FVCC Celebrates Achievement of $18 Million ONE Campaign Goal and Announces Expansion of College Center to Include 1,000-Seat Performance Hall

Flathead Valley Community College has met its goal of raising $18 million as part of the ONE Campaign to better serve students and the community with new spaces for learning, creativity and collaboration.

FVCC launched the ONE Campaign in January 2018 to raise money for a new Library and Learning Commons and a College Center. Since then, supporters of the college contributed $18,022,000 to the campaign, including lead gifts from Paul D. Wachholz, the Broussard family, Al and Lisa Stinson, Jim and Wanda Hollensteiner and others.

The grand opening of the Broussard Family Library and Learning Commons was held June 6 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Groundbreaking for the College Center is scheduled for early spring 2020. The College Center will house a performance and lecture hall that will serve as the performance home of the Glacier Symphony. The facility will also include a multi-purpose activity center with a gymnasium, an art/exhibition gallery and reception hall, and an outdoor amphitheatre.

“We greatly appreciate the generosity of this community and its continued commitment to the importance of FVCC and the diverse opportunities we offer,” FVCC President Jane Karas said. “These new facilities will touch many lives in Northwest Montana and provide endless possibilities for students and the community long into the future.”

The original plans for the performance and lecture hall in the College Center included seating for 750 guests. As the ONE Campaign neared its $18 million goal, community members and donors encouraged Karas, the FVCC Board and the FVCC Foundation to envision a larger venue that would allow the college to host educational, musical and cultural offerings that would not be possible in a smaller venue.

“Throughout the ONE Campaign, we met with and listened to our community,” Karas said. “As a result, we have decided to launch the Encore Campaign to raise an additional $3 million to include a 1,000-seat performance and lecture hall. This venue would be the only one of its kind and size in Northwest Montana.”

A 1,000-seat hall would attract regional, national and international performers and speakers who require a larger venue. These types of events will provide economic benefits to the community. Event attendees will stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants and shop in local stores.

For more information about the Encore Campaign or to make a charitable gift in support of the expansion of the College Center to include a 1,000-seat hall, visit www.fvcc.edu/one or contact FVCC Foundation Executive Director Colleen Unterreiner at (406)756-3914 or colleenu@fvcc.edu.