Emerging Leaders donates $5,000 to Astra Theatre group’s efforts
About 25 members of Dubois County Emerging Leaders met last week for the annual granting party to decide which of the 22 local nonprofits would recieve $5,000.
Formed in 2012 through the Huntingburg Community Foundation, the group was seeded with donations from German American Bank and Jasper Engines to create an initial endowment for Emerging Leaders members to use to create an annual gift to a community organization.
The endowment’s annual distribution combined with the dues from the annual membership to Emerging Leaders provide the funding for the $5,000 annual gift.
To decide on the annual grant recipient, each applicant is given a chance to promote their cause with a two minute pitch during the granting party. It is a strict timeline and representatives can find themselve cut off midway through their pitch.
After the pitch session, the Emergning Leaders members will pick their top five applicants to move on to round two. This year six applicants made it due to a tie.
These are then whittled down to the top selection for the annual gift.
This year, The Next Act was chosen as the recipient of a $5,000 grant.
“This grant gets us even closer to reaching our phase one goal to purchase and endow the Astra,” said Marc Steczyk, President of The Next Act. “We are grateful for the support from Dubois County Emerging Leaders and feel it validates our belief that our efforts are important to the younger generations,” he said.
The Next Act is a newly formed local, nonprofit working to save the historic Astra Theatre in downtown Jasper and to foster, engage, and create cultural and artistic happenings in Dubois County.
Since forming, the group has raised the funds necessary to create an endowment to support the continued operation and maintenance of the old theatre.
After that, they concentrated on raising the funds to purchase the building and a major announcement on the group’s efforts is scheduled to occur Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Astra Theatre.
Emerging Leaders was established in 2012 as an innovative, yet simple, giving circle to pool resources to strengthen communities in Dubois County. Since forming in 2012, Emerging Leaders has granted $23,000 back to the community.
The group provides networking opportunities each month and hosts special events quarterly. One of the most impactful held this year was a special roundtable with Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz and Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner.
Both mayors commented how the questions ranging from a personal and professional nature were a bit more intense than what they were used to fielding.
Emerging Leaders is cochaired by Courtney Knies, Executive Director of Mentors for Youth and Jessica DeLorenzo, Organizational Development Manager at Kimball International.
There are no age or professional restrictions on membership; the youngest member is 20 and the oldest is over 40 and they range across all professional backgrounds. The annual dues can be paid through a monthly $10 contribution and there are no other requirements to be a member.
Participation in the events and meetings is recommended but not a requirement. As the group seeks to be more engaged in the community, they do hope that the events and meeting will attract new people to meet and regularly converse around interesting local topics.
Individuals can learn more and join the Giving Circle by calling the Dubois County Community Foundation at 812-482-5295 or online at http://www.ELgiving.org.
