Last year, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) was awarded a three-year Strategic Partnership grant totaling $150,000 from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (Community Foundation). These funds have been designated in support of WBTT’s education programs and special events.

This year’s funding of $50,000 will support: education programs such as the free Stage of Discovery summer camp, the in-school Jazzlinks history program, and free, age-appropriate Rhythm & Tales productions for younger schoolchildren ($20,000); the annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ($10,000); WBTT’s signature fundraisers – the Fall Gala and April Fête ($15,000); and the Juneteenth Arts Festival ($5,000).

The Community Foundation has been a supporter of WBTT for many years, contributing to the nearly $9 million Heart & Soul Campaign, which funded renovations to WBTT’s campus and buildings, providing emergency grants when WBTT’s stage went dark due to Covid, and sponsoring WBTT’s theatre seasons, among other programs and events.

Read more here.