A Scranton group is seeking financial support for a massive Dunder Mifflin mural

Dunder Mifflin still needs some serious paper.

One month after launching a crowdfunding campaign for a massive downtown mural paying homage to “The Office” — NBC’s popular sitcom set in Scranton — Scranton Tomorrow remains more than $80,000 away from its goal.

“We are still very hopeful that the community will step forward because I believe everyone wants this to happen,” said Rose Randazzo-Pizzuto, a Pittston attorney who serves as murals chairwoman for the nonprofit.

Titled “The Story of Us: The Office’s Relationship with Scranton,” the mural is slated to occupy 3,600 square feet of space on the eastern wall of the building at 503 Lackawanna Ave. The 30-foot-high and 120-foot-long piece of art will feature black-and-white portraits of 17 characters from the show, including Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly. The nonprofit was hopeful for a spring 2023 release.

Once Scranton Tomorrow unveiled the design, it launched a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo.com to raise $85,000 for the project, money that is needed for the mural to move forward.

By Friday, it had raised $3,135 and had 28 days to go, according to the site.

Randazzo-Pizzuto is hopeful it will come together. While the crowdfunding is struggling to take off, they’ve received a handful of corporate donations to help fill the gap.

She noted that Cooper’s Seafood House donated $5,000 and an anonymous donor sent $1,000.

Paul Cooper, co-owner of the restaurant, said such a mural could attract more people and business to the city.

“ ’The Office’ is just so huge,” Cooper said. “It’s more popular now than it’s ever been.”

Scranton Tomorrow’s Mural Arts Program also regularly applies for grants, through competition to get those grants is stiff, she said.

“People love the idea, love the project,” Randazzo-Pizzuto said. “I think eventually it will all come together.”

Leslie Collins, president and CEO of Scranton Tomorrow, said they are going to stay the course over the next 30 or so days. Afterward, if they fall short of the crowdsourcing goal, they will “reconvene and reevaluate,” she said.

“We’re hopeful that we can make it happen for the city,” Collins said.

According to the fundraising campaign, Philadelphia muralist Kala Hagopian, founder of Hagopian Arts, will paint it. According to Hagopian’s webpage, she received a certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2009 and describes herself as a fine-art muralist who specializes in realism mixed with bright patterns and atmosphere.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 11:46 AM.