THOUSAND OAKS : Endowment for Arts Plaza Tops $5 Million

The endowment to cover day-to-day operational costs at the Civic Arts Plaza has topped $5 million, fund-raisers said Tuesday, after announcing six new pledges.

Leading this week’s giving, the Calabasas-based Xircom Inc. pledged $150,000. Xircom, which develops networking systems for personal computers, will move its corporate headquarters and 235 employees to Thousand Oaks this fall.

Xircom’s gift includes $100,000 from the company itself and $50,000 from the firm’s 32-year-old president, Dirk Gates.

Another high-tech firm, Litton Industries, has joined the roster of major donors by contributing $100,000 to the Civic Arts Plaza. The aerospace company is based in Beverly Hills, but has offices in Ventura County.

Four other donors have agreed to kick in $50,000 apiece: Pruner Health Services, which operates ambulances throughout the county; P.L. Porter & Co. of Woodland Hills, which manufactures devices that move chairs into reclining positions; R.C. Dudek & Co. Inc. of Oxnard, which distributes fasteners and other hardware, and Westlake Village residents Sheldon and Susan Malchicoff.

With the six pledges, fund-raisers reached the half-way mark of their endowment drive. Originally, they planned for a $3-million endowment, but have now decided to collect $10 million to subsidize programming and operating costs in the Civic Arts Plaza theaters.

“When you reset your goal up so high, you do sometimes have doubts,” campaign director Richard T. Johnson said. “To suddenly hit the half-way mark (means) it’s doable. We’re moving right along.”