BY PEPPER FISHER

PORT ANGELES – Field Arts and Events Hall on the Port Angeles waterfront recently received an enormous gift from a donor who chooses to remain anonymous, and it’s a chance to turn a half-million dollars into a million. But there’s a ticking clock.

Executive Director Steve Raider-Ginsburg says the matching grant of $500,000 came in a few weeks ago just as Field Hall was getting ready to announce their year-end appeal, and donors have been jumping on board knowing their donations will be doubled.

“And this person who had this family foundation said, “We know you need these funds as a start-up organization, that you’re really trying to get things stabilized. So, if we can double what comes in, let’s see what people can do.” And so, we announced it to the public. We had a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars that was raised. And now we’ve raised about 75,000 dollars since then. So we’re just at two hundred thousand.”

That means the next $300,000 they can raise will also be doubled, but their deadline on the matching fund is December 31.

Raider-Ginsburg says the money raised in this fund drive is earmarked to help pay for the daily operations that keep the Field Hall going day in/day out, and much of it will be used to pay down the last of the original construction costs.

“Lastly, I just want to say that it’s been really clear and really evident that we’ve been doing two things, really strongly, since we’ve opened. We’ve been making memories for people who are having a tremendous time. But we’ve also been building dreams. So, we’ve been having youth come in, and all sorts of people who get inspired and leave Field Hall full of the dreams that they’re ready to build to make our area stronger.”

Click here to make a donation, or go to fieldhallevents.org to learn more.