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Where Will You Make A Difference
Your gift has never been more important – or impactful – than at this moment. Thank you for supporting Paramount Theatre!
Giving Options
Charitable contributions are essential to quality programming in each of the following areas.
The Broadway Series
Our Broadway Series brings top-quality musical theater to downtown Aurora, drawing patrons from across the western suburbs and far beyond. We carefully mix a line-up of famous favorites with lesser known but thought-provoking works you might not see anywhere else. Wowed by our talented casts, dazzling sets and live orchestral music, area critics and many patrons say our shows are the best in Chicago and on par with Broadway productions — and it’s your contributions that make them so.
Paramount School of the Arts
Just completing its amazing debut year, our new School of the Arts created a splash from the very beginning, hosting artists of every age and aspiration in learning to act, sing and dance. Rather than tiptoeing into arts education with a class or two here and there, we hired a top director and faculty and built out extensive classroom space that would allow us to start the School with momentum — a commitment that continues to expand through gifts from visionary donors.
General Fund
Some of our most valuable contributions come from those who recognize our need for flexible funds. Donations given for general support allow us to cover gaps in our budget, to take advantage of emerging opportunities and to say “yes” to risks that result in breakthroughs. A regular flow of general funds will not only allow us to be nimble and enterprising but will also help us
retain staff and production capacities during our coronavirus closure.
Other Funds
With several different areas that need charitable donations to thrive, like Scholarship Funds, Dreams Do Come True, New Works, you can choose how you make a difference with your selfless gift.
For more philanthropic opportunities, please contact Chief Development Officer Jonathan Jensen at 630-723-2484 or jonathanj@paramountarts.com.
Paramount Arts Centre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Why Consider A Charitable Gift
Why We Need Your Support
Paramount Theatre is more than just a presenter of great performances…
We constantly strive to be a spirit-lifting, community-building institution. The word on the street is, we’re succeeding. We hope that makes us worthy of your charitable contribution. A gift to Paramount strengthens the artistic and economic vitality of our community — and that’s a gift that keeps on giving.
Excellence comes at a price. But our promise is excellence at a low price — one that makes live performance more accessible to every family across our region. Our commitment is to encourage more people to explore the arts, many for the first time, with ticket prices that seldom reflect the full cost of our productions. We’re also committed to extending the arts to our community’s less fortunate — with programs such as our new “Theatre for Young Audiences Touring Program,” which will bring performing arts to underserved youngsters across our community.
The Economic Case
Paramount employs many area residents — we’re a theater committed to casting locally, building sets on-site, using a full live orchestra, etc. But that’s just the beginning…
Each year, Paramount generates foot traffic of almost half a million people through our neighborhood. With the second largest subscription base in the nation, our Broadway Series hosts nearly 250,000 audience members every year. Thousands of summer music fans at RiverEdge Park and growing student rolls at our School of the Arts increase visitor totals still further. All these visitors have a powerful effect on our community’s economic health, supporting the growth of restaurants and shops, turning empty storefronts into new developments, making downtown Aurora an increasingly trendy place to live and work, and contributing an estimated total of $36 million in local economic impact. Importantly, our programs diversify our local economy, creating the balance that helps a community stay strong and vibrant — and providing an economic spark that will make a big difference as local businesses strive to recover from coronavirus closures.
The Quality-of-Life Case
Impact on a community is one thing; impact on individual lives is another. Here, too, Paramount shines…
Loyal subscribers and occasional patrons say the same thing: that the presence of great performing art, close to home and at an affordable price, has a powerful effect on their quality of life. In an era when entertainment is increasingly electronic, virtual and enjoyed in isolation,
a shared theater experience with thousands of fellow community members takes on a compelling and treasured dimension. Mounting shows with both broad appeal and lofty production values, Paramount increasingly wins critical acclaim, but our most treasured kudos come from our audience members. One fan spoke for many when she said, “Paramount has style that never fails. These shows make me think, make me laugh, make me cry. What else could do that?” When our audience members describe the arts as “a vital part of raising children,” “essential to a life fully lived” and “humanity at its finest,” we know Paramount is succeeding in its mission.
Donors attend an exclusive event to learn more about Paramount's production of Kinky Boots from director Trent Stork.
For more philanthropic opportunities, please contact Chief Development Officer Jonathan Jensen at 630-723-2484 or jonathanj@paramountarts.com.
Paramount Arts Centre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
A Letter From Our President & CEO
To Our Paramount Family
The hush will make you humble.
For one moment, join me here. You and I are sitting in the Paramount Theatre — Aurora’s ornate, venerable, cavernous monument to the performing arts. Around us, an echoing silence.
This grand place has stood here for nine decades with a single purpose: to bring people together. It’s done a lot of that recently, as our subscriber base has grown to #2 in the nation in just 10 short years.
