Foundation For The Performing Arts Center

What Foundation For The Performing Arts Center does

The Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation established in 1986 in San Luis Obispo, California, as one of three founding partners (alongside Cal Poly SLO and the City of San Luis Obispo) behind the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC). Its functional role is to fundraise, grant, and steward donor capital that keeps the 1,286-seat Harold Miossi Hall operational and accessible to the Central Coast community; the PAC hosts roughly 350 events and 100,000 attendees per year, ticket sales cover less than half of operating costs, and FPAC contributes one-sixth of the annual operating budget. Its core "products" are not technology platforms but programs: the Student Matinee Program (subsidizing tickets, transportation, and chaperones for over 10,000 students annually under the Miossi Charitable Trust), the Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund (~$150,000 in grants to local arts groups since 2016), and individual giving tiers (DEBUT $1,000-$2,499; PREMIERE $2,500-$4,999; ENCORE $5,000-$9,999; OVATION $10,000-$29,999; 30 for 30th $30,000+). FPAC also runs a Community Partners corporate sponsorship program ($5,000-$30,000+) and a Planned Giving / Legacy Society for estate gifts. The foundation has 1-10 employees, no proprietary technology stack, no AI capabilities, no APIs, and no described software integrations; its go-to-market is event-driven and community-led via direct donor outreach, corporate sponsorships, planned giving, and in-person events including the 30th Anniversary Celebration scheduled for September 26, 2026. Leadership in 2025 is Executive Director Ron Regier, supported by a Board of Directors that includes officers from Cal Poly, wealth management, and the arts community.

Name

Foundation For The Performing Arts Center

Legal name

Foundation for the Performing Arts Center

Website

https://fpacslo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FPAC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation supporting the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo through fundraising, donor programs, and access initiatives for the Central Coast community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Nonprofit Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Nonprofit foundation
• Performing arts
• Arts philanthropy
• Community grants
• Arts education

Headquarters

HQ city

San Luis Obispo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: Individual donors contribute at various giving levels from $1,000 to $30,000+ annually through the individual giving program, with tiered recognition benefits.
2. Community Partner Sponsorships: Local businesses and organizations sponsor the PAC at levels from $5,000 to $30,000+, receiving marketing benefits, tickets, and VIP access.
3. Planned Giving and Estate Gifts: Bequests, charitable gift annuities, remainder trusts, and other estate planning instruments that provide Legacy Society membership.
4. Foundation Grants: Grants from endowed funds such as the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust and Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC) is a nonprofit foundation that raises and channels philanthropic funds to support the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. It funds free Student Matinee performances for thousands of local schoolchildren, operates the Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund to provide grants to local performing arts groups, and contributes one-sixth of the PAC's annual operating budget for maintenance and operations. FPAC sustains this work through individual giving clubs, corporate community partner sponsorships, planned giving/Legacy Society estate gifts, and endowed grants.

Product overview

FPAC is a nonprofit foundation (not a technology company) that operates as a single unified service organization supporting the Performing Arts Center's Christopher Cohan Center in San Luis Obispo. The organization provides programs including the Student Matinee Program for free school performances, the Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund for local artist grants, and annual operational funding covering one-sixth of the PAC's budget. FPAC also manages individual giving membership clubs (DEBUT, PREMIERE, ENCORE, OVATION, 30 for 30th), a Community Partners corporate sponsorship program, and a Planned Giving/Legacy Society estate planning program. There are no technology products, APIs, AI capabilities, or software integrations offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Matinee Program Free live performing arts performances for school-age children from public, private, and homeschool settings in San Luis Obispo County. The program fully subsidizes tickets, transportation, and chaperone costs, serving thousands of students each school year. Presenting sponsor: Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust.
• Clifton Swanson PAC Community Access Fund Grant program that subsidizes the direct production costs of local performing arts groups performing at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center stage. Nearly $150,000 awarded to local arts groups since inception.
• Individual Giving Program Annual tiered giving program for individual donors with escalating recognition and benefits. Tiers include DEBUT ($1,000-$2,499), PREMIERE ($2,500-$4,999), ENCORE ($5,000-$9,999), OVATION ($10,000-$29,999), and 30 for 30th ($30,000+).
• Community Partners Program Corporate sponsorship program for local businesses that aligns sponsors with the PAC's community role. Includes tiers at $5,000-$9,999, $10,000-$29,999, and $30,000+ (30 for 30th) with logo placement, Founders Room access, product feature opportunities, and VIP event tickets.
• Planned Giving / Legacy Society Estate planning giving program offering cash gifts, life insurance, securities, bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and real estate gifts. Includes Legacy Society membership for planned givers.
• Annual PAC Contribution FPAC's ongoing commitment to fund one-sixth of the Performing Arts Center's annual operating budget each year, supporting maintenance, operations, equipment replacement, renovations, and facility enhancements at the 1,286-seat Christopher Cohan Center.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000 people experience live performance at the PAC annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cal Poly San Luis ObispocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986Founding partner since 1986. Cal Poly provides the campus location for the PAC and continues to co-govern the venue. FPAC works with Cal Poly on the Trust Automation Plaza and other facility improvements. The partnership transformed vision into reality when the theater opened in 1996.
• City of San Luis ObispocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986Founding partner since 1986 alongside Cal Poly and FPAC. The three-way partnership created and continues to sustain the PAC. The City helps ensure the facility remains accessible to all audiences and affordable for community arts groups.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Segerstrom Center for the Arts: Segerstrom Center is a major California performing arts venue supported by a foundation model similar to FPAC's — ongoing fundraising, donor tiers, and corporate sponsorships sustaining operations and arts access programs. Comparable structure as a venue-specific nonprofit foundation on a single campus.

Broad incumbents

• Center Theatre Group Foundation: Foundation supporting the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. Comparable performing arts foundation model at significantly larger scale, with similar donor tier programs and arts education initiatives.
• The Music Center Foundation (Los Angeles): The Music Center Foundation supports the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and related LA performance venues through donor programs, corporate partnerships, and arts education initiatives. Larger-scale California analog to FPAC's venue-support foundation model.

Others

• California Arts Council: State-level grantmaking body that funds arts access programs across California, including those serving school-age children. Adjacent ecosystem participant that FPAC could partner with for expanded state funding.
• Cal Poly Foundation: Cal Poly's central foundation handles university-wide fundraising while FPAC handles the PAC specifically. Sister organization sharing the same institutional partner and overlapping donor base, making them structurally adjacent rather than competitive.

Regional players

• San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation: The regional community foundation serving San Luis Obispo County with grantmaking programs. Operates in the same geographic market and donor ecosystem as FPAC, though focused on broader community needs rather than arts-specific venue support.
• Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB): PNB operates with a foundation-supported model in the Pacific Northwest, with youth outreach programs (DanceChance) analogous to FPAC's Student Matinee Program. Board overlap with FPAC (Stacy Sullivan) signals shared structural DNA.

Emerging players

• Young Audiences of California: Nonprofit focused on arts education for schoolchildren, directly comparable to FPAC's Student Matinee Program model. Operates at larger geographic scale but with similar mission of bringing live performing arts to students regardless of budget constraints.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-foundation-for-the-performing-arts-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Foundation For The Performing Arts Center