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Park City Film Series now has an endowment fund

Kim Page has introduced several programs to the Park City Film Series during her year as executive director.

With BYOB (Bring Your Own Bowl), Filmgoers began bringing their own decorated popcorn bowls to the screenings to cut down on waste.

She also conceived the Books 2 Movies series, which will show films based on an array of children’s books.

As Page prepares to step down from her post, she has implemented an endowment fund to benefit the nonprofit organization through the Park City Foundation.

"It’s my departing gift to the Park City Film Series," Page said during an interview with The Park Record. "I just wanted to give the community another opportunity to support the film series."

An endowment fund is money donated to an institution, individual, or group to produce income, according to Webster’s Dictionary.

The principal amount of the endowment fund always stays intact while all or a part of the earnings are utilized by the organization each year, Page said.

"It’s like an investment and the Park City Foundation will be the manager of this investment," she explained. "People will feel it’s more sustainable to invest in an endowment fund, rather than just donating money to the series and now knowing where it’s going."

Page learned about endowment funds when the Park City Foundation did some board trainings a few months ago.

"I then reached out to Joe and Carol Tesch at the Tesch Law Offices, who have been great supporters of the film series for years," Page said. "I told them that I was going to open an endowment fund and asked if they would be interested in donating."

Creating the fund was the next natural step for the Park City Film Series, said Joe Tesch, who was on the Park City Arts Council and the Tesch Law Offices provided the documents that helped establish it as a nonprofit organization in the 1990s.

"In the beginning there was a small group of hard-core artisans who tried to get together to show their films," said Tesch, whose firm is donating the inaugural $500 to open the fund. "It has just grown from there.

"We’ve also had demonstrations and panel discussions after the screenings, so it has become an educational event as well," he said. "It’s become a good part of the economy and has a real community feel about it."

Joseph Barrett a partner of the Tesch Law Office said investing in the Park City Film Series is an investment to Park City.

"I think something like this is a great way to meet and greet our community, and as lawyers whose offices are on Main Street, we want to support it any way we can," he said.

Katie Wright, the Park City Foundation’s programs manager, said her organization’s role is to invest, manage and take care of the fund and make sure it’s always used for the benefit of film in Park City.

"We’ll take the check from Tesch Law Offices to start the fund and as it grows, the film series will be able to count on a little bit of revenue every year," she said. "It will help the film series be sustainable in the future. I think the hope is that people who also love the film series will also want to invest in its future and contribute to the fund."

When people want to donate to the endowment fund, they will write checks to the Park City Foundation and write in the memo area that the money needs to go to the Park City Film Series.

"There is no minimum amount they need to donate," Page said. "They can give $10 or $10,000."

Looking at that bigger picture, Page believes the endowment fund is the right decision.

"I envision it still giving to the organization when I’m long gone from this Earth, and not just no longer the executive director of the film series," she said. "And it will help us later to have our own theater.

"As you know, we rent the space of the Jim Santy Auditorium and our relationship with Park City Municipal is wonderful, but it’s not our own theater and we don’t own any of the equipment and that restricts us is some ways," Page said.

In addition to the endowment fund, Page has received a grant from the Summit County Restaurant Tax Advisory Board to set aside some money for a new $100,000 digital projector down the road.

"I proposed that we would match them dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000 to help us put money towards a fundraising event that we will do for five years for a projector, and they gave us the money," she said. "So, we already have $20,000 thanks to that grant."

With the projector fund, the public now has three ways to donate to the Park City Film Series, Page said.

"They can help us with our day-to-day costs, the endowment fund and the projector fund," she said. "Like I said, this is my parting gift to the film series, and I’m glad that I can do this."

For more information about the Park City Film Series Endowment Fund, contact the Park City Foundation at (435) 214-7476 or visit http://www.theparkcityfoundation.org.


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