THE DALLAS GOETHE CENTER, INC.

MISSION AND ORGANIZATION

Mission

The Dallas Goethe Center is a cultural and educational organization founded in 1965 to foster an appreciation of German art, drama, music, language, literature, history, and current affairs, and to cultivate mutual understanding between people of German-speaking countries and those of the United States of America.

Structure

The Dallas Goethe Center, Inc, is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, organized under the laws of the State of Texas.

The Goethe Center has grown from a handful of people in the 1960s to a membership of over 300 individuals and has greatly expanded the scope of its programs in recent years.

The Dallas Goethe Center is governed by a Board of Directors, which meets quarterly; an Executive Board, which meets on a regular basis; a Program Committee, which meets on the first Saturday of each month; and an annual General Membership Meeting.

Governing Board

The Goethe Center is governed by an elected Board of Directors of up to 15 members and is managed by the officers and committee chairmen.

Cultural Activities

One of the most important activities of the Dallas Goethe Center is the German Language School. Taught on Saturdays, the school offers German classes to children and adults of all ages. Native German speakers teach classes with a student-teacher ratio of 10-1 or less. From stimulating children’s games to advanced lessons on conducting business in German, the Dallas Goethe Center can help anyone—at any level—learn to speak and write German. In the past, the Saturday Language School has been taught only in downtown Dallas. The program has now been expanded to reach many families who live in the northern suburbs of the Dallas “metroplex” by opening a location in Richardson, the center of the computer and telecommunications activity in Texas.

Between two and four cultural programs are presented each month. The Center supports Dallas area musical performances, museum exhibitions, a monthly German film series, theater performances, readings by German authors, cabaret groups, and lectures on German culture, history, and art. In addition, the center organizes a number of trips each year, including group tours to Germany and towns in Texas with a strong German heritage.

The events of the Dallas Goethe Center take place either in the Dallas Contemporary Arts Museum, in private residences, or at various university locations in the area.

Office Location

As of November 2005, the Dallas Goethe Center has an office in the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas. Arrangements have been made to have a volunteer of the Dallas Goethe Center to spend 15 hours a week in that office.

Financial Support

The Dallas Goethe Center is completely dependent upon the dues and contributions of its members and upon occasional grants from governmental and charitable institutions.

The Goethe Center collaborates with the Goethe Institut (Chicago), the American Council on Germany, the Consul General of Germany in Houston, the Consul General of Switzerland, Pro Helvetia, and others in providing venue and hospitality for visiting lecturers, notables, and performers.

Publication of Newsletter

The Dallas Goethe Center publishes a newsletter of 6 to 8 pages (8+11 format) each month.

Given the growing German-speaking population of North Texas, the Dallas Goethe Center is working hard to develop additional resources, to increase its membership, and to create a permanent base through which the German culture can be more widely appreciated.

Website: http://www.dallasgoethecenter.org