THOUSAND OAKS : $250,000 Gift Takes Arts Plaza Over Top

A $250,000 donation from a Westlake Village stockbroker has pushed the Civic Arts Plaza fund-raising campaign over the top of its $10-million goal three months early, officials said.

“The interest and the excitement over the new center during its initial months has really worked very much in our favor,” said Alliance for the Arts Director Richard Johnson. “We’re thrilled that we are ahead of schedule.”

The alliance now has an endowment of $10.2 million in pledged donations. Interest on the endowment will fund operating expenses for the performing arts center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, including maintenance and any needed repairs.

Anthony J. Tesoro, president of Jones and Associates Inc., pledged the donation this week. Johnson said an exterior courtyard will be renamed the Anthony J. Tesoro Courtyard of the Oaks in honor of the gift. The courtyard has a small performance area and is lined with inscribed bricks given by donors to the Civic Arts Plaza.

“I took Anthony and his family on a tour of the building, backstage and into the park area,” Johnson said. “He was really taken with the Courtyard of the Oaks.”

Tesoro also brought over several friends to look at the building last week, including Marc and Linda Sirkus of Agoura Hills and Lance and Nina Holt of Thousand Oaks. Both couples later gave $50,000 to become members of the Founders Circle.

Now that the Alliance for the Arts has reached its goal, Johnson said he is not sure whether fund-raising efforts will slow down.