Overview: Social Impact Theatre Grant Program
About Our Program
Our investments are guided by the fundamental belief in the power of live theatre to spark dialogue, bring different viewpoints together on challenging subjects, and provide a lens to process the critical issues of contemporary society.
Through our Social Impact Theatre grant program, we proudly recognize organizations with production specific support that are intentional and innovative in engaging with their audiences around these issues, and are committed to reaching new audiences. This year, in addition to production-specific grants, we are introducing a new opportunity reflecting our value to support the health and sustainability of the American theatre ecosystem.
We understand the current climate for theatres is incredibly challenging – with decreasing revenue sources and increasing costs, many theatres are struggling (and even those thriving face seemingly insurmountable challenges). And yet, we know that in time of challenge, the sector will apply its boundless creativity to adapt models and practices to remain sustainable.
This year, in addition to production specific grant awards, we will be selecting a small number of theatres to receive change capital grants of $10-$25K to kickstart new plans or to adapt and deepen strategies already in process. Awardees will form a cohort to share insights and to support each other and will commit to sharing lessons learned with the Foundation so that we can reshare information to more broadly support the field.
Given our available resources and in the spirit of focusing our own learning, we will be considering change capital grants in the following three categories:
- Business models. We hear “the current model is broken!” and want to learn how you are experimenting economically. Ex. Letting go of spaces or activating new spaces, shared leadership, cost-sharing partnerships, alternatives to the subscription model etc.
- Building and deepening connection with your community. Are you exploring new programs or projects to increase interconnectivity between your community and the art on stage?
- New leaders. Does your theatre have a leader who has started within the last year who needs capacity to enact their vision and implement necessary changes?
Logistics:
- All applicants will apply to our production specific support grant cycle;
- If you are interested in applying for a change capital grant, there will be a set of additional questions to answer, on both the LOI and full application; and,
- Applicants may receive both production specific support and a change capital grant, or may receive either on its own (i.e. if your production is not selected to receive an award, you may still be eligible to receive a change capital grant).
For production-specific grant awards, The Social Impact Theatre grant program offers funding for contemporary, professional, theatrical productions that deal with current social issues:
- At least 75% of the selected production’s cast must be professional actors (which the Foundation defines as paid for their work);
- The production must have a plot and use language (spoken, sung, and/or signed). Dance, opera, symphony, and touring Broadway productions are not eligible for funding;
- Scripts must be completed at the time your application is submitted;
- There must be at least 15 fully-produced public performances of the production; and,
- Due to the application timeline, productions should occur between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025.
For both production-specific and change capital grant awards, eligible applicants must be a nonprofit organization:
- Domiciled in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, or Washington State with IRS-determined 501(c)(3) status;
- Whose sole mission is to produce and present theatre;
- With a history of at least two consecutive years of bringing theatre to its community; and,
- With annual operating revenue of at least $1,000,000 for the most recently-completed fiscal year.
Organizations will be evaluated within the context of the Biller Family Foundation’s overall mission and values, and grant program priorities as outlined below. The framing bullets are not intended to be all inclusive and are designed to give examples of what the review committee considers while reading applications.
Production Reach & Impact:
- The production addresses timely and relavent social issues.
- The review committee seeks to promote productions that are new works, are no more than 100 years old, and that are not adaptations of classics.
- Particular emphasis is given to musical productions.
- The production reaches a significant number of audience members and engagement event attendees.
Outreach, Engagement & Partnerships:
- The theatre is thoughtful in its outreach to new and underrepresented audiences.
- Engagement strategies provide opportunities for the audience to learn more about the issues raised in the play, and provide audiences the opportunity to challenge and shift their perspectives.
- Partnerships are clearly related to the content of the production and designed to deepen audience awareness by providing expertise and resources for audiences to further engage with the content.
- If a children’s theatre, it is clear how the programming and events impact audience members of all ages.
Organizational Health:
- The theatre demonstrates an ability to operate now and into the future.
- Financial management seems appropriate for the size of the organization.
- Staff management and board display a strong sense of leadership.
For change capital grant awards, we will be selecting projects that:
- Have clearly defined short and long term goals/indicators of success;
- Represent a new way of operating for your theatre;
- Are already in the planning or piloting stages; and
- Offer lessons learned that can be applicable to the health and sustainability of the theatre ecosystem.
Interested organizations may request funding for one production and, if interested, one project for which change capital is needed, by submitting an LOI when our grant cycle is open. From this applicant pool, select organizations will be invited to submit a full application. Social impact theatre grants can cover artistic, production, and community engagement expenses. Change capital grants will be made in three categories: supporting new leaders with capacity to implement their vision, new business models, and new programs or projects to deepen connection to community. Organizations cannot receive more than one grant per 12-month period, nor can they submit an application while in an active funding relationship with the Foundation from a previous cycle.
