The Shubert Foundation has awarded $37.9 million in unrestricted grants to 635 not-for-profit theatres, dance companies, academic theatre training programs, and related service agencies around the U.S.

Money from the Foundation, the nation’s leading provider of unrestricted funding for the performing arts, will benefit a broad spectrum of theatre and dance organizations, regardless of size in both urban and rural settings. The Shubert Foundation increased access to organizations around the country by revising requirements for those with the smallest budgets.

“The increase in both our funding and the number of our grantees comes at a critical time for performing arts organizations across the country,” said Shubert Foundation President Diana Phillips in a statement. “Unfortunately, many of them continue to be faced with huge challenges—skyrocketing costs, still-hesitant audiences, and the end of federal relief funding being key among them. As the need and the merit have never been greater, we are particularly pleased we can expand our funding to a broader range of theatre and dance companies than ever before."

“Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion have long been central to the Foundation’s decision making, as helped by our open-door policy for all applicants. Coupled with the recent lowering of barriers to the smallest companies, this has expanded our reach to companies that focus on bringing professional theatre and dance to underserved populations,” added Chairman Robert E. Wankel.

The Shubert Foundation not only provides general operating support to 471 professional resident theatres and 110 dance companies developing and producing new work, it is also the largest funder of theatre education for the NYC Public Schools, with a gift of $645,000 this year. The Shubert Scholars Program provides another $1.2 million in scholarships to students in university theatre arts programs 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. The Shubert Foundation grants program, which began in 1977, has awarded more than $613 million to not-for-profit arts organizations. 

The Foundation also continues to expand the Shubert Archive, which contains more than a century’s worth of production designs, scripts, sheet music, publicity materials, photographs, correspondence, business records, and architectural plans. For more information, click here.

Visit ShubertFoundation.org.