SBCT awarded the Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence

In recognition of its outstanding leadership, management, and programs, South Bend Civic Theatre was named winner of and received the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s 2007 Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence.

The Leighton Award, established in 1999, celebrates excellence and sustainability in the nonprofit sector with a $100,000 endowment challenge grant and an unrestricted grant for $10,000. When matched by private contributions, the award results in a $200,000 fund established with the Community Foundation that endows South Bend Civic Theatre with permanent annual support.

The Community Foundation chose South Bend Civic Theatre out of a large pool of applicants, marking the first time that an arts organization has won the award. At the Leighton Award ceremony on Thursday, September 8, at Century Center, Community Foundation Chair Edwina Kitner spoke about the theatre’s ability to engage and provoke audiences, noting that South Bend Civic Theatre “takes delight in putting a human face on the issues of our day—making us think about these issues, even if we don’t want to—and deepening our understanding in the process.”

Dick Currey, then Chair of South Bend Civic Theatre’s Board, and Executive Director Jim Coppens accepted the award for the theatre.

In 1995, South Bend Civic Theatre was the seventeenth largest community theatre in the state. Today, it is the state’s third largest, behind only Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. The theatre ranks No. 1 in the state in terms of total assets.

The organization also works hard to provide a diversified program of productions and activities that represesnts the entire regional community. Over the past ten seasons, South Bend Civic Theatre has produced fourteen plays with African-American themes and casts. The theatre began a similar outreach program with the Latino community in 2004. Education is also a key element of the theatre’s mission: More than 4,000 area young people have taken part in South Bend Civic Theatre’s workshops, camps, and performances since 1996.