SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- A Santa Cruz Shakespeare company fighting to raise $300,000 to avoid the cancellation of their 2009 season is hoping to meet the mark before noon Monday.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz, a 27-year-old company hosted by the University of California, Santa Cruz Art Division, faces the shut down of its 2009 season and perhaps a permanent end if it does not meet the fundraising deadline, a decision reached Dec. 12 by university leaders and the Shakespeare group's staff and directors.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz runs plays cast with professional actors, directors and designers and also involves students and student interns with the opportunity to perform, the Web site states.

The university's Art Division has traditionally absorbed the theater group's deficit with the hope it may one day become financially independent, according to theater officials.

However, increased university cuts caused by the state's financial crisis have left Shakespeare Santa Cruz without a fallback and pushed the group into a frenzied fundraising campaign.

The Art Division and chancellor's office have supported the group's efforts, and reached the $300,000 fundraising figure to minimize the impact on the university if a deficit is incurred in 2009.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz's 2008 losses are projected around $500,000 due to decreased ticket sales and donations, theater officials said. The organization has not profited for several years.

Despite hard economic times, donations have since come pouring in, with the group reaching $255,851 just after noon Friday, spokeswoman Dana Werdmuller said.

Online donations are sent through the Art Division and then to the theater group, meaning the figures released daily have been safe and perhaps underestimated of the actual amount raised, Werdmuller said.

"We're trying to make sure we're being as conservative as possible," she said.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz will work through the weekend to accept and verify donations, but the company will not likely know the final amount earned until after the noontime deadline, according to Werdmuller.

Information about donations is available at: http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org. Donations will be returned if the group does not reach its goal, theater officials said.