.

There are a number of types of bequests

Cash Bequest - Fairmount receives a dollar amount you identify.

Specific Bequest - Fairmount receives assets specified by you such as stock or securities

Residuary Bequest - Fairmount is the beneficiary of that part of your estate that is remaining after all other obligations have been met.

Contingent Bequest - Property or assets is distributed to Fairmount only when the named beneficiary is deceased.

Alternatives

Alternatives to Bequests

Charitable Remainder Trusts
For gifts over $100,000 you might consider a charitable remainder trust. 

This program has special tax advantages and can also provide income for you and other beneficiaries.  It works by identifying a term of 'x' years or 'life' for named beneficiaries, after which time, the remaining assets go to Fairmount Center.

Tangible Property
Gifts of real estate, theatre equipment, art, musical instruments, equipment, furnishings and other tangible property can be accepted as a donation for the Fairmount Center.

Volunteer your time
If a financial gift is not possible, why not consider volunteering at Fairmount?  Volunteers assist with all aspects of the organization from maintenance and repair to landscaping to marketing, to ushering, to rehearsal assistance, to benefit planning and preparation.  We need you!  We'd love to have you.  Contact Shirley Kolenic at 440-338-3171 for more information.

Board Membership
The Board of Trustees at Fairmount oversees the financial and managerial operations of the organization.  The trustees are responsible for generating new fund development initiatives, supporting the staff in a variety of ways and providing professional managerial expertise to assist the organization in maintaining a healthy business operation. 

If you are interested in Board Membership, contact Shirley Kolenic, Fairmount's Administrative Director.  You will be contacted by a board member.

Thank You For Considering Fairmount

In today's budget-crunch world, school systems and community centers have been forced to cut back.  More often than not arts programming is the first to go, which is a real loss to the heritage and health of a community.  Study after study shows that an education rich with cultural opportunities energizes students and substantially broadens their understanding of self and the world around them.  The arts provide a unique understanding of the world in which we live. The arts cross cultural boundaries. The arts speak a universal language. The arts communicate among all peoples.

The Fairmount center was founded with the belief that training and the challenge of performance in the creative arts can provide the each student, no matter what age or professional background, with enhanced life skills and a greater understanding of self. Armed with this richer knowledge of who one is, life's challenges can be met with unprecedented power and clarity.

Educators agree:  the arts are an essential component of a complete education.  And because of this passion for the arts, we have committed ourselves to providing arts education to the community even when the school systems and other community institutions could not. 

• The Fairmount Center has an extensive program for children, teens, adults and conservatory students in music, art, dance, theatre, gymnastics and fitness.
• The Fairmount Center provides fine arts experience to inner city youth of the Garden Valley Neighborhood Outreach House, Cleveland.
• A new arts and culture exchange program has been established with the Chagrin Falls Park residents.
• Each year, the Center's artistic arms embrace another 50,000 people in the Greater Cleveland area who attend FFAC's concerts, demonstrations, workshops, gallery exhibits, performances and special events - all in appreciation of the fine arts.

We invite you to join us help Fairmount Center grow;  to reach out to an even broader audience;  to pick up where the schools leave off; to offer education and cultural programming to the whole Geauga/Western Reserve Community - and all of northeast Ohio.

To make a donation or to consult with our Board Fund Development Committe Chairman, Perry Clark , please contact the Fairmount Center at 440-338-3171