Help Rebuild the Stage at Kenny Dorham's Backyard

Hello My Friends,

This is Harold McMillan of Kenny Dorham’s Backyard, DiverseArts’ nonprofit East 11th Street performing and visual arts venue and ethnic foods court.

This is a fundraising campaign to engage our supporters—new and old, audience members and performing artists alike—to help us make BADLY NEEDED repairs (it’s a re-build, actually) to our stage.

After several years, and a few 100s live music and dance performances, the decking and structural integrity of the platform now are in dire need of being fortified/repaired/replaced. Not just for esthetics sake, but for functionality and safety. We want the performers to feel safe on our stage when emotion over takes them and they just have to dance and move and groove, without fear of falling through the deck!

The stage needs immediate attention. That’s why we are raising funds now.

You might ask, ‘why we are doing a public appeal for support?’

⁃ Some who read this know, but others likely do not know—when I say that we are a nonprofit performance space, that’s really what I mean.

⁃ We are mission-driven, totally.

⁃ Most of the work we do is accomplished with volunteers and interns.

⁃ We are not a bar or commercial hall for hire.

⁃ Most of the performers who work with us do so because they believe in our mission and want to show support for keeping live music front-and-center in Central East Austin—especially music tied to African American cultural traditions, world musics of the Diaspora, and other related traditional and contemporary forms.

⁃ Though we are a nonprofit project of DiverseArts and the East Austin Creative Coalition, Kenny Dorham’s Backyard functions as a collaborative project of the organization, the performing artists, food concessionaires, volunteers, and a few financial and in-kind supporters.

⁃ Kenny Dorham’s Backyard receives NO PUBILC OR PRIVATE GRANT FUNDING (though the space alone is provided by the Austin Urban Renewal Agency, thank you!)

The goal of this round of fundraising is specifically for materials for the decking and structural support for the stage. We currently have commitments from a few skilled volunteers (several of them musicians who currently perform on that stage) to provide labor and expertise to the effort. What we need is cash to pay for building materials; and some support for top-level building-trades leadership and supervision for the work project.

Prior to the Covid Shutdown Experience, we completed the lighting grid and truss-work frame.

The next phase will be construction of the roof/canopy over the stage.

We are asking you now—if at all possible, at whatever level you are able—to make your generous contribution here to what we feel is a very worthy project. Kenny Dorham’s Backyard has survived for 15 years now because of support from our community. If you can, we are asking you to step up once again to help us keep this performance space alive and well…and safe for our performers on stage.

Thank you ever so much for your support and consideration.

Most sincerely,

Harold McMillan

Kenny Dorham's Backyard

DiverseArts Culture Works

East Austin Creative Coalition

**If you desire to have this contribution to our nonprofit project be tax-deductible, please contact us directly and we can provide you with the appropriate information for our nonprofit fiscal agent organization, Capital View Arts.