Brookfield Craft Center Updates Community on Fundraising, New Plan

The new Brookfield Craft Center board of directors released an update Monday on the center’s current financial situation and restructuring in the wake of a brief shutdown last year.

The message details recent fundraising events and grant awards, as well as the plan to revitalize the art center and resume offering classes.

Read the full text of the release below:

Greetings to all from the new Board of Directors of the Brookfield Craft Center. We hope your new year is off to a good start and that you are weathering this winter with ease.

Thanks to the support of the entire Brookfield area community, the 2013 Holiday Sale was a huge success.  It was heartening to meet so many craft center supporters throughout the duration of the sale. Your support and patronage has bolstered our determination to bring the center back to "full steam" as soon as possible. We will count on that continued support as we move forward to re-open the gallery, studios and campus for classes and special events. We have listened to your ideas, taken notes and are working on exciting new plans for the future.

We have already received two grants from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for a total of $35,000. The Arts Leadership grant involves opportunities for children to attend workshops in our campus studios designed to preserve and expose traditional crafts to younger generations. These workshops are in the planning stages, with course offerings planned to occur in the spring.

The ACP/SHPO grant is a new program, which integrates arts programming with Historical Preservation. This grant involves the possibility of designating the BCC campus as a new historic district, developing the history of the center and its importance to the Brookfield community through story telling, a coffee table book filled with the photos of Colin Harrison, and a variety of art exhibits. It will also include Open House exhibition workshops during which BCC crafters will demonstrate what goes into their crafting. To many, the workings of the studios could be a mystery. We believe giving the public the opportunity to witness an artisan at work will encourage participation and support of the center. We will be required to raise approximately $18,000 in matching funds as part of the privilege of being awarded these grants. We have some great ideas for a couple of fund-raisers for which we will rely on your support!

Our website is being redesigned; our social media outreach is being refined and a routine of timely and informative updates will be established to keep you all apprised of our progress. We are developing an even bigger cache of volunteers, without which none of this is possible.

The Board of Directors is meeting regularly. You will find our newly crafted Vision Statement at the end of this letter. We are working on a new business plan, developing Finance and Fund-Raising committees, and exploring new relationships within the Town of Brookfield and the region to strengthen our basis of support and presence in the area.

Lastly, and by no means least, we continue to work on the development of our class and open studio schedule! We have had initial meetings with the instructors and will do more of this as we create this class schedule.  

While we are working on the future of the BCC, we will maintain a very reduced schedule of operation on the campus. Please continue to call and email with ideas, concerns and inquiries. We will get back to you in a timely manner.

In closing, we want to thank Priority Landscaping in Brookfield for keeping our driveways and parking lot clear. We simply could not have done without your generosity. You are the best!

And, once again we thank our volunteers. We enjoyed working with you so much and, well, we miss you. Please stay tuned and in touch.

With best regards,
The Board of Directors
Brookfield Craft Center