Trike Theatre cultivates creativity, builds character

Tell us about your organization:

• Mission: Cultivate creativity, build character, strengthen communities.

• Services provided: Theater classes, theater productions, workshops, residencies, professional development and more.

• Average number of people served annually: 30,000

How is your organization’s mission unique?

We provide children and their families with a 360-degree theater experience — opportunities for people to learn, see and do theater. What do they learn at Trike Theatre? The takeaways of Trike Theatre are 21st century skills and character strengths that people need in order to succeed, whether they pursue the theater or anything else.

Why do you work or volunteer for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it?

I have always enjoyed making a positive contribution to any community I live in. I have been doing so as a theater leader for over 15 years now, and now that I have a 3-year-old daughter, I enjoy focusing my efforts on the area of improving and transforming the lives of the young people in Northwest Arkansas.

What part of your job fills most of your time?

Managing the strategic growth and organizational improvement of Trike Theatre. In three short years we have grown from six full-time staff members to 15 full-time staff and over 80 contracted teachers and artists with a multi-state service footprint.

What have you learned on the job that you didn’t expect?

I am new to Northwest Arkansas and to Arkansas. Moved here for the job, and have just fallen in love with Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas. I had very little knowledge of all of the excellent philanthropy that Walmart and the Walton Family Foundation engage in. The effect on this community and beyond is significant and very much appreciated.

What challenges face your organization?

As is always the case with a not-for-profit organization that relies on charitable gifts for roughly half of its revenue, making that happen is always a challenge. We are very nimble and have a wide variety of revenue sources, but the biggest challenge thus far is increasing corporate sponsorships of programs. We serve a lot of children, parents and grandparents, and we’re putting together a good push to increase corporate partners, so I think we’ll be able to move forward in this area. So if there are people out there who represent corporations that want to partner with Trike Theatre, get in touch before the opportunities are all gone.

Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they?

There are volunteer opportunities. Our plan requires us to grow our board of directors by about 15 people over the course of the next few years. There is a robust giving component to this, but the quality of the board experience at Trike is very high as the impact we have on people is significant and necessary. If someone is interested in dipping a toe in, a great fun volunteer opportunity is to help us throw our annual party, Laughter and Libations.

What upcoming fundraisers and/or other events does your organization have planned?

Great segue. Yes! It’s one of the most fun parties of the year! $100 per person, stand up by Raj Suresh, MC is Jason Suel, open bar and food from local eateries. And dessert. It’s Laughter and Libations, Mardis Gras edition. Get your tickets now; the event is March 13.

Savas