Whitefish Theatre Company has received a $250,000 grant to help upgrade the O’Shaughnessy Center. The grant comes from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and is a one-to-one challenge grant contingent on solicitation of matching funds.

The theater group has already raised 74 percent of the $1.25 million “Raise the Curtain on Act 2” capital campaign launched in 2012.

Phase I wrapped up in 2013 and included a full upgrade of the main stage space of the O'Shaughnessy Center.

Phase II will reconfigure the lobby for more space and better traffic flow.  

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based in Washington state, was established in 1975 by Melvin J. Murdock who was co-founder of Tektronix, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore.  

The Trust's mission is to “enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest by providing grants to organizations that seek to strengthen the region's educational, cultural, and spiritual base in creative and sustainable ways”.  

The Trust focuses its grantmaking efforts in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.  This is the first grant that the Whitefish Theatre Company has received from the M.J. Murdock Trust.

WTC will continue to reach out to individuals, corporate foundations, and other sources of support until capital campaign goals are met. Special events and giving incentives for the community are being planned.

For more information visit whitefishtheatreco.org or call 862-5371.