XanGo giving $1M to SCERA

OREM — Thanks to a small purple fruit, the future of Orem's SCERA theater is looking a lot sweeter.

XanGo, a Lehi-based nutritional drink company, announced Thursday that it will donate $1 million over the next five years to renovate SCERA's theater.

"It gives us great pleasure . . . to sponsor the SCERA theater," said Kent Wood, the company's chief operating officer. And with their contribution, he also challenged others to support the cultural arts. "We can all make a difference — starting today."

Executives from XanGo and SCERA made the announcement at the 72-year-old SCERA theater, an Orem landmark that will soon sport an outdoor, back-lit sign greeting passers-by with the XanGo name.

The 750-seat theater will be transformed into the XanGo Grand Theater with a new large performance stage and new seats.

The renovation is scheduled to start in early fall and will hopefully take less than 60 days, said Adam Robertson, CEO of SCERA.

The financial support is desperately needed, Robertson said, because nonprofit arts programs have never been able to fully support themselves.

Because of that, SCERA frequently approaches businesses for donations and sponsorships, stays on the lookout for grants and federal support programs and supports additional funding opportunities such as the CARE tax.

The tax, approved by voters in November, will siphon off 1/10 of 1 percent of sales tax in Orem and direct it toward recreation and cultural arts.

Each nonprofit business or organization interested in the money has to apply and be accepted. As of yet, no money has been promised or even collected. Robertson has said SCERA will apply for CARE revenues, but Thursday's announcement eases a huge amount of financial stress.

"We've really come a long way," Robertson said. "We are really excited for this announcement and what it means" for the theater.

That theater — Theater One — has been renovated only once — 25 years ago.

The corporate partnership, while not the first for SCERA, is certainly the largest in the program's history. And Robertson would like to see the trend continue for his company and other cultural arts programs.

"I can honestly say that without corporate partners, without sponsors, without all these folks getting involved and valuing the art, then there isn't a very optimistic future for the arts," he said.