Cathrine and Craig Greene, Roe Green Foundation Gifts Celebrated  

Chautauqua Institution today announced two major projects have reached critical milestones through substantial philanthropic support as part of its 150th anniversary fundraising initiative, Boundless: A Campaign for Chautauqua. In recognition of major gifts supporting these capital projects, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees voted to name two facilities in honor of the philanthropists whose contributions have made these essential projects a reality. 

Greene Family Commons: Renaming of Bellinger Hall  

Bellinger Hall, a cornerstone of Chautauqua’s residential life, will be renamed the Greene Family Commons following a transformational $10 million commitment from Cathrine and Craig Greene. 

Built in the late 1970s, Bellinger Hall was named after Geraldine Gebbie Bellinger, an accomplished violinist who supported the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Today, the facility houses students enrolled in Chautauqua’s Schools of Performing and Visual Arts during the summer months and patrons during the summer weeks when the schools are not in session. Bellinger Hall also serves as a conference and events center Sept. through June. The gift from the Greene family enables much-needed renovations facility-wide, further enhancing the student experience and helping Chautauqua’s schools remain highly competitive, while bolstering the Institution’s year-round program and event potential.  
 
Chautauqua President Michael E. Hill, Ed.D., said the newly named Greene Family Commons has been a priority for rehabilitation for some time. 
 
“Bellinger Hall was included as a priority of the last campaign, and its renovation has been a dream for years beyond that because it is critical to our Schools of Performing and Visual Arts. We want this facility to reflect the artistry of our students who call it home in the summer months,” Hill said. “Cathy and Craig Greene are deeply committed to Chautauqua’s mission to promote excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts, and their gift ensures we will be able to continue this important work. Even more importantly, the new Greene Family Commons allows our educational programs to remain among the best in the nation. We are so grateful to the entire family for this transformational gift.” 
 
The Greene gift brings the total raised for the project to $15.2 million, including gifts and pledges from individuals and three local foundations, to fund a two-phase renovation project. Phase I focuses on guest room renovations and HVAC upgrades. Phase II will upgrade convening and food service areas and the building site. 

As Chautauqua moves into Phase I of the project this fall, fundraising will continue for anyone who wishes to celebrate the Schools of Performing and Visual Arts program. Naming opportunities also remain, as the Institution moves toward raising an enlarged building endowment to ensure the Greene Family Commons remains a state-of-the-art facility post-construction for years to come. 
 
Roe Green Theater Center: A New Home for Chautauqua Theater Company  

A gift of $4.5 million from the Roe Green Foundation dramatically accelerated plans for a new home for Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC). In honor of this leadership gift from the foundation, the Board of Trustees formally approved naming the new performance facility the Roe Green Theater Center. The center will add a black box/flexible space, rehearsal studios, offices for CTC leadership, and other support spaces that will complement Chautauqua’s beloved Bratton Theater and ensure CTC remains one of the nation’s leading accelerators of theater artists in the nation. It will replace the former Brawdy complex on the Chautauqua grounds and return CTC artists to a centralized location for theater creation versus the current situation that currently has Chautauqua’s artists working and rehearsing in multiple locations on and off the grounds. 

Hill said Roe Green’s longstanding commitment to theater has helped Chautauqua create a model for program distinction. 
 
“Through her support of Chautauqua’s New Play Workshops, Roe has helped CTC establish its reputation as a leading accelerator of theater. This extraordinary gift from the Roe Green Foundation builds on that legacy and commitment, and it creates a template for how arts programs can rise to national distinction by focusing on their mission and strengths.” 

Total gifts to the project now exceed $9 million. Twenty other gifts— two of which exceed $1,000,000 — compose the current balance of the fundraising for this project. 
 
Construction and site planning is underway. The project timeline is dependent on the completion of this planning work. As with the Greene Family Commons, the Institution continues its fundraising through selected naming opportunities and other gifts to complete overall site improvements and, in keeping with Institution policy, to raise a facility endowment to ensure the long-term care of this new resource. 

Boundless: A Campaign for Chautauqua  

The Roe Green Theater Center and Greene Family Commons are key projects within the Boundless campaign, which seeks to strengthen the Chautauqua Institution’s legacy and future. These projects exemplify the Institution’s commitment to enhancing the Chautauqua experience for generations to come.  
 

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA THEATER COMPANY  
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) produces high-quality, live theater in a vibrant nine-week summer season. We are committed to the development of new work, the next generation of theater artists, producing galvanizing world premieres as well as exceptional modern and contemporary plays, and infusing fresh insight into the classical canon. CTC is dedicated to becoming a national home for exciting new plays: commissioning, developing and producing new and established American playwrights. We are where the finest artists of tomorrow bridge the gap between their training and the professional world. CTC is actively building the future of the American theater.  

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION  
Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of more than 100,000 attend scheduled public events and even more engage online via the streaming channel CHQ Assembly. Chautauqua is dedicated to the exploration of the best in human values and the enrichment of life through a program that explores the important religious, social and political issues of our times; stimulates provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues; and promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts.  

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