WALDOBORO — Last spring, The Waldo was awarded a $40,000 challenge grant from the Sandy River Charitable Foundation, which required a dollar for dollar match. The organization successfully raised the matching funds in August.

In addition, The Waldo just received a $20,000 grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Historic Energy Efficiency Fund.

The Sandy River Foundation funds are being used to build capacity through the hiring of The Waldo’s new executive director, Kate Fletcher.

The Belvedere Fund award will go toward reducing the theatre’s energy costs by tightening up and insulating the building and updating outdated lighting and other systems.

In addition to these two grants, the Sandy River Charitable Foundation has pledged to award a second $40,000 challenge grant in 2020, according to the Waldo, in a news release.

“The Waldo board would like to express its gratitude to these foundations and to the Waldoboro community for its continuing support of our efforts to bring the theatre back to life,” said the Theatre, in the release. “The Waldo has already touched so many lives and it is wonderful to see so many come out to paint, repair windows, dig trenches, host dinners, come to events, race cars for us, and so much more. The future is bright!”

For more information on The Waldo restoration effort, contact Waldo at info@thewaldotheatre.org.