Mattie Rhodes Center (MRC) enriches the lives of individuals, families and communities in a respectful, multi-cultural environment. Since its inception more than 120 years ago, MRC’s call to community service has been to champion the needs of others. Today, its community service calls for them to campaign for the continued evolution of cultural arts as a tool for education and unification.
MRC identified the need to expand service space and decrease costs within the cultural arts area of the agency, which is based out of the Westside neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. It acquired land to build a new Cultural Center and JB+A helped it begin its EXPLORE. LEARN. CREATE. BELONG. Campaign to raise funds for constructing the new Center. Part of its fundraising plan included applying for tax credits from the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP). This program provides assistance to community-based organizations that enables them to implement community or neighborhood projects in the areas of community service, education, crime prevention, job training and physical revitalization. The Department of Economic Development will issue 50% or 70% tax credits to an eligible taxpayer who makes a qualified contribution to an approved NAP project. MRC was notified by the Missouri DED in late August it was awarded $200,000 in NAP tax credits to utilize in raising funds for its new Cultural Center. The $200,000 in 50% tax credits can generate $400,000 in contributions to the MRC campaign for its new Cultural Center. Congratulations Mattie Rhodes Center!
The new Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center will be a safe and welcoming environment that will supplement its other facilities. The building will be anchored by four pillars: 1) educational programs, 2) gallery/exhibit space, 3) cultural exchange and 4) event/gathering space. The new Center will be an energy-efficient building that is artistically and culturally appropriate and inviting for the neighborhood. The facility will be constructed to accommodate flexible, multi-functional exhibition and classroom space. Off-street and handicap-accessible parking will be provided. The new Cultural Center will provide a permanent home for Kansas City’s only collection of international folk art – the Hand-In-Hand Folk Art Collection, gallery space, open classrooms, community event space, gift and retail space.
Learn more about MRC and its new Cultural Center here.
To learn more about the Missouri DED NAP tax credits and eligibility criteria for donors, visit here.