Encore Musical Theatre in Running for Bank of Ann Arbor's 'Sweet 15' Charity Drive

The  in Dexter is vamping up an online campaign push through April to get local residents to vote in the Bank of Ann Arbor's "Sweet 15" local charity drive.

The drive, which kicked off on March 15, requires users to log onto the bank's Facebook page, and "friend" the organization before voting on local nonprofit groups in Washtenaw County that will split $75,000 in honor of the bank's 15th anniversary.

“Many companies, including more progressive banks like Bank of Ann Arbor, are using social media, Facebook and Twitter especially, to engage with customers and potential customers to tell them about their products, services, community involvement, and to bolster their overall marketing campaigns,” Timothy Marshall, Bank of Ann Arbor president said. “The goal of this campaign is to celebrate our successful 15-year anniversary in business, to generate significant goodwill as an organization that continues to give back to the community, to welcome thousands of new ‘friends’ into the Bank of Ann Arbor community, and to enlarge the universe of prospective Bank of Ann Arbor clients.”

On April 12, Round 1 ends and the votes are tallied. Users can log on and vote once a day until the deadline.  The top 15 charities will advance to Round 2.

Steve DeBruyne, assistant artistic director for the Encore, said the theater is thrilled to be part of the competition.

"I think there are over 200 organizations and we're in the top 25," he said.

As of Friday, the Encore was ranked at No. 24 with 542 votes. The Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association leads the pack at No. 1 with 3,108 votes, followed by the Plymouth Canton Music Boosters at 2,787 votes, and the Humane Society of Huron Valley with 1,710 votes.

DeBruyne said should the Encore receive funds from the bank, it will be put toward the purchase of its current building on Broad Street.

"To purchase the building, we need to raise $50,000 for a down payment," he said. "I think the top prize is $10,000, so that would give us 1/5 of what we need to raise."

DeBruyne said small groups of theater patrons have been working on soliciting donations and fundraising ideas for the remaining cost.

"I think it's a great opportunity to be part of this contest," DeBruyne said.

For more information on the contest, visit the bank's Facebook page.