Last I read, hundreds of nonprofit organizations call Laguna Beach home. Whether your heart lies with housing and feeding the unsheltered, saving the oceans, protecting the environment, building up our public schools, growing community gardens, maintaining open space, protecting animals on land or sea, or Laguna’s legacy of supporting the arts: visual, fine and performing, I could go on and on about the importance of your support.
Thanks to our generous local businesses and big handful of renegade do-gooder families, many of these organizations can thrive and have thrived for years. However, these groups battle anew each year for their small pieces of the Laguna charitable cheese. They work to build enough money to fulfill their operating budgets and, with any luck, a little padding for the rough years. No Square Theatre, Laguna’s only community theatre, is one of those nonprofits that work hard for the money. *Cue Donna Summer*
No Square Theatre recently lost a lifetime supporter, and just before he passed, he challenged this little theatre that could. He asked our board and supporters to match his $100,000 gift. Sadly, he didn’t live long enough to see No Square Theatre succeed with this challenge. However, we dedicate ourselves to meeting his challenge. Let’s be clear: this donation promises a wallop of impact for a small-town community theatre like No Square. Not-for-profit board members know it, and estate planners know it.
I hope Laguna Beach folks realize that putting local nonprofits in their estate plans has a ripple effect that speaks volumes about their legacy, as does the commitment to giving while living. RIP Jon Cobain. May your gift be a blessing and honor you for a life well lived. The No Square Theatre thanks you.
Carrie Reynolds, Board Member, No Square Theatre
