VERA PROJECT’S INAUGURAL CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

The Vera Project happily announces its very first capital campaign: Viva Vera! 2006 is the year Vera establishes its long-term home at the Seattle Center. Generations of young people will have access to music, art, civic engagement programming, and skill development opportunities. Only with your help can we make this dream a reality.

Founded in 2001 by three visionaries and a team of community activists, the Vera Project strives to fulfill its mission to fuel personal and community transformation through the vehicle of popular music shows in partnership with the young people of Seattle. The Vera Project has served more than 65,000 young people in its first five years. They come to see bands. They come to make art. They come to learn. They come to get involved in their community. Vera participants learn skills like community organizing, sound engineering, event production, and screen printing. Many bands play their first show at Vera. Numerous young people have acquired experience at Vera that has contributed significantly to their professional careers in the music industry.

Vera is thrilled to accept a long-term lease in Seattle Center’s Snoqualmie Room, creating an enduring centrally-located cultural center for Seattle’s youth to find arts, music, and community. This 6500 square foot room is the perfect space for Vera’s talented design and construction team to create a 9000 square foot youth arts and music venue. An incredible group of volunteers and community activists have joined the Viva Vera team. The Viva Vera Capital Campaign is off to a strong start, and we are collectively working toward our $1.8 million goal.

Vera’s new venue will include:

    – A 300-person capacity performance space for weekly all-ages concerts
    – Multi-purpose rooms for classes, workshops, and meetings
    – A visual art and performance gallery which will provide space for small
       audiences
    – An expanded community screen printing art studio
    – A recording studio to document live performances and teach youth the
       art of recording
    – Administrative space for staff, volunteers, and interns

Vera embarks on this bold campaign as a crucial step in the organization’s commitment to enriching the lives of Seattle youth through artistic integrity in music and education programming. Vera’s new venue will allow Vera to expand programming and engage new communities.

Visualize Seattle in 2016: hundreds of musicians and artists working with highly skilled community organizers, sound and lighting engineers, promoters, and event producers in a city filled with adults who grew up with live music at the Vera Project!

The Vera Project is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Charitable Organization.