After a successful fundraising campaign to aid in the move of the Belmont Media Center from its home in Waverley Square, the nonprofit has surpassed its $229,000 goal by more than $20,000.
“We are super thankful,” said Sheryl Grace, chair of the Board of Directors for the media center. “I’d say we’re a little humbled by the fact people did this.”
The money raised allows the media center to move and set up two new spaces, one at the high school and the other at the new library on Concord Avenue. The transition is expected to happen in the next few months, in time for the end of the center’s lease at 9 Lexington St.
“The civic spirit of Belmont is tremendous,” added board member Roger Fussa. “Going into this, we were concerned about donor fatigue. … We are very grateful to the community for stretching for us, and some people really stretched.”
The effort kicked off in September, according to Ellen Schreiber, a member of the fundraising team. Before that, the committee launched an internal campaign to connect with previous board presidents and others with ties to the media center who may be ready and able to step up for the campaign. As it was, there was no pre-established list of past donors to contact.
The internal campaign was successful, allowing the public campaign to begin with a $50,000 donation and two $25,000 donations already in hand.
“That lit a fire,” said Schreiber.
“We just tried to show up where people were a few times,” Grace said. “Town Day, football games … We asked organizations that work with Belmont Media, and got a lot of people to send [messages on the media center’s behalf] to their lists.”
Town Meeting members were contacted, and lawn signs were spread around town. A match program was created. When all was said and done, the team surpassed the goal it set publicly — $229,0000— and achieved its aspirational goal of $250,000.
“It’s important to get the donations— at the end of the day, you do have to pay bills,” said Fussa, who was tapped for his professional fundraising experience. “However, along with the amount of money someone gives, be it $25 or $100, that’s an opportunity to build a connection with the donor.”
According to Grace, original cost estimates for the move made by Belmont Media Center Executive Director Jeff Hansell and board member Scott Sassone came to about $250,000. The two honed their pricing estimates and came back to the Board of Directors with the $229,000 goal.
According to Hansell, after nearly 20 years of refurbishing old equipment rather than buying new, the money raised will be used to acquire new cameras and a new lighting grid, carry out network improvements, and cover unforeseen costs associated with moving the municipal cable hub, currently headquartered in Waverley Square.
“Our idea is to outfit [the studios] with equipment that is not going to need to be replaced in a short time,” Hansell said while touring the high school studio last fall.
He’s found success in keeping old equipment working.
“Today, we have cameras for students covering sports that are older than they are,” he said.
The new headquarters at the library will be about two-thirds the size of the place in Waverley Square, but it will save the nonprofit nearly $100,000 in rent and utility costs—allowing for the potential to expand staffing to include a full-time and part-time staff member, according to Hansell.
“This is a very small footprint compared to what we have now,” Grace said. “We decided it was worth it to be in the middle of everything.”
The new locations, particularly at the library, will ideally bring more visibility to the media center.
“People don’t happen by Waverley all that often,” Grace said. “The community will happen at the library. [The move] takes us to where the community is, and that’s who we serve.”
