It really matters: project to restore Port Union rowhouse wins $30,000 in This Place Matters competition
The Bonavista Peninsula is about to get a new arts space in an old heritage house thanks to the National Trust for Canada and a whole lot of votes.
The Union Art Project won the National Trust for Canada's This Place Matters crowdfunding competition in the Big Projects Regional - East category.
The win nets them $30,000 towards the transformation of Union House, a rowhouse duplex on Main Street in Port Union, into a multipurpose community and arts centre.
In June, the National Trust for Canada announced the Union Art Project as one of 25 community heritage projects from across the country selected for its This Place Matters online crowdfunding competition.
The public voted for or donated to their favourite projects. Each dollar donated was counted as one vote.
Thousands of votes, thousands of dollars
When the voting wrapped up on July 20th, The Union Art Project had 18,067 votes and had raised $15,943.
Four days later they received the official word: they won the Big Projects Regional - East category, which nets them an additional $30,000 in prize money from the National Trust.
The Sir William Ford Coaker Heritage Foundation own the property. They're behind the project, and its big win with the National Trust. They released this video on their Facebook page when they heard the news.
