Grants for Theater
Learn about theater grants by browsing our curated list of top theater funders below. Members can also research funding opportunities by using the search tool for GrantFinder. Become a member.
Funding trends for theater grants
More than 10 million Americans attended performances at nonprofit theaters in the United States in 2022, and more than 600,000 subscribed to a theater season, according to the Theatre Communications Group (TCG). There are thousands of nonprofit theaters across the country, developing and presenting creative work that ranges from theatrical classics to innovative new productions. Americans for the Arts, which studies the economic and social impact of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry, found that “86% of Americans say, ‘arts and culture are important to their community’s quality of life and livability,’ and 79% of the American public believe that the arts are ‘important to their community’s businesses, economy, and local jobs.’”
Yet America’s nonprofit theaters are struggling. More than half of those surveyed by TCG budgeted for a deficit in 2024, the national organization reported in a snapshot survey called Compounding Crises. A field that has historically been funded by a mix of earned income, donations, and grants, nonprofit theater has not yet recovered from the impact of pandemic-era closures that exacerbated other challenges, including the decline of the subscription model, inflation and rising labor costs, and climate change impacts from flooding to wildfires.
The theater world is advocating for increased federal funding to shore up nonprofit theaters. Private funders could also play an important role. The latest data from TCG, however, shows that foundation funding has remained consistent from 2018 to 2022 after adjusting for inflation, and trustee and other individual giving was lower in 2022 than in 2018.
Individual donors, including trustees, have historically played an outsized role in philanthropic support for theater. There are also several private national foundations that are stalwart funders of nonprofit theater (indicated in the Key Funders above). Additionally, there are foundations that give for theater in their focus geographic areas: the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation and MacArthur Foundation in Chicago; the Ahmanson Foundation in Los Angeles; and the Brown Foundation and Houston Endowment in Texas. Theater nonprofits can also find support from a number of family foundations that make grants for theater. Important regrantors in this field include the National Theater Project, Black Seed, and the National Latinx Theater Initiative. At the local level, many community foundations give for theater.
Areas of theater funding
Donations and grants for theater support nonprofit theaters, theater festivals, residencies, theater arts education and individual artists such as playwrights and performers. In general, foundations are most likely to support operations, productions and projects, with major theater funders such as the Shubert and Gilman foundations known for providing unrestricted general operating support. Individual donors are often drawn to support capital projects. Support for individual artists comes from a few foundations as well as regrantors focused on specific communities.
History of philanthropy for theater
Theater artists founded numerous nonprofit theater companies across the United States from the 1930s to the 1960s, critic Isaac Butler wrote in the New York Times. Once these organizations were established, private and public funders got involved in supporting them. The Ford Foundation, Butler writes, started making grants to theaters in the 1950s. The Shubert Foundation, the nation’s largest funder dedicated to unrestricted funding to nonprofit theater and dance companies, was established in 1945 and started making grants in 1977. Individual donors, including trustees, have long been important funders of nonprofit theaters, but their support has been declining in recent years.
Gaps in theater funding
While some other sectors have already recovered from pandemic impacts, nonprofit theaters “need a longer runway to recovery,” TCG and other advocates explain. Theater organizations were already struggling before COVID, and pandemic closures exacerbated budget gaps. While pandemic-era government funding was historic and helpful, foundations and government funders have not yet stepped up with the level of increased funding that is still needed to fill the gaps until nonprofit theaters can fully recover and implement new models to succeed in a changed world.
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Additional Resources
Theatre Communications Group is a significant funding intermediary that has awarded over $43 million in grants, subsidies and scholarships to individuals and theater organizations.
Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) is the national network of private, public and corporate arts funders focused on providing “leadership and service that advances the use of philanthropic and governmental resources to support the growth of the arts and culture.”
Americans for the Arts, which works to advance the arts in the United States, is an important organization for the dance community. Its website includes white papers and research on fundraising trends and best practices.
SMU DataArts’ mission is “to empower arts and cultural leaders with high-quality data and evidence-based resources and insights that help them to overcome challenges and increase impact.” SMU DataArts provides resources for arts organizations, fundraisers and arts grantmakers.
The Performing Arts Alliance is the national policy advocate, leadership forum and learning network for America’s nonprofit performing arts organizations, artists and allies.
