A Chesterfield-based entertainment agency is forming a nonprofit to celebrate its 50th birthday.
EastCoast Entertainment, an entertainment booking agency headquartered at 703 Southlake Blvd., has created The ECE Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at supporting music education organizations.
The agency hopes the venture will beef up resources for music nonprofits across the markets in which it has offices, particularly those in “underserved areas,” said Steve Harry, a former ECE managing partner who is heading up the nonprofit side, along with Charlotte, N.C.-based ECE managing partner Brian Heffron.
ECE was co-founded in Richmond in 1976 by Steve Thomas and Dennis Huber. It has since grown to be one of the largest full-service entertainment and booking agencies in the U.S. The company handles bookings for weddings, festivals, corporate and other events, and provides music, comedy, specialty entertainment and celebrity booking.
Locally, it often does work at places like The Commonwealth Club, Dover Hall and the Jefferson Hotel.
Over the years, the company has grown to around 70 employees and over 14 office locations, primarily concentrated in the Southeast, while remaining headquartered in Chesterfield.
John Wolfslayer (Courtesy EastCoast Entertainment)
Harry said ECE’s partners had been toying with the idea of forming a nonprofit for over three years, citing funding challenges for music organizations. After identifying three nonprofits they felt could use help, the group decided to launch the idea to the public this year.
“It’s been a long time coming,” added Richmond-based ECE President John Wolfslayer. “The ownership and partnership of the company has really wanted to give back in some form or fashion for a long time. … The nonprofit world is not something we’ve operated in (before).”
The ECE Foundation has initially granted funds to three nonprofits: Washington, D.C.-based The MusicianShip, Charlottesville-based The Front Porch and North Carolina-based Asheville Music School. All three nonprofits provide free and discounted music education as well as scholarships to area youth and community members.
Harry declined to comment on how much has been invested in the foundation’s first three grants, but noted each was in the “thousands of dollars.”
“(It’s) basically a proof of concept … what we’re doing, who we want to help,” Harry said. “A really great example is The Front Porch in Charlottesville. It’s a great fit. … We’re going to lean preferably to nonprofit organizations in this space that are focused on kids. Getting them exposed to music at an early age.”
He added that following the first three donations the foundation plans to start looking for additional organizations it can donate to in some of its main markets, including Richmond.
Harry said ECE Foundation has specific interest in deploying capital to organizations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, though he noted that the foundation does not yet know specifically how many nonprofits it will look to give to yearly.
“Certainly Richmond being where the company was founded and is headquartered is a big place for us to find some partnerships,” Wolfslayer added. “Looking around for partners and partnerships we can support in the Richmond area is absolutely a priority.”
“We’re going to very carefully research recipients,” Harry added. “We can look at where they need to grow, where we can help them.”
The ECE Foundation has one employee in Charlotte. ECE has roughly 10 employees based in its Richmond headquarters, according to its website.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source richmondbizsense.com ’