Why did we grow so fast? You know. You’ve seen our artists put their all into their craft. They fill even this room with sounds that amaze. Every shout and sigh, every whisper and whine, every swoon and swell — every tinkle, clank, strum, ping, pop, bang and boom — is lovingly designed to fill your senses and tell our story. (And those are just the sounds… don’t get me started on the sights they deliver!).
Sure, we could cut corners. A live orchestra at every performance is an expensive choice. But could anything less do justice to this magnificent room? What else could fill this hall… or your heart?
I hope all this talk about sound resonates with you (sorry, couldn’t resist!).
Our lives are quieter right now. We’re all social distancing, holding our collective breath until the world returns to normal. I hope the “normal” you long for includes this beautiful great hall. Someday soon, this amazing room will ring again with a swelling orchestra, crooning actors and pounding applause. But we can’t do all that without you. Because, truth is, it’s you — our donors — who will fill this space with sound.
Now is the time to invest, to add certainty to tomorrow, to plant your flag in our future. As one of the most important members of our donor family, you can make a great difference as we weather the coming months. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Tim Rater
President and CEO
Paramount Theatre
Spotlight Monthly Giving
Spotlight
Share your enthusiasm as a sustaining donor by joining our new monthly giving program
As one of our Spotlight donors, your monthly donation will sustain Paramount’s dedication to make the arts accessible to our community and to introduce the magic of live theatre across generations.
Consider a small, recurring charitable donation to sustain our award-wining work. You could choose to give $10 a month, commemorating the 10 years of our Broadway Series…$36 a month, to honor each of our 36 Broadway Series shows…or $84 a month to honor our actors’ 84 Jeff Award nominations. You can even make a one-time contribution, just to say “Keep up the good work!”
Here’s how much your gift means to Paramount Nation!
$5 a month provides tickets to local families through our Dreams Do Come True initiative
$10 a month provides scholarships to students at the School of the Arts
$25 a month provides school bus transportation to students to attend imaginative live-theatrical events
$50 a month provides sign language interpretation at many of our Broadway series performances
Your generosity makes it possible for more people to experience the grandeur of the Paramount Theatre, the intimacy of the Copley Theatre and the atmosphere of RiverEdge Park.
Join Spotlight to support the Paramount mission all year long!
Encore Society
Planned Giving at the Paramount
“When I donate here, I feel that I really see the results on stage. Yes, I give because the shows are amazing — but mostly to make sure it all continues.”
For generations, theater-goers have enjoyed musicals, concerts, movies and more on-stage at the Paramount. A planned gift to Paramount Theatre will fulfill our mission to introduce the magic of live performing arts to future generations.
The Encore Society honors individuals that have chosen to arrange a planned gift to support the Paramount in their estate plans. Such a gift enables you, the donor, to achieve your personal financial goals (e.g., limiting estate taxes, provide for your heirs) and leave a lasting legacy of support at Paramount.
As you make long-term financial arrangements with family and loved-ones, including estate plans, please consider Paramount as a part of your long-lasting legacy. Gifts of any amount are accepted and can be designated to the fund of your choice. Benefits are life-long and begin as soon as you notify us of your gift and send a copy of the documentation that mentions Paramount Theatre. In addition, naming opportunities may be available.
For more information on Planned Giving and the various gift giving vehicles with which you can support the Encore Society, contact Jonathan Jensen, Chief Development Officer at 630-723-2484 or jonathanj@paramountarts.com.
Encore Society Downloadable Form
Format: PDF
DownloadCorporate Sponsorship
sponsor a show
Sponsorship Benefits
- BRAND RECOGNITION Logo presence in Paramount Materials
- BRAND EXPOSURE Logo presence to a wide demographic of Paramount patrons from several regions
- PRINT ADVERTISING Logo presence on print advertising done for sponsored show
- FLYERS & POSTCARDS Logo presence on flyers and postcards for sponsored show
- SPONSOR DISPLAY Logo presence on prominent sponsor display in lobby for one year
- SIGNAGE Company name included on all visible signage in the lobby for sponsored show
- ANNOUNCEMENT On-stage acknowledgement prior to sponsored show
- PREMIERE SOCIETY Prominent Premiere Society signage in lobby for one year
- INDOOR EXHIBITION SPACE Allows sponsors to have the opportunity to reach and speak to the entire audience
- MARQUEE Company name displayed on Paramount Marquee during sponsored show (dependent on level of sponsorship)
- TICKETS Complimentary tickets to sponsored shows (number of tickets dependent on level of sponsorship)
- MEET & GREETS First opportunity for approved Meet and Greet with performer (dependent on availability)
Thank you to our generous sponsors!
