The Chocolate Church Arts Center

What The Chocolate Church Arts Center does

The Chocolate Church Arts Center is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing and visual arts organization founded in 1977 in Bath, Maine. It operates from a historic 19th-century Greek Revival/Gothic Revival building at 804 Washington Street, which houses a 300-seat Main Stage proscenium theater with recently updated sound and lighting, an 80-seat Annex blackbox space with modular seating, and an Art Lab creative studio for visual arts programming. The center serves midcoast Maine audiences with concerts, theater productions, dance performances, gallery exhibitions, music education, and community events, reaching 7,000+ patrons annually and providing a free summer waterfront concert series at Waterfront Park in partnership with Main Street Bath and City of Bath under Levitt AMP grant funding.

The organization's product surface spans eight core offerings: ticketed performances in the Main Stage and Annex, the Art Lab visual arts program, a Music Education Program covering voice, piano, guitar, percussion, and ukulele, the Dream Lab youth creative camp, the free Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series, facility rentals, and a tiered membership program. Revenue is generated through six streams: ticket sales, memberships ($50-$10,000 across eight tiers), facility rentals (Main Stage $2,000/day, Annex $30/hour, Art Lab $30/hour), business sponsorships, music education tuition ($150 per 10-week choir session), and tax-deductible donations. The center sells tickets through the Opendate platform and via an in-person box office (Wednesday-Friday).

The center is led by Executive & Artistic Director Matthew Glassman with an 11-person staff and 11-member Board of Directors headed by Board President John Mullaney. Sponsoring businesses include regional names such as Hampton Inn & Suites, Casella, Bath Savings, GDBI Wealth Management, and Wild Oats Bakery. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no external equity investment, operating as a community-governed nonprofit sustained by earned income, donations, and grants from supporters including the Levitt Family Foundation and Live Music Society.

Name

The Chocolate Church Arts Center

Legal name

Chocolate Church Arts Center

Website

https://chocolatechurcharts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Chocolate Church Arts Center is a nonprofit performing and visual arts organization in Bath, Maine operating since 1977 from a historic 19th-century building, serving midcoast Maine audiences with concerts, theater, music education, and free summer waterfront concerts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Center

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Concert Halls & Music Venue Operations (Symphony Halls, Recital Venues) (MPAGALAC), Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Performing arts center
• Live music venue
• Arts education programs
• Theater performance venue
• Community cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from concerts, theater productions, and performances at the Main Stage (300-seat) and Annex (80-seat) venues.
2. Membership Program: Annual memberships at multiple tiers ($50-$10,000) providing benefits including presale access, discounts, and exclusive events.
3. Facility Rentals: Rental revenue from Main Stage ($2,000/day), Annex ($30/hour), and Art Lab ($30/hour) spaces for events and performances.
4. Business Sponsorships: Sponsoring businesses gain visibility through full-page ads, pre-performance recognition, social media, newsletters, and website features.
5. Music Education: Private lessons (voice, piano, guitar, percussion) and community programs (choir $150/10-week session).
6. Donations: Tax-deductible donations supporting arts programming, music scholarships, and building renovations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Chocolate Church Arts Center operates a multi-venue performing and visual arts center housed in a historic Gothic Revival building in Bath, Maine, providing live music concerts, theater productions, dance performances, visual arts programming in the Art Lab studio, music education (private lessons and community ensembles), and facility rentals. Programming is delivered through a 300-seat Main Stage, an 80-seat Annex blackbox venue, and a free summer Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series.

Product overview

The Chocolate Church Arts Center is a multi-venue performing and visual arts center offering world-class performances in a 300-seat Main Stage theater and an 80-seat Annex blackbox space, complemented by the Art Lab creative studio for visual arts programming. The center operates a comprehensive Music Education Program with private lessons and community ensembles, produces the free Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series outdoor concert series, and runs the Dream Lab youth creativity camp. Additional offerings include facility rentals, a tiered membership program, and gift cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Art Lab: A creative studio space offering free art-making opportunities for all ages, featuring painting, sewing, fabric arts, sculpture, collage, gel printing, linocut printing, and drawing
• Music Education Program
• Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series
• Dream Lab

