Grants for theaters

Name: Top 25 grants made to theaters
Creator: Cause IQ
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

2,198 theaters received at least $21.4 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 3,677 grants made from 2,220 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,800. Of these 2,220 foundations, 75% made just a single grant to theaters, and 5% made grants to four or more theaters. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.

$21,369,757

Total grant dollars given to theaters

3,677

Number of grants made annually to theaters

2,220

Number of grantmakers funding theaters

$1,800

Median grant size to theaters

Foundations that support theaters

Out of all grants made to theaters, 78% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 65% of the dollar-value of grants to theaters. Foundations funding theaters also made grants to performing arts centers, educational service providers, multiservice human service organizations, music festivals and events, and arts education nonprofits.

Foundation size

Foundation size	Number of grantmakers
Small	1,745
Medium	287
Large	188

Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation type	Number of grantmakers
Community	57
Private	1,961
Corporate	90
Other	112

Grants made

Grants made to theaters	Number of grantmakers
1	1,679
2-3	429
4-10	89
11+	23

Top 10 foundations supporting theaters

Grantmaker	State	Geographic focus	Percent of grant dollars to theaters	Number of grants made to theaters	Median grant size
Seattle Foundation	WA	State	0.2%	78	$1,800
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines	IA	State	0.3%	64	$1,687
The Rhode Island Foundation	RI	Metro	0.2%	54	$1,127
JP Morgan Chase Foundation	NY	National	0.0%	36	$325
Baird Foundation	WI	National	0.6%	27	$500
Shell Oil Company Foundation	TX	National	0.2%	25	$500
Abbvie Foundation	IL	National	0.0%	23	$260
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)	TN	Metro	0.1%	22	$1,078
James Irvine Foundation	CA	State	0.0%	20	$884
Hampton Roads Community Foundation	VA	Metro	0.1%	18	$604

See all grantmaking to theaters

Theaters grantees

Theaters with more than $5 million in total revenues received 74% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 29% of all theaters.

Grant amounts

Size of grant	Number of grants
<$10k	3,674
$10k-$25k	0
$25k-$100k	0
$100k+	3

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenue	Median grant size
<$100k	$1,625
$100k-$500k	$1,937
$500k-$1M	$1,875
$1M-$5M	$1,700
>$5M	$1,800

Grantee states

State of grantee	Number of grants
New York	667
California	401
Illinois	217
Florida	172
Other	2,220

Grantee metros

Metro area of grantee	Number of grants
New York City	578
Chicago	207
Los Angeles	162
Seattle	130
Other	2,301

Top 25 grants made to theaters

Grantee	Grant size	Purpose	Grantmaker
American Repertory Theatre (ART)	$5,473,469	Cash	Harvard University
Joe's Pub	$4,575,000	General Support During Fiscal Year 2020.	LuEsther T Mertz Charitable Trust
American Repertory Theatre (ART)	$3,239,374	Cash	Harvard University
Springfield Community Players	$5,000	Install Handicap Access Ramp	Claremont Savings Bank Foundation
Center Theatre Group	$5,000	Support Recipient's Program	Hirshan Family Foundation
Williamstown Theatre Foundation (WTF)	$5,000	A65 Theater	Community Foundation of Louisville
Cadence Theatre Company	$5,000	General Operating Funds	Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Space / Near & Arnold's School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education	$5,000	General Operating Support Due To Covid-19	Community Foundation of Mendocino County
Mendocino Performing Arts Company	$5,000	To Support 2020 Season	Community Foundation of Mendocino County
Rochester Community Players	$5,000	RCP'S Shakespeare Players Program Will Stage Four Shakespeare Or Shakespeare-Related Plays.	Livingston Arts
Classic Stage Company (CSC)	$5,000	See Rider Attached	Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust
Amas Musical Theatre	$5,000	See Rider Attached	Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust
Clubbed Thumb	$5,000	See Rider Attached	Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust
5-Star Theatricals	$5,000	Public Support of Organization Mission	The Stanley and Joyce Black Family FOUNDATION
Latino Theater Company (LATC)	$5,000	Public Support of Organization Mission	The Stanley and Joyce Black Family FOUNDATION
Theatreworks	$5,000	General	The Buettner Family Foundation
Soho Repertory Theatre	$5,000	General	Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
New York Theatre Workshop	$5,000	General	Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
Bas Bleu Theatre Company	$5,000	General	Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
Sherman Community Players	$5,000	General	Elias and Hanna Regensburger Foundation
Coachella Valley Repertory	$5,000	To Further the Appreciation of Theatre and Performing Arts	Mcdonald-Wright Foundation
La Jolla Playhouse	$5,000	Support Innovative Compelling Theater	Withington Foundation
The Toledo REP	$5,000	General Support	Greater Toledo Community Foundation
Long Wharf Theatre	$5,000	Charitable Event	NewCity Foundation
Everyman Theatre	$5,000	Unrestricted General	Helen Pumphrey Denit TR Char and Educ Purposes

See all grants to theaters

Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Theaters" category for this page is determined by the "A65: Theater" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.