by Little Italy San Jose

As 2015 comes to an end, Little Italy San Jose is proud of the accomplishments we have made over the past 5 years since we became a 501c3 organization. It is because of the tremendous support we have had from all of you that we were able to Build our 31 foot Landmark Arch, Install the 30+ banners of Italian Americans, Enjoy the Piazza with the hundreds of Legacy Bricks, and Purchase our 10,000 sq. ft. lot and two buildings for our Italian Cultural Center & Museum.

We can look back and be proud of what we have accomplished, but I am sure most of you would agree that we still have a long way to go to make this "Little Italy" area truly Italian, something our community can be proud of, and turn this area into a tourist destination for the City of San Jose.

Completing the Arch was a huge task and was a big step for the future of Little Italy, but 2016 will be the turning point year to add the vibrancy and authenticity to our Italian district. Many of you have heard about the Italian Cultural center & Museum since we were able to raise the $360,000 to purchase the two properties next to Henry's High Life. Over the past year we have secured numerous In Kind contributions for this project including 100% donations from Ciari Plumbing, Devcon Construction, Best Electrical, Perez House movers, Central Concrete, Method 42 Productions, A1 Cooling & Heating, Peninsula Building Materials, Alliance Roofing, Topa Architecture, Therma, Foundation Building Materials, and Western Roofing Supply. Our property is a candidate Historic Landmark originally owned by the Beltramo family and we have been working with the City's Planning, Building, and Public Works departments for the past year to convert this property from two homes to an Italian Museum with a basement bar, a 2nd building leased to an Italian Business, and an expansive outdoor event space with a children's Pinocchio Village. We are very close to planning approval and being able to start construction, but still NEED YOUR HELP to be able to move this project forward. Even with the many generous donors for the Arch, Little Italy San Jose spent $75,000 of our own money to complete that project. As you can imagine, that almost completely wiped out our the fundraising dollars we have earned over the past five years from our Gala events, Brick and Banner projects and many mini food and wine festivals.

This Cultural center and Museum will be the HEART of Little Italy San Jose by depicting the many contributions our community has given to Santa Clara county, showing the vibrancy of our Italian Culture, and creating a social gathering space for Italian Americans from young to old. We hope you will consider becoming a "Founding member" of this cultural center alongside the Sobrato, Marchese, DiNapoli, Owen, Trapani families that helped us purchase this property, contribute as an In Kind donor, or help us with items to display in the Museum.

Budget – $1,200,000
Monetary and In Kind donations thus far - $650,000
Little Italy Fundraising events - $20,000
John Sobrato Matching Grant - $100,000 - City of San Jose Empty Storefront Grant - $8,000

NEED TO RAISE $422,000 (Tax ID 27-3196188) (New Foundation, Lift Elevator, Sewer fees, City Fees, Construction costs, Cabinets, fixtures, flooring, landscaping, building materials, and museum display costs)

Source: www.LittleItalySJ.com