San Francisco’s Brava Theater announced this week that it’s expanding its Mission District space after its organizers learned it was receiving a $200,000-grant from the city’s Super Bowl 50 host committee.
On Monday, the 50 Fund, a philanthropic initiative set up by the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, announced it was awarding a total of $2 million in “Game Changer” grants to nine Bay Area nonprofits. This was the second and final round of grants; early last year, the 50 Fund awarded $2.5 million in total to five other local organizations, all of which assist low income youth. According to its website, the 50 Fund has provided a grand total of $7.5 million in grants to more than 135 Bay Area nonprofits.
“The 50 Fund Game Changer program is all about placing big bets on organizations that are making a profound difference in the lives of our young people and in the places where they live, learn and play,” Keith Bruce, CEO of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, says.
Of the nine 50 Fund grant winners from this round, Brava! for Women in the Arts — the nonprofit started by the theater 30 years ago — is the only one that is arts-focused. The organization says it will buy and open three storefront spaces near the 90-year-old theater that have been closed for almost a decade. The expansion will allow the theater to build new dressing rooms, office space and a new cabaret space for hosting other performances, classes and other community events.
The theater’s organizers say that they plan to start the expansion this spring and complete it by that fall.
