Looking Ahead to 2021!
At last 2020 is over! Our Holiday Cocktail Celebration and Boutique did the trick and we kissed 2020 a spirited goodbye.
We are looking ahead, hopeful the new year will bring an end to the pandemic and a re-opening of our historic campus. However, as I write, the pandemic is still raging and infections in Los Angeles County are higher than they were in the spring when we were first ordered to close down the building. Unfortunately, we do not see a date certain on the horizon but we remain hopeful that we will re-open in 2021. And, thankfully, our financial situation is improved, thanks to filming which occupied much of the staff’s time in the late fall. We are now able to apply for an additional payroll protection funding from the federal stimulus recently approved by Congress. And, most importantly, we are deeply grateful for the generosity of our members. We raised nearly $100,000 last year including our first ever successful matching campaign initiated by a donation from a new member! In addition to orchestrating our fundraising efforts this year, Ebell Friends was also successful in securing a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to further our efforts to develop a preservation plan for the building.
I am particularly proud to share the news that the Ebell is now listed as one of nearly 1,000 places across America where women made history. The crowd-sourced registry was developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Saving Places division in honor of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote. Thanks to Ebell Friends for preparing for securing our listing.
For now, we continue to make history at the Ebell, online and virtually through an amazing slate of programs. I invite you join me for our Semi-Annual Business Meeting on Zoom scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. preceding our 4:00 p.m. Confab.