Logistics:
- All applicants will apply to our production specific support grant cycle;
- If you are interested in applying for a change capital grant, there will be a set of additional questions to answer, on both the LOI and full application;
- Applicants may receive both a production and a change capital grant, or may receive either on its own (i.e. if your production is not selected to receive an award, you may still be eligible to receive a change capital grant).
Friday, May 17, 2024: Initial Application/LOI Released
Thursday, May 23, 2024: Optional Webinar at 10:00 am (PST). If you are interested in joining the optional webinar, please email Geri Auriemma at geri@billerfamilyfoundation.org.
Friday, June 7, 2024: LOIs due by 5:00 pm (PST)
Tuesday, June 18, 2024: Selected Organizations Invited to Submit a Full Application
Friday, July 12, 2024: Full Applications Due by 5:00 pm (PST)
By Friday, August 30, 2024: Recipients Announced
LOI
Organization Name: Please provide the legal name of you organization.
Character Limit: 250
Tax ID Number: Please provide your organization’s tax ID number.
Character Limit: 20
Mailing Address: Please provide your organization’s mailing address.
Character Limit: 250
Mission Statement: Please provide your organization’s mission statement. Eligible organizations must have a mission to produce or present theatre.
Character Limit: 1000
History: Has your theatre been in operation for at least two years? Eligible organizations must answer yes.
Choices: Y/N
Annual Operating Revenue: Please provide your organization’s annual operating revenue for the most recently-completed fiscal year. Eligible organizations must have a minimum annual operating revenue of $1M.
Character Limit: 250
Production Name: Name of production for which you are seeking funds.
Character Limit: 100
Production Type: Is this production being produced, premiered, or presented? Please note that professional touring productions are ineligible for funding.
Choices: Produced, Premiered, or Presented
Professional Actors: Are at least 75% of the actors in the production professional (i.e. paid for their work)? Eligible organizations must answer yes.
Choices: Y/N
Stage: Will performances take place on a stage in a professional theatre? If answering no, please provide a brief explanation.
Character Limit: 500
Production Run: Please provide the dates of the production’s opening and closing performances.
Character Limit: 250
Number of Performances: Please provide the total number of performances. If the number of performances has not been determined, an estimate is sufficient. Eligible productions must have a minimum of 15 fully produced public performances.
Character Limit: 20
Seating Capacity: Please provide the seating capacity of theatre in which the production will be staged.
Character Limit: 20
Estimated Audience: Please provide the estimated total number of audience members you anticipate attending the production over the course of its run. While the Foundation does not have a minimum audience threshold, the review committee will be prioritizing applications that reach a strong number of audience members.
Character Limit: 20
Estimated Attendees at Engagement Events: Please provide the estimated number of attendees at the engagement activities and events surrounding this production.
Character Limit: 20
Age of Production: Was this piece written in the last 100 years? Eligible organizations must answer yes.
Choices: Y/N
Summary: Provide a brief, three to four sentence summary of the production.
Character Limit: 1000
Social Issues: What are the primary social issues addressed by the production?
Character Limit: 500
Optional: Impact Beyond Youth: If your organization is a children’s theatre, please briefly explain how the production and surrounding engagement events will impact audiences of all ages.
Character Limit: 1000
Optional: Use of Music: If music is featured in your production, please provide a brief explanation of the role it plays and/or its significance for audiences.
Character Limit: 1000
Script: Is the script for this production complete? Eligible organizations must answer yes.
Choices Yes No
Script Excerpt: Provide a 20-page excerpt of the script. Excerpt should contain a song or dialogue that exemplifies how the piece engages the audience around a particular issue.
File Size Limit: 5 MB
Context: Provide the context for the script excerpt, noting which portion of the story is highlighted.
Character Limit: 1000
Violence: Does this production contain physical or graphic violence? If yes, please describe the nature.
Character Limit: 1000
Are you interested in applying for a change capital grant? Y/N
Change Capital – Brief Project Description: If interested in applying for change capital funds, please provide a brief, 3-5 sentence summary of the project for which you are seeking capital and the change you are seeking to impact, within one of the three applicable categories (new leaders, new business models, or new programs or projects to build or deepen community connections).
Character Limit: 1000
Full Application Questions
Production Name: Name of production for which you are seeking funds.
Character Limit: 100
Selected Production: Discuss how your selection is timely, inspiring, educational, and innovative in its presentation. How does the selected production align with the mission of your organization and fit into the context of your current programming?
Character Limit: 2000
Target Audience and Outreach: Please describe your target audience for this production and how you plan to reach new and underrepresented audience members.
Character Limit: 2000
Audience Engagement: Please describe in detail how you plan to engage your audience around the social issues raised in your production.
Character Limit: 2000
Promoting Conversation: Knowing the complexity of issues addressed in your production, please describe how pre and/or post show discussions, panel discussions, or other engagement strategies will highlight participants’ different experiences with and/or understanding of the issues. How do you plan to promote rich conversation within the theatre that will impact audience members when they depart and interact with their broader communities?
