Theater Renovation Project Reaches Major Milestone with $250,000 CDFA Award

For 50 years, the Amato Center for the Performing Arts has been a place where young people discover their talents, build confidence, and find their voice. It has also served as a gathering place for our community, hosting performances, celebrations, and memorable experiences for thousands of people throughout the Souhegan Valley.

Today, we are excited to share an important milestone in the Theater Renovation Project.

The Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley has been awarded $250,000 through the Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) Tax Credit Program to support the renovation of the Amato Center for the Performing Arts.

This award represents a significant step forward in our efforts to preserve and modernize a community asset that has served generations of youth, families, performers, and audiences. While the award itself is a major achievement, the process does not end there. Organizations awarded CDFA tax credits must secure business partners who purchase those credits, generating the funding needed to support the project.

We are grateful to share that four local businesses have already provided commitment letters to purchase the tax credits necessary for the Club to realize the full $250,000 award. Their early support demonstrates strong confidence in the project and highlights the community-wide commitment to preserving and strengthening this important resource.

With this award, along with donor support, foundation grants, and community contributions, we have now secured or received commitments totaling approximately $800,000 toward this transformational project.

With a total project budget of just under $1 million, we are now within sight of our goal.

Why This Project Matters

The Amato Center is much more than a theater.

It is a place where young people gain confidence, learn teamwork, develop communication skills, and discover new talents. It is where aspiring performers step onto a stage for the first time, where students learn technical theater skills behind the scenes, and where community members gather to celebrate the arts together.

Each year, the theater serves hundreds of youth through educational programming, performances, and technical theater opportunities while welcoming thousands of audience members through community productions and events.

To ensure the theater can continue serving the region for the next 50 years, the renovation project will address critical safety needs, improve energy efficiency, modernize aging infrastructure, and upgrade technical theater systems to current standards.

Planned improvements start in August, 2026 and include enhancements to stage and rigging systems, lighting and electrical infrastructure, safety systems, and backstage technical spaces, creating a safer, more functional, and more inspiring environment for everyone who uses the facility.

The Work Isn't Finished

This milestone is worth celebrating, but our work is not finished.

Approximately $200,000 still remains to be raised to fully fund the project and provide appropriate contingency for a renovation of this size and complexity. As construction costs continue to fluctuate, maintaining a strong funding foundation is essential to ensuring the project can move forward successfully and without compromise.

How You Can Help

As we enter the final phase of fundraising, community support remains critical to the success of this project.

One meaningful way to be part of the Amato Center's next chapter is through our Legacy Tree Campaign. Legacy Tree donors leave a lasting mark on the theater while helping ensure its future for generations to come. Opportunities begin at $250 and are available for individuals, families, businesses, alumni, performers, and community supporters who want to invest in the future of arts education and community theater in the Souhegan Valley.

We also invite community members to help spread the word, attend future project tours, and share their own memories and connections to the Amato Center. In the coming months, we will be offering behind-the-scenes tours of the theater so supporters can see firsthand both the challenges and opportunities that exist within the space today.

Every conversation, every contribution, and every act of support helps bring this vision closer to reality.

This project is being built the way community projects should be built, through partnerships. Foundations, businesses, individual donors, volunteers, theater supporters, and community members have all played a role in bringing us to this point. The final phase of fundraising will require that same collective effort.

Together, we can ensure that the Amato Center remains a place where young people discover confidence, creativity, and belonging, and where our community gathers to celebrate the arts for the next 50 years.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this point. We look forward to sharing additional updates as the project continues to move forward.

If you have any questions or what to learn more about supporting this project reach out to Holly Bly, Director of Development | hbly@svbgc.org | 603-672-1002 ext. 129 or visit our Legacy Tree Page HERE!