Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts exceeded its year-end fundraising goal for 2024. Thanks to an anonymous donor’s $75,000 matching challenge, the organization raised $85,922 by the year’s end.
Of the total, $15,152 was raised in a single evening during Wagon Wheel’s “Great Performances, Greater Purpose” Gala. This one-night-only event featured performances from every division of the organization: Wagon Wheel Professional Theatre, Wagon Wheel Junior, Wagon Wheel Community Theater, Wagon Wheel Conservatory and Symphony of the Lakes, according to a news release from the Wagon Wheel.
The success of this campaign comes amid recent restructuring within Wagon Wheel’s leadership team. The organization is now guided by a collaborative team of four leaders: Jen Dow, managing director; Kira Lace Hawkins, outreach and education director; Holly Lantz, finance and human resources director; and Scott Michaels, artistic director.
“This new leadership structure honors the talent and professional acumen that has established the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts as a nationally recognized theater and renowned training ground for performing arts talent,” said Sea Grandon, vice president of the Wagon Wheel Board of Directors. “With this change, we have already seen the magic of the creative side of the theater being replicated on the administrative and financial sides of this non-profit business. The incredible momentum we are now experiencing will both preserve and advance the WWCA as the artistic and cultural bedrock of our community.”
As Wagon Wheel looks ahead under this permanent leadership structure, the organization is already celebrating a record number of summer season subscriptions. This milestone coincides with Wagon Wheel’s 70th professional summer season, the release states, featuring an exciting lineup of performances: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific,” “Sister Act,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Grease.” Tickets for Wagon Wheel’s 70th Summer Season are available now at wagonwheelcenter.org or by calling the box office at 574-267-8041.
Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Warsaw. Their mission is to provide performing arts experiences that create community unity, educational opportunity and economic growth. For more information about Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts or to learn more about upcoming events, visit www.wagonwheelcenter.org.