Interlochen Announces Successful End to Create Amazing Fundraising Campaign

CREATE AMAZING: The Campaign for Interlochen raises more than $134 million for faculty, financial aid, programs, and capital projects

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Interlochen Center for the Arts

Nov 01, 2018, 15:15 ET

INTERLOCHEN, Mich., Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Interlochen Center for the Arts Completes Fundraising Campaign

Interlochen Center for the Arts has announced the successful completion of its CREATE AMAZING comprehensive fundraising campaign as of October 31, 2018. The Campaign has focused on funding new facilities, student scholarships, program enhancements, annual operating support and endowment, all to lay the groundwork for Interlochen's centennial in ten years.

"As Interlochen moves toward its 100th anniversary, we are extraordinarily grateful for this unprecedented support," says Interlochen Center for the Arts President Trey Devey. "More than 18,000 donors from 54 countries, 49 states, and Washington, D.C. have laid the groundwork for Interlochen's centennial in just 10 years. This Campaign is crucial as we work to invest further in the student experience with a commitment toward increasing financial aid."

CREATE AMAZING: The Campaign for Interlochen began in July 2012 with a $100 million goal, that rose to $125 million and reached over $134 million: $36.6 million for campus improvements (e.g. the new Music Building, Dennison Center for Recreation and Wellness, and the planned expansion and renovation of our dance facilities); $29.1 million in annual operating support for the Interlochen Annual Fund and Interlochen Public Radio; $11.2 million toward endowment, including over 30 new endowed scholarships; and $57.4 million in planned gifts to unrestricted operating support and endowed scholarships among other designations.

Interlochen's Board of Trustees led the Campaign from its start. Interlochen Board Chair and former Campaign Cabinet Co-Chair, Glynn Williams, said: "I must first thank the leadership of my fellow Trustees for their hard work and generous financial support. Together, they contributed more than $20 million to the Campaign. I would also like to thank our great faculty, staff and volunteers for inspiring us all. And to the thousands of Campaign donors, generations of students will be grateful for your generosity and continued support—our sincere thanks."

Increasing financial aid and constructing the 90-year-old institution's first centralized Music Building were two key priorities of the Campaign.

In 2018, Interlochen distributed the most financial aid in its history, in part through the Create Amazing Opportunities Challenge. Made possible by Interlochen Trustee and internationally renowned economist Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian, this challenge raised over $1.7 million and helped an additional 120 students attend Interlochen this summer.

"I've seen firsthand how the power of the arts can change the trajectory of a student's life," says El-Erian. "It was amazing and inspiring to see more than 3,500 donors help unlock extra scholarship support for exceptional students who might have otherwise missed the opportunity to attend Interlochen because of financial circumstances."

This Campaign also facilitated construction of the new Music Building, which will open in spring 2019. For the first time in Interlochen's history, this facility will make it possible for music faculty, guest artists, and Interlochen contemporary and classical students to convene in one, contiguous location, fostering spontaneous collaboration across music disciplines.

"To me, the new music building is a reminder of my artistic potential," says Interlochen Arts Academy junior Leah Dunn—a singer-songwriter from Belmont, Calif. "I have the power to fill a stage, produce a full song, and curate an audience. Interlochen's new building shows me what I'm capable of doing."

"It's already such a gift to attend Interlochen," says Interlochen Arts Academy junior Anne Hayes—a percussionist from Fenton, Michigan. "To know that the school values music so much that it is willing to construct a whole new building for the program is exciting. I cannot wait to put the new building to good use next year!"

The impact of CREATE AMAZING extends broadly. "A legacy of the Campaign is the heightened level of engagement with Interlochen across all aspects of our local community, across Michigan, nationally, and internationally," says Williams. "It ensures Interlochen is the leading destination for arts education—accessible to talented young artists from around the world."

About Interlochen Center for the Arts

The nonprofit Interlochen Center for the Arts is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the only organization in the world that brings together: a 2,500-student summer camp program; a 500-student fine arts boarding high school; opportunities for hundreds of adults to engage in fulfilling artistic and creative programs; two 24-hour listener-supported public radio services (classical music and news); more than 600 arts presentations annually by students, faculty and world-renowned guest artists; a global alumni base spanning nine decades, including leaders in the arts and all other endeavors. For information, visit Interlochen online at www.interlochen.org.

Media Contact:

Brooks Vanderbush

[email protected]

231-276-7296

www.interlochen.org

SOURCE Interlochen Center for the Arts