State Theatre Fundraisers Hit The Web

One day after a $500,000 donation putting Sylvia Henkin’s name on the Sioux Falls State Theatre, the organization is embarking on a much smaller fundraising effort, turning to social media to raise money.

“What it is called is the money bomb. And that's kind of a universal language for the online fundraiser business and apparently it works,” State Theatre fundraiser Brienne Maner said.

For just 24 hours, the group will bombard its social media fans asking for donations. Unlike other campaigns, this one isn't looking for anything big. All they want here is a $5 online donation.

“It's about building a grass-roots effort to get as many donations as possible at whatever level,” State Theatre Executive Director Stephen Williamson said.

Williamson says it also builds an online audience before anyone buys a movie ticket. The group hopes Facebook fans with a financial stake, no matter how small, will become supporters after the doors open. And they believe this effort could introduce an entirely new group to The State Theater.

“They don't do long, drawn-out things. It's we're in today, out tomorrow,” Williamson said.

“Just in the last couple of months I've seen a surge in like, I think people like the medium. It's easy,” Maner said.

But will they donate? Again that's the half-million dollar question that could be answered $5 at a time.

“There really isn't a goal, and we've never done it before and we've never seen anyone else who has done it before,” said Williamson.

The state still has a $500,000 fundraising gap to fill. This effort begins just after midnight Friday morning and runs through midnight Saturday morning.