The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation has awarded Arts on Main a $100,000 Challenge Grant to inspire new gifts for the organization’s next phase of capital and program initiatives.

A private, non-operating foundation based in Richmond, the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation has awarded approximately $128 million to qualified charitable organizations since it was established in 1988 by its namesake.

Arts on Main’s initiatives emerged out of extensive strategic planning that identified ways the organization could address key needs in the community, said a press release. Initiatives developed include purchasing, renovating and equipping its home on Main Street; expanding arts programs for youth, older adults and audiences beyond the local region; and establishing a reserve fund for future sustainability.

The estimated total of these initiatives is $1.5 million, of which $200,000 was raised last year, thanks in large part to private donors, the Cook Foundation and grants from the Main S...