The Sacramento Region Community Foundation awarded five grants totaling over $30,000 to ensure that students who love to perform have opportunities to pursue their passions. The awards are from the Dennis Mangers Fund for Young Performing Artists, a charitable fund established at the Foundation to help local youth access high-quality performing arts instruction.
The Mandarins of Sacramento received a grant to purchase percussion instruments for elementary-aged students and expand on a multitude of learning techniques through music. Other grantees include the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, Sacramento Theatre Company, Studio T Arts & Entertainment, and the E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts (CLARA).
Named for Dennis Mangers, a former Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors whose career in public service spanned five decades, the Dennis Mangers Fund for Young Performing Artists supports a cause personal to him. Mangers recalls the barriers he encountered as a young man who loved the performing arts but whose family could not afford the costs of private art instruction. Even when his music teachers in school noted his talent — and passion — for singing, he was unable to pursue further training.
In total, nonprofits in the region have received $100,000 since the Dennis Mangers Fund for Young Performing Artists was established in 2016.
We serve as the primary provider of philanthropic services to people, families, and businesses in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties. In 2023, we awarded $24 million in grants and scholarships. Since its inception in 1983, it has distributed over $250 million. To learn more, visit www.sacregcf.org.