Character Limit: 2000
Partnerships: Provide a list of the community partners with whom you will work in conjunction with this performance to deepen the impact for your audiences. For each partnership, please note which are confirmed and which are in process and describe the roles these partners will play in supporting your outreach and engagement efforts.
Character Limit: 2000
Evaluating Impact: Describe how you will evaluate the social impact on your audiences and broader community.
Character Limit: 2000
Organizational Funders: List the ten largest funders supporting your organization for each of the last two years, including giving amounts. The list can include individuals, government entities, corporations, or other foundations.
Character Limit: 1000
Biller Family Recognition: Should your organization receive a social impact theatre grant, we are interested to hear your ideas about how The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation would be recognized in publicity, printed materials, and/or verbal acknowledgement. If you have different sponsorship levels for this production, please provide details of those levels here.
Character Limit: 2000
Mission, Vision & Values: How do your organization’s mission, vision, and values guide your operations, programs, and organizational culture? What need, niche, or role does your organization fulfill in the theatre community?
Character Limit: 1500
Financial Condition: What is your organization’s financial condition? What are your current financial goals, successes, or challenges?
Character Limit: 1500
Management & Leadership: What is your organization’s management and leadership structure, including staff and board? Have there been any recent changes or do you anticipate any upcoming changes?
Character Limit: 1500
Production Budget: Provide a budget for the production for which you are seeking funds. While the Foundation does not provide a template, please be sure to upload a PDF including unique line items for major funding sources and expenses, such as salaries and benefits, facility expenses, production materials, and expenses associated with audience engagement and community outreach.
File Size Limit: 2 MB
Organization Budget: Attach a budget comparison formatted in columns that include: 1) board approved budget for current fiscal year, 2) board approved budget for previous fiscal year, and 3) budget actuals for previous fiscal year. Budget document must be in a PDF file.
File Size Limit: 2 MB
What was the balance of your operating cash reserves at prior fiscal year-end? These are funds set aside to provide cushion against unexpected cash flow shortages.
Character Limit: 20
What is the current balance of those reserves?
Character Limit: 20
How many months of reserves do you have for continued operations?
Do you have audited financial statements? Y/N. If yes, are there any going concerns?
Character limit: 500
What is your accumulated deficit, if any, and over how many years has it accumulated?
Character Limit: 100
Does your organization have a line of credit?
Choices: Y/N
Balance Sheet: Please upload a PDF of the balance sheet for your most recently completed fiscal year.
File Size Limit: 2 MB
Income Statement: Please upload a PDF of the income statement for the most recently completed fiscal year. Report only operational, unrestricted activity (programming, administration, marketing, etc.). Do not include endowments, capital projects, or other non-operational activity.
File Size Limit: 2 MB
Form 990: Please upload a PDF of the Form 990 for the most recently completed fiscal year.
File Size Limit: 2 MB
Project Description: Please provide detailed descriptions of the project for which you are seeking capital and the change you are seeking to impact. Character Limit: 2000
Project Importance: Please discuss why this project is important to your organization. Character Limit: 2000
Short Term Success: Please describe what success looks like in the short term and what indicators you are using/tracking to determine if this project is worth continuing. Character Limit: 2000
Long Term Impact: Please describe your project’s intended long term impacts, including how those impacts increase the future sustainability for your organization. Character Limit: 2000
Planning: Please describe the level of planning that has gone into your project thus far. Character Limit: 2000
Project Timeline: Please provide a timeline of key tasks/milestones, including anticipated or achieved completion dates. Character Limit: 2000
Project Budget: Provide a budget for the project for which you are seeking change capital funds. While the Foundation does not provide a template, please be sure to upload a PDF including unique line items for major funding sources and expenses. File Size Limit: 2 MB
Commitment to Sharing Lessons Learned: By selecting ‘Yes,’ you agree to sharing your lessons learned from this project with the Foundation so that the Foundation can reshare those lessons learned more broadly to support the theatre ecosystem. Y/N
How does the Foundation define social impact theatre?
Social impact theatre is artistic content that promotes dialogue around relevant social issues, brings different viewpoints together on challenging subjects, and provides a lens to process contemporary society.
My organization does not meet the annual revenue requirement; can we still apply?
Applicants must meet the annual revenue requirement. However, we encourage theatres that do not meet requirements on their own, to partner with theatres that do.
Can we apply under a fiscal sponsor?
No. We do not accept applications through fiscal sponsors.
We have not solidified our engagement strategies or partnerships; can we still apply?
Yes! If your engagement strategies and/or partnerships are not solidified, please describe any intended partnerships or engagement strategies, or those that have been successful from previous productions.
How does the Foundation define professional actor?
For the purposes of this application, we define professional actors as actors who are paid for their work. Actors are not required to be union members.
Will the Foundation fund dance, opera, symphony or professional touring productions?
No.
Can I apply for a change capital grant and not production specific support?
No. All applicants will submit an LOI for production specific support. If interested in a change capital grant, please answer the additional questions.