The Theatre Community Benevolent Fund Assists Artists in Crisis 

The Theatre Community Benevolent Fund (TCBF) provides financial relief in a confidential, respectful manner to individual theater practitioners and non-profit theater organizations of Greater Boston and the surrounding areas who are facing occurrences of a catastrophic nature including but not limited to extreme illness, devastating acts of nature, housing emergencies, vandalism, and theft, and who have limited or no resources with which to handle such events. TCBF recognizes the essential value of artists and arts organizations to society, and treats all applicants with dignity, discretion, and compassion.

As area theatres are forced to make drastic decisions about keeping their doors open during the public health crisis of Covid-19, thousands of area artists and technicians are finding themselves out of work. With uncertainty around which organizations will bounce back or when, independent contractors are seeing contracts pulled or postponed indefinitely, leaving people with no income stream for the foreseeable future. Some will be eligible for unemployment but many will not.

"The Theatre Community Benevolent Fund is a life preserver for area theatre professionals. In this time of unprecedented uncertainty yielding certain financial peril, TCBF will help people put food on their tables, pay their rent, or take care of other unforeseen expenses like medical bills and increased child care costs. TCBF is a vital part of the economic stability and recovery of the arts sector during a crisis like this," says Dawn M. Simmons, Executive Director of StageSource.

"The Boston Theater Marathon has supported the TCBF for over 20 years, and this Fund is a vitally important resource for our community. Even though the BTM will not be performed in April, we're still thinking of ways to support our playwrights, directors, actors, and theatre companies. The TCBF is the one place in the Boston area where artists can go for help, and we have committed to giving this year's

estimated proceeds from the BTM to the Fund. It's clear that now is the time we all need it most. I urge everyone to do the same!" Kate Snodgrass, Artistic Director, Boston Theater Marathon

“Acknowledging the high potential of unexpected need within Boston's theatre community during these unprecedented times, TCBF will begin to review all COVID-19-related applications to the Fund on a weekly basis. Applicants should expect a delay in response of at least five business days. Applications
will be accepted on a rolling basis. The application forms for individuals and theatres can be found on TCBF's website, http://www.tcbf.org/?page_id=6. Other details, like our current caps for applications related to loss of income from COVID19, can be found on our website. We will continue to accept other applications at this time,” stated Amy Spalletta, Board President, representing the TCBF Board.

To apply or donate go to tcbf.org