The Theatre Centre Closes Capital Campaign and Announces New Name for Mainspace Theatre

The Theatre Centre announced today a number of major gifts to its $6.2 million capital campaign, including a $500,000 gift that will see its mainspace theatre named after Artistic Director and visionary Franco Boni.

In total, five major gifts were announced, all received or pledged in the last six months:

• $500,000 from philanthropist Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain, which includes naming rights to the mainspace theatre;
• an additional $100,000 from board member Jenny Ginder and John Todd, bringing their cumulative support to $105,000;
• an additional $100,000 from board member Rick Matthews and Ann Marie Stasiuk, bringing their cumulative support to $105,000;
• an additional $25,000 from board member Lindy Cowan and Chris Hatley, bringing their cumulative support to $30,000; and
• $25,000 from the Delaney Family Foundation.

In addition, the City of Toronto, through a Section 37 Community Benefit, is committed to a further capital investment in the City-owned former Carnegie Library that The Theatre Centre calls home, officially bringing the capital campaign to a close. In the words of local City Councillor Ana Bailao, "This is a project whose benefits far exceed the modest scale of its budget, and the City is delighted to remain on board to see it to completion."

"The adaptive re-use of this City-owned building has had a tremendous impact both on The Theatre Centre and on the larger community in which it operates," said Board Chair Richard Mortimer. "Our move here in March 2014 made real our goal of becoming a true incubator and community hub, partnering with a wide variety of organizations in many disciplines. None of this would have been possible without the support of the public and private donors who we are celebrating today."

The announcements were made at a celebratory reception for both private and public funders to the capital campaign. The climax of the event was the unveiling of new signage for the Franco Boni Theatre by Board Chair Richard Mortimer and Jen McCain, representing her grandmother Margaret.

"We are especially grateful for the generous support of Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain," said Board member Robert Sirman, Capital Campaign Chair. "Margie's gift of $500,000-the largest in The Theatre Centre's history-provided the push that allowed us to complete the campaign and name the mainspace theatre. That Margie chose to dedicate the space to the visionary who made all of this possible-The Theatre Centre's Artistic Director for the past 13 years, Franco Boni-is just further evidence of her extraordinary generosity and commitment to community."

"I am totally humbled by this unexpected honour," said Artistic Director Franco Boni. "We started with a simple commitment to make good art, and ended up doing so much more. I am deeply moved that my name will now be permanently connected to the community-building achievement this project represents."