About the Project
In 2004, the names listed above, representing several municipal, civic, and
private groups, formed the Fenton Cultural Center Steering Committee in order
to establish the feasibility of an addition to the Fenton Community Center with
a focus on cultural activities. The group worked with the University of Michigan
– Flint to perform the study. Feasibility study results in hand, they
proceeded to discuss the economic and operational details of a possible addition
to the Community Center.
The demand for arts and cultural development is high, particularly among U.S. citizens who demographically match most of the residents of Fenton: college educated, income above the national average, married with families. This, combined with the anticipated growth of the Fenton area, inspired a group of citizens to undertake the development of the proposed cultural addition to the Community Center.
Outlined in this plan you will find the details necessary to fund, operate, and manage the proposed Fenton Community and Cultural Center.
Organization Introduction
In 1937 a $200,000 trust was created by the Horace H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham
Fund to establish a community center in Fenton, Michigan, with assistance from
the University of Michigan. A seven-member Board of Governors was created to
oversee the center’s activities. An agreement was reached among the Rackham
Fund as donor, the Regents of the University of Michigan as donee, and the Village
of Fenton, as beneficiary. Regents have vested control over the management and
investment of the endowment fund of the Fenton Community Center. The University
receives no income from the Fund for its own use. The Fenton Community Center
remains a self-supporting, non-profit entity.
Sixty-five years after the creation of the Fenton Community Center, the Fenton Cultural Center Research Committee was formed to determine the feasibility of creating a cultural events center for the arts. Financially supported by the Fenton Fund and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, they enlisted the assistance of the University of Michigan – Flint to execute a three-part study. The study included a survey of interest in the community, a survey of cultural centers from similar sized communities, and a site analysis. Among the 2004 study's conclusions were that Fenton area residents have a large appetite for cultural activities, and the majority of the community supports the idea of creating a cultural center. The study also outlined concerns of the community, including funding sources and location of the center.
Upon the study's conclusion, and the City Council and Board of Governors’ approval, a committee was formed to set planning, design, and fundraising for the Cultural Center in motion. It was also agreed that creating the Cultural Center as an addition to the existing Community Center made both financial and operational sense. The committee agreed that the mission of the Fenton Community Center, written by the Board of Governors in 1937, allows for and encourages the fulfillment of cultural needs in Fenton. With the cultural addition, the Center will now be known as the Fenton Community and Cultural Center.
The by-laws of the Fenton Community Center read as follows: “All programs and activities shall be planned as to secure the enthusiastic co-operation of local groups and shall have as their objectives the development of leadership and the benefiting of the people of the Community in the fields of health, recreation, morals, cultural development and civic improvement.”
In 2005 the Fenton Community Center received 501 (c)3 status. The expectation is that the cultural addition will fall under the same articles.
