WXXI in Rochester, N.Y., is acquiring the city’s Little Theatre as a subsidiary, it announced Monday (Dec. 19). The merger, effective January 2012, “strengthens WXXI’s roots in the cultural life of the community, while helping to assure the future of Rochester’s independent film house,” said WXXI President Norm Silverstein in a statement.
The Little Theatre, built in 1928, is a nonprofit multicultural gathering place, screening more than 100 films per year and hosting several annual community film festivals. It also provides local artists a place to share their work.
The affiliation will “enable the two organizations to work more efficiently by pooling resources and strengths in a number of areas including back-office operation and improved fundraising capabilities,” the statement said.
A Task Force from each organization consulted with the New York Council of Nonprofits on the agreement. The Little Theatre will become a subsidiary corporation of WXXI, and will continue to exist as a separate legal entity. Each will maintain separate memberships and donor files, although some joint membership opportunities may be developed. And five members of the Little Theatre Film Society will sit on WXXI’s Board of Trustees.