Majestic Theater Equipment Endowment Campaign Tops $300,000

Thanks to the visionary philanthropy of the J. William Warehime Foundation of Hanover, PA and the generosity of over 125 donors, Gettysburg College's Majestic Theater has successfully raised $318,000 to establish a dedicated endowment fund for the continuous upgrading and repair of its theatrical equipment.

In mid-2020, the J. William Warehime Foundation awarded the Majestic a $100,000 matching grant to start the endowment fund.

This generosity emboldened the Majestic to celebrate the grant and the theater's 95th birthday with an online crowdfunding campaign in November 2020. That campaign raised over $93,000 towards the match in just one month.

Earlier this month, an additional gift to the campaign of $125,000 was made by The Vesta Fund from a 1991 graduate of Gettysburg College who champions the community contributions of historic, local movie theaters.

"The last year has been devastating to theaters everywhere who have had to shutter their doors," lamented Jeffrey Gabel, the Majestic's founding executive director. "Theaters are only now slowly re-opening, but with greatly reduced occupancy. It may be months until enough theater goers return so we can regain our pre-pandemic box office sales. The incredible generosity of the Vesta Fund, the Warehime Foundation, and our major donors in our theatrical equipment endowment is a ringing endorsement that the Majestic's future is brighter than ever."

Since its grand reopening in November 2005 on the theater's 80th birthday following a $16.5 million restoration, the Majestic Theater has transformed the cultural life of Adams County, and the economic vitality of downtown Gettysburg by presenting acclaimed artists from around the world in drama, comedy, dance, music, and film that draws over 45,000 visitors annually from across the bi-state region, and throughout the United States. The Majestic Theater at the Jennifer and David LeVan Performing Arts Center is owned and operated by Gettysburg College as a cultural treasure for its campus and community.