08/07/2019
Let's do this together!
With the launch of our crowdfunding campaign last week, it seems that we have some clarification that we need to do! The theatre was acquired through our 501c3 NonProfit company, The Alternative Arts Project, and as a not for profit organization, the plan has always been that it would be a community funded project. While we do have means of financing to cover the startup costs, we want to set this project up with the highest likelihood of success, and that means with the lowest debt possible. Every nonprofit organization operates off of the generosity of donors, so what we are asking is no different than any other charity.
The founders of our nonprofit, Jon and Renee Jelinek, are the owners of other businesses here in Cheyenne, but they are not the owners of The Lincoln, it is owned by the nonprofit, and all of their efforts on this project have been as volunteers, they will not gain financially in any way from this. They are doing this out of their commitment to downtown Cheyenne and to the people of Cheyenne, particularly the youth, and giving them access to music and arts. There are aspects to this project that haven't been discussed yet, like how every show will have a designated number of tickets that are given free to teens in our community. There seems to be a general misunderstanding about who will benefit from these donations that are being sought, because the beneficiaries of this are the people of Cheyenne. Our vision is to bring in National touring acts that wouldn't otherwise be playing the area outside of Denver, as well as hosting local and regional artists. We also believe that once we have 1200 people coming downtown to catch shows a few times a week it will be a real catalyst for change to downtown Cheyenne. We realize that we have been quiet for a while on this project, it's because we have been working to make sure we are not only doing this right, but also being very conscientious about the costs and keeping them as low as possible. We are well aware of the costs of a project like this, and this fundraising campaign is not because we miscalculated, it is because this was always the plan! We have compiled an amazing team of architects and engineers, who are all donating their time on this because they believe in what we're doing. We worked tirelessly to find the right contractor, who was excited to take on this project and do it with a reasonable budget. Everyone who has been involved so far has contributed their time and money because they want this to happen. They are a part of creating something positive for our city because they believe in it and they understand that it is being done to benefit them, and ALL of Cheyenne. Thank you to those of you that believe in this and have donated and shown us your support, we appreciate you so much.
And yes we are optimistic about this, because that’s the only way that change happens and it’s the only way that anything gets accomplished.
