Alight Dances Past Its Fundraising Goal

Alight dance theater just of raising $1,678 through a Kickstarter campaign to fund .

On Tuesday, alight had 29 backers and $1,725 raised through Kickstarter.

"We've never done anything like this before," said Angella Foster, artistic director for alight.

In the past, alight has raised funds through measures such as selling merchandise, holding silent auctions, asking board members for contributions and applying for grants— a little has come from ticket sales as well, Foster said. This is alight's fist attempt to gain funding through individual donations, according to Foster.

"To be able to say a community of people made it happen is a really exciting part of the project," Foster said in an interview on Monday evening when alight still had $38 to go to reach the goal amount.

The Prince George's Arts & Humanities Council is matching $1,678 in funds. Alight also needs an additional $1,674 beyond the dance theater's $1,678 Kickstarter goal, to cover all its project expenses, Foster said.

As of Tuesday, it had gone beyond its Kickstarter campaign goal, to chip $47 off the final $1,674.

The funds will go toward "Hometown Heroes," an alight original production, which will tell the stories of Greenbelt women—past and present, in a history brought to life through drama and dance.

It's a project partnership between the dance theater and Greenbelt Museum in honor of Greenbelt's 75th Anniversary. The dance theater is delving into oral histories and documentation of the lives of Greenbelt women. And from the annals of our local history, alight dancers will emerge to present women's experiences and stories.

Foster said she has been constantly researching grants to try to come up with the additional funding. She was also planning to sell merchandise and take other measures. But with 20 days left in the campaign, which ends April 1, and so much raised, Foster was excited about the prospect of more money coming in through Kickstarter than she and her team had originally imagined.

"Obviously the more we can raise through Kickstarter, the better," Foster said, "but we're prepared to do more kinds of fundraising if we need to."

There is no uniform contribution amount for Kickstarter, and Foster does not plan to stop the campaign until April 1. Pledges have been ranging from $10—a donation amount from multiple patrons—to a $500-or-more category, which alight received from one contributor.

Some of the donations aren't financial, according to Foster. Part of being in a tight-knit community is that people give whatever they can; for some it's time, others give money, and some give by passing the word along, Foster said.