The Shubert Foundation Gives $40 Million in Annual Awards to 653 Arts Organizations

The Shubert Foundation has given a record $40 million in unrestricted grants to 653 not-for-profit theatres, dance companies, academic theatre training programs and related service agencies across the country. As the nation’s leading provider of unrestricted funding for the performing arts, TSF provides grants that benefit a broad spectrum of theatre and dance organizations—from large to small, from urban to rural. The Shubert Foundation, which is unique in opening its doors to all applicants, without requiring an invitation, has also further increased access to theatre and dance companies across the country by revising requirements for those organizations with the smallest budgets.

“We are delighted to be able to increase both our funding and the number of grantees yet again this year,” said Diana Phillips, President of The Shubert Foundation. “Our unrestricted grants support not-for-profit live performing arts nationwide at a still-challenging time when support for these organizations remains crucial.”

Ms. Phillips continued, “As production costs have soared while audiences have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, we are gratified to know that our open-door policy and the general operating funds we provide are more appreciated than ever by our growing constituency. Not only is this funding necessary for the recovery and sustainability of these organizations, but it is key to expanding their reach to new audiences as well.” 

“Even as we celebrate further recovery from the shutdown, not-for-profit theatre and dance companies continue to face unprecedented challenges,” said Chairman Robert E. Wankel. “By assisting with some of their financial burdens, we aim to help our grantees continue to focus on producing works that will serve, and challenge, the widest possible audience. The Shubert Foundation continues to pursue our mission of ensuring that theatre and dance reach communities around the country, including those who have historically been underserved or underrepresented in these art forms.”

The Shubert Foundation leads the field in providing general operating support to 484 professional resident theatres and 115 dance companies developing and producing new work across the United States. As always, funds are unrestricted, empowering organizations to utilize their awards as they see fit.

In addition to this year’s funding to theatre and dance companies nationally, The Shubert Foundation also allocated $730,000 to the NYC Public Schools in support of arts education efforts. “New York City is one of the world’s greatest cultural and artistic cities, and that creativity is reflected in the significant support of teacher development and student opportunities in our schools funded by The Shubert Foundation,” said Schools’ Chancellor David C. Banks. “Theatre arts are an important part of our students’ education, and we are so grateful for our longstanding partnership with The Shubert Foundation—the largest funder of theatre education programs in our NYC Schools—for all they do for our kids.”

“From significant support of teacher development and school capacity building to the inspired Shubert High School Theatre Festival and the Shubert/MTI Broadway Junior middle school outreach programs to name a few, The Shubert Foundation supports the range of arts-learning opportunities that nurture our City’s next generation of creative citizens. I applaud their commitment to ensuring students of all backgrounds, abilities and demographics enjoy the unique benefits of having theatre and the arts as a pillar in their education.” Since 2005, The Shubert Foundation has provided more than $8.6M to the NYC Department of Education for these programs.

The Shubert Scholars Program provides another $1.2M in scholarships to students in university theatre arts programs to help alleviate student debt for early career artists, and recently established endowed scholarship programs at Spelman and Morehouse Colleges.

The Shubert Foundation was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert, in memory of their brother Sam. Today, the Foundation is the nation’s largest funder of unrestricted aid for not-for-profit theatre and dance companies. Since the establishment of The Shubert Foundation grants program in 1977, more than $653 million has been awarded to not-for-profit arts organizations throughout the United States. For more information, visit https://shubertfoundation.org.

The Foundation also continues to expand the Shubert Archive. Created in 1976, the Archive contains more than a century’s worth of production designs, scripts, sheet music, publicity materials, photographs, correspondence, business records and architectural plans. The collection is available to researchers, writers, historians and theatre professionals. For more information, visit https://shubertarchive.org.

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