Buskirk-Chumley grant offers applicant winners free rent for a day

One lucky winner will get to rent the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for free.
With the introduction of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Grant Program, Bloomington residents can apply for a grant to use the Buskirk for a day.

The Buskirk-Chumley Theater Grant Program subsidizes the city-owned theater’s rental fee for one day’s use by the selected grantees. However, grantees are still responsible for all labor, equipment, box office and other miscellaneous fees.

The grant is modeled off of a program in Raleigh, N.C., that allows grantees to utilize their arts facilities without the rental cost, said Miah Michaelsen, Bloomington assistant economic development director for the arts. “It gets people in who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to.”

“Daily rental ranges between $550 for a weekday in the summer to $1320 for a weekend in the school year,” said Danielle McClelland, executive director for the Buskirk-Chumley, in an e-mail.

Michaelsen and other members of the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District said they wanted to extend Raleigh’s idea to benefit the Bloomington community and downtown area.

“There are four basic things the review committee will be looking for in applicants: tourism, economic development, social/community service and, most importantly, community benefit,” Michaelsen said.  “It has to be clear that the applicant has thought about the benefit. We’re not writing a grant for a birthday party.”

Stone Belt, a local agency that provides resources for people with developmental disabilities, plans to submit an application for the grant.

“This year is Stone Belt’s 50th anniversary, and as part of that, they want to utilize the Buskirk-Chumley for a fundraiser and comedy event called ‘Belt Out Laughing!’” said Amy Jackson, director of development for the company. National comedian Josh Blue will headline the night. Blue is the winner of season four of the TV show “Last Comic Standing” and also has the developmental disorder cerebral palsy.

Jackson said the event will be held in October 2009 and both she and Stone Belt said they think the theater is the best venue for their event.

“It’s a big venue. It’s noticeable,” Jackson said. “We feel that (corporate sponsors) will be more interested in sponsoring an event in a high profile location. It really is the only theater in town that is the right size for this kind of event. It’s very recognizable and very public.”

The introduction of the grant coincides with a change in management at the Buskirk-Chumley. After developing the idea, the city asked for a certain number of rent-free days for use by the grantees as part of their contract negotiations.

BCT Management, Inc., is the private nonprofit organization that operates the theater on behalf of the city. Its contract runs for three years, so the grant will definitely continue for at least two more years.

“This Buskirk-Chumley grant is such a wonderful opportunity for community groups to get involved,” Jackson said. “I am so excited that they have made it available in such a formalized process to so many people.”