La Mama reaches halfway mark

La Mama is a little over half way to reaching its fundraising target of $1.7 million required to secure the purchase of their Faraday St home in Carlton after receiving generous donations of $350,000 from Jeanne Pratt of The Pratt Foundation and $250,000 from the Sidney Myer Fund.

La Mama’s Artistic Director Liz Jones said, “We are absolutely thrilled to receive such generous contributions from two of Melbourne’s leading philanthropic Funds. These financial contributions provide us with more hope that we will reach our target at this crucial time however we still need to raise another $700,000 to secure the purchase of our Faraday St home by settlement day Tuesday 2^nd September 2008. A lot of people in the community think that La Mama has already been saved but we unfortunately still have quite a way to go.”

The Minister for the Arts, Lynne Kosky MP, recently announced that the Victorian State Government will contribute $150,000 to La Mama’s cause. With the generosity of over 300 friends of La Mama and industry members, the deposit of $170,000 was raised and paid on May 27, 2008.

La Mama has also received very promising responses following discussions with The Melbourne City Council and a number of other philanthropic organisations and is still optimistic of receiving significant contributions from these sources.

However, as there remains a considerable shortfall to reach the target required within a short timeframe, La Mama still requires all the financial help available.

La Mama, has occupied the iconic building in Faraday St in the heart of Carlton since 1967. For the last 40 years the building has been rented from a local Melbourne family. The matriarch (and much-loved La Mama supporter) Rose died late last year and the Executors of her Estate notified La Mama that they wanted to sell the building offering La Mama first option. Recently the Executors of the Estate accepted La Mama’s offer of $1.7 million.

Founded in 1967 by Betty Burstall after she visited La Mama in New York, La Mama has been an incubator for many big names in Australian theatre with its alumni including national treasures such as Jack Hibberd, David Williamson, Cate Blanchett and Richard Frankland to name a few.

To make a donation or for more information on how you can help secure La Mama’s future please contact Liz Jones on tel. 03 9347 6948, mobile 0412 909 077 or liz@lamama.com.au. Donations are fully tax deductible.