The Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall Foundation: Illuminating the art of the possible

The mission of the Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall Foundation is to improve and enhance the performing arts and arts education ecosystem within Charleston and throughout the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. We do this by building and sustaining a vibrant culture of philanthropy at the Charleston Gaillard Center, and by promoting the growth of the Rivers Endowment for the Performing Arts and Education. Serving as its dedicated Office of Institutional Advancement, we provide the Gaillard Center with professional expertise and staff support to secure financial resources and align them with the Center’s charitable mission.

Background

Founded in 2010, the Gaillard Performance Hall Foundation was established with the general purpose of improving the nonprofit and public performing arts venues, theaters, and halls in and around Charleston, South Carolina; and to aid, support, promote, develop, maintain, and manage educational programs and performances focused on the arts. In partnership with the City of Charleston, the Foundation’s first effort was to help secure half the funding of the $142-million reconstruction of the Charleston Gaillard Center and its world-class Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall. In October of 2015, the Grand Opening Gala and Inaugural Concert celebrated the momentous campaign effort, thanks to the generosity of the Charleston community with support following from across the region and the nation.

In 2016, the Foundation created a permanent endowment in order to protect the community’s investment in the facility and to support and promote the Charleston Gaillard Center: specifically the Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall, its resident arts organizations, and the educational and community outreach programs made possible by its existence.