Highland Center for the Arts

What Highland Center for the Arts does

Highland Center for the Arts (HCA) is a nonprofit community arts center located in Greensboro, Vermont, serving the rural Northeast Kingdom (NEK) region of the state. Founded and opened in 2017 with support from long-time Greensboro residents and arts patrons Andrew and Elizabeth Brown, the center operates a single physical facility at 2875 Hardwick Street that integrates a 300-seat main theater with multiple thrust-stage configurations, a 100-seat performance/cinema/meeting studio, an art gallery, the Kitchen at HCA café with full bar service, outdoor terraces, and the seasonal Enchanted Kingdom 9-hole themed mini golf course. Its programming spans music, theater, film, comedy, dance, visual art, classes, and community events, sourced locally, nationally, and internationally, and the facility is fully wheelchair-accessible with on-site AV support and robust WiFi — an unusual configuration for a rural community arts venue.

HCA's revenue is generated across eight distinct streams: a six-tier annual membership program (Friend $25, Supporter $50, Family $75, Patron $100, Advocate $250, Visionary $500+, with Working members and EBT cardholders joining free); ticketed performances and events sold via an in-person Box Office (Thursday-Sunday, 12-4 PM) and the Ludus online ticketing platform; charitable donations processed through Salesforce; café and catering sales; private event space rentals of the Performance Studio, Main Stage Theater, and seasonal patio; gift cards sold in any denomination through Ludus; the seasonal Enchanted Kingdom mini golf with per-hole sponsorship (Mountain View Country Club as lead sponsor); and fee-based classes and workshops, complemented by free arts programming for public schools. Go-to-market is hybrid community-led, event-driven, and direct-to-consumer; marketing runs through a Salesforce weekly newsletter, organic social, the Pigment & Paper content initiative, and local physical promotion.

Operations are executed by an approximately seven-to-eight-person staff led by Executive Director Keisha Luce and a ten-person Board of Directors that includes founding benefactor Andrew Brown. There is no equity, no parent company, and no institutional investor; the center is sustained by membership, earned revenue, donations, and state grants, including a $78,318 grant from the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development in December 2024 and a $3,000 Vermont Arts Council grant in September 2024. Core technology partners are Ludus (ticketing, gift cards, donations) and Salesforce (CRM, donations, newsletter); marketing partners include FrontPorchForum (sponsor of HCA Goes Online) and Mountain View Country Club (lead mini golf sponsor). The strategic posture is community-rooted multi-purpose venue operation, not scalable technology platform growth.

Name

Highland Center for the Arts

Legal name

Highland Center for the Arts

Website

https://highlandartsvt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Highland Center for the Arts is a nonprofit community arts center in Greensboro, Vermont, operating a 300-seat main theater, 100-seat performance studio, café, gallery, and seasonal mini golf course, serving the Northeast Kingdom region through performances, classes, private event rentals, memberships, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts & Community Cultural Center

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)

Keywords

• Community arts center
• Performing arts venue
• Arts education programs
• Private event rentals
• Café and catering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Greensboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Tiered annual membership program (Friend $25, Supporter $50, Family $75, Patron $100, Advocate $250, Visionary $500+) with automatic renewal at year-end. Working members and EBT cardholders join free. Benefits include ticket discounts, fee-free exchanges, and recognition.
2. Ticketed performances and events: Ticket sales for music, theater, film, comedy, dance, classes, and community events. Tickets sold through in-person Box Office (Thursday-Sunday 12-4 PM) and online via Ludus ticketing platform. Pre-order dinner add-ons with tickets when offered.
3. Donations: Charitable donations processed through Salesforce donation platform; supports operations, programming, and education.
4. Café and catering (The Kitchen at HCA): On-site Kitchen serves pre-performance dinners, buffet options with select performances, and full bar service. Offers catering for private events with menu packages. Limited on-site purchase available during events.
5. Private event space rental: Rental of Performance Studio (100-seat), Main Stage Theater (300-seat), and seasonal patio for parties, mixers, workshops, training, or retreats. Includes AV support and WiFi; menu packages and bar service available.
6. Gift card sales: Gift cards sold online via Ludus or by phone, allowing recipients to engage with HCA programming.
7. Enchanted Kingdom mini golf: Seasonal 9-hole themed mini golf course (opened July 4) with artist-designed/fabricated holes. Lead sponsor Mountain View Country Club; per-hole sponsorship available. Free rounds included with Friend-tier membership.
8. Classes, workshops, and educational programming: Fee-based (and some free) classes and workshops across disciplines; complementary programming includes free programs for public schools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Highland Center for the Arts (HCA) is a nonprofit community arts center in Greensboro, Vermont that presents ticketed music, theater, film, comedy, and dance performances, exhibits visual art in its gallery, runs classes and workshops, and operates The Kitchen at HCA café and pre-performance dining. It also offers private event space rentals (Performance Studio and 300-seat Main Stage Theater) and a seasonal Enchanted Kingdom themed 9-hole mini golf course.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Kitchen at HCA: On-site café serving comfort food during events, with pre-performance dinner offerings, full bar, catering, and private event hosting.
• Enchanted Kingdom Mini Golf
• Pigment & Paper

