BUILDING THE FUTURE OF GORTON CENTER

FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, Gorton Center has evolved alongside the community it serves. Its strength has always come from collaboration, generosity, and a shared belief in the power of arts, enrichment, and connection. That same spirit now guides Gorton forward and forms the foundation of its next capital campaign—ensuring the center remains a vital, welcoming place where community comes to life.

That vision now has a price tag and a plan.

Gorton has embarked on a $7 million capital campaign to modernize its theater technology, create a welcoming multipurpose commons area for community gathering, refresh spaces throughout its historic building, and build its endowment. The need is real: in the 12 years since the Community Spirit Transformed campaign that saved Gorton, the number of classes and events offered has grown by 500 percent, and annual attendance has surged 1,500 percent—translating to more than 600 programs and 16,000 patrons last year for Gorton programming alone.

Phase I brings updates to the Nagel and Stuart rooms, the catering kitchen, and the technology in the John and Nancy Hughes Theater, with construction underway since last month. Phase II, slated for 2027, will introduce the new commons, relocate administrative offices to the second floor, and further enhance the theater and Grotto.

Having raised 70 percent of its goal, Gorton invites the community to come together for the final $2 million as an investment in the spaces that bring us together.

As Gorton’s leadership notes, this is an investment not only in a historic building, but in the connection, learning, and shared joy that make our community what it is—”for our children, our grandchildren, and generations still to come.”

For more information or to make a gift, visit gortoncenter.org/support-us/ or contact Laura K. Demmer, Director of Development, at (847) 810-4108 or [email protected].