Community Giving Exceeds Patrick & Mary Mulva’s Matching Gift For $175,000

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) announced that, thanks to incredible community support, the nonprofit theatre has raised almost $187,800 in individual contributions made towards a matching gift of $175,000 pledged by the generous donors Patrick and Mary Mulva. This outpouring of community support has exceeded the matching gift by almost $12,800.

In mid-March, the Mulvas announced that they would match every contribution made to FST, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. This matching gift was planned to coincide with the 2020 Giving Challenge in an effort to inspire others to give. Following the exceptional success of this year’s 24-hour online Giving Challenge campaign, the Mulvas responded by expanding their matching gift to FST from $100,000 to $175,000.

“The generosity of our community never ceases to amaze me,” said Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins. “I was touched when Mary and Pat Mulva initially extended their support of $100,000, and was deeply moved when they expanded their gift due to others’ generosity. Every gift will help the theatre stay strong, move ahead, and prepare for the future.”

“We have always been great fans of the theatre and were so excited to discover FST when we moved to Sarasota in 2018,” said Patrick and Mary Mulva. “As we learned more about FST’s mission and the people who make it the vibrant place it is, we were even more impressed and committed to its ongoing success. The theatre’s unmatched quality of productions, commitment to presenting relevant and challenging topics onstage, educational focus on youth, and economic impact on our community are so important.”

FST, like most businesses, has been working since March to offset sizeable financial losses incurred in response to the devastating spread of COVID19. The not-for-profit theatre projects that it will lose over $1.5 million in revenue due to its truncated 2019-2020 Winter Season and canceled 2020 Summer Season.

“When the COVID-19 restrictions began and the theatre’s operations were shut down, we wanted to do something to help,” shared Patrick and Mary Mulva. “We thought we could encourage others to give by setting up $100,000 in matching funds for the Giving Challenge. To our delight, we learned that donations not only reached that amount, but exceeded it—clearly people in the community also wanted to help. So we decided match donations dollar-

for-dollar at a new level of $175,000, and now that number has been exceeded as well. What fantastic news! We couldn’t be happier that so many people have joined us to ensure FST weathers this difficult time and will be ready to return stronger than ever.”

Sarasota’s Contemporary Theatre raised $119,197 from individuals through the 2020 Giving Challenge, along with $68,525 in additional individual gifts made directly to FST after the official close of the Challenge. This brings the total donation amount from individual giving to $187,722—therefore exceeding Patrick and Mary Mulva’s matching gift by $12,722. Additionally, The Patterson Foundation matched $83,080 of the individual Giving Challenge contributions. In total, FST has raised over $445,000 in community and matching support.

Patrick and Mary Mulva have been steadfast supporters of FST since 2018, when they relocated from Seattle to Sarasota because of its beauty and diverse artistic offerings. The Mulvas have since become Season Underwriters for FST’s 2019 and 2020 Winter Seasons. They have also sponsored FST’s annual fundraising event, The FST Shindig, for the past two years. Patrick Mulva serves as a Trustee on FST’s Board of Directors, contributing almost 40 years of executive leadership to the governing body.

For more information on the matching challenge grant, made possible by the generous gift of Patrick and Mary Mulva, please contact Melody Mora-Shihadeh, FST’s Director of Individual Giving, at (941) 366-9017 x326 or at mmora-shihadeh@floridastudiotheatre.org.