Products and services

• Ticketed Performances and Events
• HCA Membership Program
• Private Event Space Rentals
• The Kitchen at HCA (Café and Catering)
• Enchanted Kingdom Mini Golf
• Classes and Workshops
• HCA Gift Cards
• Pigment & Paper (HCA Goes Online)

Quantifiable outcome

• Creative economy represents almost 10% of NEK total workforce across all industries.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Mountain View Country ClubflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Lead sponsor of the Enchanted Kingdom mini golf course at HCA. Recognized on the Mini Golf page as the lead sponsor, with HCA additionally inviting other businesses to sponsor individual mini golf holes through the support/sponsorship program.
• FrontPorchForumcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Listed as the sponsor of the 'HCA Goes Online' collection, which includes artist interviews, studio visits, creativity prompts, and the crowd-sourced Pigment & Paper gallery. FrontPorchForum is a Vermont-based community forum network, providing HCA significant regional reach.
• LuduscoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline ticketing and gift card platform powering HCA's event calendar purchases, gift card sales, and donor/membership flows (highlandartsvt.ludus.com).
• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the donation and mailing list signup infrastructure for HCA (highlandartsvt.secure.force.com, highlandcenter.my.salesforce-sites.com), processing charitable contributions and newsletter signups.
• Get Thee to the Funnery (Peter Gould)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-running youth Shakespeare camp founded in 1998 by Peter Gould. Held programming at HCA, with plans referenced for using the main stage to host a big community event featuring camper work and The Merchant of Venice focused on hate speech and intolerance.
• Bread and Puppet Theater (Peter Schumann)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeter Schumann's work (Untitled, Screaming Tree Series) is featured in HCA's Open Air Gallery mini golf course, acknowledging Bread and Puppet's legacy in the Northeast Kingdom creative economy.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chandler Center for the Arts: Randolph, VT community arts center presenting performing arts, education, and community programming. Directly comparable rural-venue community-arts model to HCA.
• Next Stage Arts: Putney, VT-based community arts nonprofit presenting performing arts, film, and community events in southern Vermont. Closely comparable to HCA in rural Vermont community-arts positioning and programming mix.
• Catamount Arts: St. Johnsbury, VT-based community arts organization serving the Northeast Kingdom — the same region as HCA. Presents film, music, theater, and visual arts with comparable rural community-arts mission and revenue mix.

Regional players

• Marquis Theatre (Middlebury, VT): Middlebury, VT performing arts venue and community programming space. Comparable multi-purpose rural Vermont arts venue with ticketed programming and community engagement.
• Barre Opera House: Historic Vermont venue presenting performing arts in central VT. Comparable in offering ticketed performances, event rentals, and community programming to HCA, though in a different geographic catchment.
• Flynn Center for the Performing Arts: Burlington, VT-based performing arts presenter in a comparable Vermont market. Operates a multi-stage venue with ticketed performances, education programming, and community engagement — directly comparable in mission and revenue model to HCA, but in a larger urban catchment.
• Town Hall Theater: Middlebury, VT community performing arts venue presenting music, theater, and film. Comparable mission and community arts center model to HCA, though serving a different Vermont region.

Others

• Vermont Arts Council: Statewide arts funder and advocacy organization that awarded HCA a grant in 2024. Comparable in mission around Vermont creative-economy support, though not a direct venue competitor — an enabling/ecosystem peer.

Broad incumbents

• Hopkins Center for the Arts (Dartmouth): Dartmouth College-affiliated performing arts center serving the Upper Valley region. Comparable multi-stage venue with ticketed programming, education, and event rentals, but operating at significantly larger scale with institutional backing.

Peers

• Paramount Theatre (Rutland, VT): Restored historic theater in Rutland, VT presenting films, concerts, and community events. Comparable to HCA as a multi-purpose regional arts venue with ticket sales and event rental revenue.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HighlandCenterArts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highland Center for the Arts