Nonprofit Spotlight: CPAC Brings More Than the Arts to Our Community

There are places in a community that become more than the building they occupy.

For Green Valley and the surrounding Santa Cruz Valley, the Community Performance & Art Center is one of those places.

Known to most of us simply as CPAC, the Center has built its mission around a wonderfully simple idea: bringing the arts to everyone.

From live music, theater and dance to visual art, educational programs and hands-on workshops, CPAC creates opportunities for people to experience the arts right here at home. Its programming includes jazz, classical and popular music, lectures, world music, dance, theater, touring performers and local talent.

But if you think of CPAC simply as the place you go to see a show, there's a lot more happening behind those doors.

A Place to Experience, Learn and Gather

CPAC's Green Valley campus includes six buildings totaling more than 25,000 square feet on approximately 4.5 acres, with panoramic views of the Santa Rita Mountains. The Center includes a performance theater, art gallery, dance and music studios, and spaces for rehearsals, meetings, and community gatherings.

Even the architecture tells a Southern Arizona story. Internationally acclaimed architect Antoine Predock designed the Center to resemble mountains with peaks and valleys while preserving the natural beauty of the surrounding Sonoran Desert.

And the amount of activity taking place there might surprise you.

CPAC's current website reports more than 150 performances annually, along with dozens of visual art exhibits, workshops and classes, and more than 50,000 visits each year. Its most recent published program guide reports even greater activity, with more than 200 performances and 90,000 annual visits. Either way, the numbers tell the same story: CPAC is an active part of community life in the Santa Cruz Valley.

The Center's gallery also showcases Arizona artists, while its adult education programs give residents opportunities to explore different media and techniques, develop their creativity, and meet others along the way.

Why Does That Matter to the Rest of Us?

A strong community isn't measured only by the services available when something goes wrong. It's also shaped by the places that bring us together.

The places where we learn something new. Where local artists have an opportunity to be seen. Where neighbors sit beside one another for a concert. Where someone decides, perhaps for the first time in years, to pick up a paintbrush, take a class, or try something completely new.

Arts and cultural organizations contribute something different to community life, and CPAC has made accessibility an important part of its mission by working to provide quality arts programming at affordable prices.

Keeping that work going takes community support. As a nonprofit arts organization, CPAC says private support can account for as much as 50% of its annual revenue. Although the facilities are public domain, the Community Performance & Art Center Foundation holds the lease and is responsible for operations, maintenance and repairs without operating support from local or regional government.

That means the performances, exhibits, educational opportunities and gathering spaces our community enjoys are supported in meaningful part by patrons, donors, sponsors and volunteers who believe having the arts here matters.

Why the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation Is Sharing This Story

At the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation, we have a unique view of our community. We work alongside nonprofits, donors, businesses and community leaders throughout Southern Arizona. That gives us the opportunity to see just how many organizations are quietly contributing to the quality of life we enjoy every day.

We believe more people should know about them.

That's why we're sharing their stories.

Our Nonprofit Spotlight series introduces our neighbors to organizations serving our region, helps people better understand the work happening around them and makes it easier to discover causes and organizations they may want to know, support or become involved with.

CPAC is a wonderful example.

When someone attends a concert, takes a class, walks through an exhibit or watches a local performer step onto the stage, they're experiencing something made possible by a nonprofit organization and a community that believes the arts matter.

And CPAC isn't alone.

Throughout Green Valley, Sahuarita and communities along the I-19 corridor, nonprofits are caring for people, supporting children and families, protecting places we love, preserving our history, enriching our culture and addressing needs many of us may never see.

Part of the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation's work is helping connect those organizations with people who want to make a difference.

Sometimes that connection begins with something as simple as knowing their story.

This Month, We're Shining the Spotlight on CPAC

The next time you drive past the Community Performance & Art Center, remember there's much more happening behind those doors than what appears on the marquee.

There are artists creating. People learning. Neighbors gathering. And a nonprofit organization helping make our corner of Southern Arizona a more interesting, connected, and vibrant place to live.

That's worth knowing about. And that's why we're shining the spotlight on CPAC.

Learn more about the Community Performance & Art Center

Donate to the Community Performance & Art Center

Greater Green Valley Community Foundation
Connecting people, generosity and community impact throughout Southern Arizona.