Products and services

• Main Stage Performances Live concert, theater, dance, and lecture programming in a 300-seat proscenium theater in a historic 19th-century sanctuary, with tiered seating and updated sound and lighting systems, available to community audiences.
• Annex Performances Intimate blackbox theater programming with modular seating for small performances, cabarets, readings, and workshops in an 80-seat flexible venue.
• Art Lab Creative studio space offering free art-making opportunities for all ages, featuring painting, sewing, fabric arts, sculpture, collage, gel printing, linocut printing, and drawing classes and workshops.
• Music Education Program Comprehensive music education program with community ensembles (choir, drum circle) and private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, percussion, ukulele, and music production, directed by Dr. Jane Clukey and available to students of all ages.
• Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series Free Saturday evening summer concert series at Waterfront Park in Bath, featuring diverse musical acts, presented in partnership with Main Street Bath and City of Bath with support from the Levitt Family Foundation.
• Dream Lab Week-long summer creative camp for ages 8-12 exploring creativity through dreaming in various mediums including visual art, film, comics, and nature-based activities.
• Facility Rentals Rental of Main Stage ($2,000/day), Annex ($30/hour), and Art Lab ($30/hour) spaces for concerts, theater, weddings, workshops, and community events, with non-profit discounts available.
• Annual Membership Program Annual memberships from $50 (Marquee) to $10,000 (Founder) providing benefits including presale ticket access, ticket discounts, member-only events, donor wall recognition, and curated performance opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,000 patrons served annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Main Street BathcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain Street Bath is a co-presenting partner of the Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series alongside the Chocolate Church Arts Center and City of Bath. This partnership enables the free summer concert series.
• City of BathcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Bath is a co-presenting partner of the Levitt AMP Bath Waterfront Music Series. The city provides the Waterfront Park venue for the free summer concert series.
• Pan Fried SteelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan Fried Steel is a community steel drum band based in Yarmouth, ME that opened for the Aba Diop Trio at the Levitt AMP Waterfront Concert Series, performing alongside the Senegalese sabar drum trio.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Camden Opera House: Historic Maine midcoast theater hosting concerts, theater, and community events; overlaps directly with Chocolate Church in coastal Maine geography, intimate venue scale, and nonprofit arts programming.
• Stone Mountain Arts Center: Small nonprofit performing arts venue in rural Maine presenting concerts and theater in a historic building; comparable in scale, programming mix, and Midcoast/New England community-arts positioning to the Chocolate Church Arts Center.
• Penobscot Theatre Company: Maine's only professional nonprofit resident theater, presenting live theater productions; directly comparable as a Maine-based nonprofit performing arts producer with a similar community-subscription revenue approach.
• One Longfellow Square: Intimate nonprofit music venue in Portland, Maine; comparable in focus on live music presentation in a small-to-mid capacity venue with a ticketed, membership-supported model.
• Mayo Street Arts: Nonprofit community arts center in Portland, Maine offering performances, classes, and gallery programming; comparable in nonprofit arts-center model and hybrid performance/education mix.
• Boothbay Harbor Opera House: Historic small-town Maine venue presenting concerts, theater, and community programming; mirrors Chocolate Church in scale, coastal Maine setting, and nonprofit arts mission.
• Portland Ovide: Portland, Maine performing arts venue presenting live music and theater; comparable in Maine regional focus and ticketed programming model, though operating at a higher capacity than CCAC.
• Strand Theatre (Rockland): Restored nonprofit community theater in midcoast Maine presenting films, live music, and theater; directly comparable in venue type, regional Maine catchment, and nonprofit operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Portland Symphony Orchestra: Larger regional performing arts organization operating across multiple venues including Merrill Auditorium; overlaps with Chocolate Church on presenting live performing arts to Maine audiences but at materially larger scale.
• Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts: National nonprofit operating a multi-venue performing arts campus with educational programming; comparable in mission and multi-stream revenue (tickets, rentals, education, donations) but at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ChocolateChurchArts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chocolate-church-arts-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 The Chocolate Church Arts Center