The Performing Arts Center Eastside of Bellevue, Washington announced it has received a $25 million grant this week from the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation. In recognition of the foundation’s generosity, the Performing Arts Center Eastside will be renamed the Tateuchi Center.
The grant is the single largest grant ever donated to an Eastside organization. It was given to the performing arts center as part of its $160 million capital campaign. Most of the funds will be allocated to the building of a new 2,000-seat concert hall and 250-seat cabaret-style venue.
The Performing Arts Center Eastside has raised $60 million so far for the construction of the building whose opening is slated for 2013. Another $3 million of the Tateuchi Foundation grant will be used to develop programming, including Japanese and Japanese-inspired performances.
The Performing Arts Center Eastside was founded in 2002 with the mission of building a performing arts center to serve the Bellevue community. The center seeks to positively transform the lives of its patrons through the presentation of artistic, cultural, educational and entertainment events. The Tateuchi Foundation decided to award the funds after noting the similarity in goals of the two organizations.
"The Tateuchi Foundation wanted to make sure there was a harmony between the foundation and the mission of the performing arts center," John Haynes, the center’s CEO, told the Bellevue Reporter. "Once they saw that the harmony and purpose aligned, they were eager to get on board."
The newly-named Tateuchi Center hopes that the Tateuchi Foundation’s grant will inspire others to donate to the performing arts venue. If the center is able to raise sufficient funds for the construction to begin within a year, they could save $20 million from the final cost.
Other notable grants given to the Tateuchi Center have come from Steve and Paula Reynolds, Anu and Naveen Jain and Intelius, Microsoft, and state and local governments.
