Winston-Salem Foundation Awards $15,000 to Festival Stage

"In our second season, we're encouraged to have seen audiences increase by over 40 percent," said Wil Elder, president and CEO of Festival Stage and its affiliate company, the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. "Because Festival Stage is still a relatively new company, we want to make the best decisions about how to continue growing our audience. This support from the Winston-Salem Foundation will allow us to understand not only the current theatre-going audience, but to find ways of reaching potential new theatre lovers."

Festival Stage will select a Winston-Salem area communication agency with expertise in nonprofit or arts market research to assist with the study, which will take place this spring.

"The results of this research will allow us to produce more effective marketing materials and improve those areas where we have already seen some success," Elder said. "We will be able to build a foundation on which we can base our marketing strategies for years to come. The Winston-Salem Foundation's support will be critical to Festival Stage's long-term success."

The Winston-Salem Foundation is a community foundation that supports charitable programs in the greater Forsyth County area. Founded in 1919 by Colonel Francis Fries with a $1,000 gift, it now administers over 1,300 funds, and had total custodial assets of over $276 million at the end of 2011. In 2011, the Foundation granted $20.8 million to charitable causes, over $2.1 million of which was through the Community Grants program.

For further information about Festival Stage of Winston-Salem, call 336-841-2273 or visit www.FestivalStage.org. For further information about its affiliate company the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, call 336-841-2273 or visit www.NCShakes.org .