ATOS Annual Campaign

2017 Annual Fundraising Campaign – ATOS Needs Your Help

DONATION INFORMATION

Please make a contribution to the 2017 American Theatre Organ Society Fundraising Campaign. Your contributions today will have direct impact to help ATOS “keep the music playing”.

ATOS is an IRS approved non-profit organization. Donations to ATOS can be tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. You and your fellow ATOS members have historically made very generous contributions. Revenue from your ATOS membership dues do not provide enough money to sustain the level of programs and initiatives ATOS offers today. Your generosity last year provided about $60,000 in annual donations though our appeal. Additionally, bequests of more than $40,000 were specifically made to grow the ATOS the Endowment Fund.

Your gift today will have immediate beneficial impact and assure ATOS is positioned to operate and promote many programs supporting our members’ interests and positioning theatre organ to broader audiences. Your financial contributions support the following (in alphabetical order):

• ATOS Archives – A relatively new initiative to archive ATOS historical material including documents, recordings and significant personal collections photographs and letters. A great deal of today’s theatre organ has evolved over the past hundred years. The ATOS Archives collects, organizes and preserves these physical resources and recordings.
• ATOS Radio – A radio service providing 24-hour theatre organ music on the internet. You can listen without paying any subscription fees.
• Endowment Fund – A fund of donations invested to provide restricted distributions of earnings to finance ATOS program initiatives.
• George Wright Fellowship – A fund of donations with restricted distributions to support a first-time attendee to the ATOS Annual Convention.
• International Youth Silent Film Festival – An international contest where recorded theatre organ music is provided to young film students who produce unique short silent films. These films expose thousands of new viewers to the theatre organ’s ability to accompany story telling on small and large screens. (The Festival is not an ATOS program, but one supported by ATOS and it provides a resource for Chapter presentations, whether on video or as a live event.)
• Scholarships – A program of underwriting young organ students’ lessons for studying theatre organ playing.
• Summer Youth Adventure – An annual, week long, residential summer camp for 15 young organ students to learn theatre organ styles, playing techniques and performance as well as experience multiple instruments’ capabilities. ATOS covers most of the costs of a team of instructors and room and board for participants.
• Technical Experience and Assistance – Highly skilled organ technicians inform and educate members to expand their understanding the proper techniques for the preservation, restoration and maintenance of theatre organ instruments.
• Theatre Organ Journal – A publication focused on communicating and documenting the ever-changing world of theatre organ.
• Young Theatre Organist Competition – This competition is a juried multiple stage annual contest for young theatre organists; finalists are invited to perform for you at the ATOS Annual Convention. The overall winner of the competition is invited to return to perform at the next year’s Convention for an hour-long concert for attendees. Performance experience for the participants and exposure to the membership are key values of this effort.

Which of these ATOS programs, or what part of ATOS do you enjoy the most, or is most beneficial from your perspective? We could ask 50 members this question, and get all kinds of responses. I believe each of these programs merits your financial support.

You can see that ATOS now puts focus on familiarizing and educating young people and new audiences because these individuals are essential to the future of theatre organ. Next, you see that educating and entertaining our membership is also a major focus for our efforts. I appreciate and encourage you to participate to the extent you can. If you have an eye on the future you may consider contributing to the Endowment Fund as a strategy for growth. Don’t forget, your contributions provide support to Chapters and audience experience expansion which are also vital.

I am reaching out to you to make a formal contribution to our Annual Fundraising Campaign. Please be generous with your financial support today. In the past year, ATOS through the Board of Directors has been very busy with:

• ongoing reorganization, with a focus on financial management matters
• formulating and following a budget that realistically reflects revenue expectations
• identifying ways to expand our audience and exposure of theatre organ
• discovering better ways to stretch the dollars you give us
• continuing to work toward a fully balanced budget.

At ATOS, as it is with every nonprofit arts organization, membership dues cover just a fraction of the actual annual costs. I hope you agree that every program listed above is intended to contribute to fulfilling the ATOS mission and goals. Your financial support can assure these programs continue.

Those $5, $10 and $20 donations add up, and collectively they can do so much good to promote theatre organ. I know that there are those of you who can provide direction-changing gifts to ATOS that can guarantee the future of the theatre organ. If you are in a position that allows you to become a major donor, please feel free to contact me for additional information or visit the ATOS website.

Is there a loved one you wish to remember? Is there a major gift you would like to make because of the impact of the theatre organ has been in your life? These gifts can help a future generation enjoy our passion and continue your legacy.

You’ve been there in the past with your generous support. We hope you will be generous and contribute today to this 2017 Annual Fundraising Campaign.

There are several ways you can make a formal contribution to ATOS and secure the future of the theatre pipe organ. Late in the month of October every ATOS member was mailed a donation appeal with a response envelope. If you prefer to make on-line donations, the ATOS website is setup to make it quick and easy to make your contribution via the internet.

You may be able to double your donation to ATOS. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs to match charitable contributions made by their employees. Gifts from retirees and spouses may also quality for a match. To find out if you company has a matching gift program, consult with you human resources office.

For information about any of the ATOS’s activities, our Annual Campaign or estate planning gifts you can visit the ATOS website or contact me, Richard Neidich, the ATOS Board Chairman at r.neidich (at) atos.org. You may write me at 929 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20001