You have likely experienced or observed the positive outcomes that occur when students participate in and access the theater. Students who engage in performance-based activities–anything from creative drama in the classroom to performing in school productions–learn firsthand about collaboration, imagination, and empathy. They become deeper critical thinkers, develop confidence, and engage more in their school communities. In Drama and Education: Performance Methodologies for Teaching and Learning, Manon van de Water, Mary McAvoy, and Kristin Hunt argue that drama (which is process-focused, as opposed to “theater,” which works toward a finished product) can successfully teach students who are not being served by “traditional methods of teaching and learning”; “enhance understanding of regular curricular subjects”; and “adapt to fit the needs of diverse learners,” amongst many other benefits.
And these benefits continue into adulthood: In their report “Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences,” Drs. Brian Kisida and Daniel Bowen write: “Among adults, arts participation is related to behaviors that contribute to the health of civil society, such as increased civic engagement, greater social tolerance, and reductions in other-regarding behavior. Yet, while we recognize art’s transformative impacts, its place in the K-12 education has become increasingly tenuous.”
Despite substantial research that supports the benefits of the arts in young people’s lives, arts programs are grossly underfunded. And because arts participation and access often result in qualitative as opposed to quantitative results, fighting for recognition and funding is a challenge in a high-stakes testing education system. In this article, we will illuminate a path forward, exploring the idea of generating local support so that more access to funding becomes possible on the government and foundational level to sustain and nurture theater education in all schools.
The Current State of Theater Education
Decades of research supports what educators have long known: theater enriches students' lives in myriad ways. Studies have shown that exposure to theater reduces disciplinary infractions, enhances writing achievement, and cultivates emotional empathy. Despite these benefits, arts programs are marred by budget cuts that threaten to silence the voices of aspiring young thespians. Federal funding for the arts has dwindled over the years, resulting in a reduction of scholarship and program funding.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these challenges, forcing schools to navigate the complexities of remote arts education, and then weighing the priority of arts education as schools experienced record levels of truancy. Disparities in access to arts education have long persisted, disproportionately affecting underserved communities.
Types of Grants and Funding Available
Funding for arts education has steadily declined since the fiscal crises of the mid-1970s and recession of the early 1980s. Grants and funding opportunities can offer a lifeline to theater programs that have largely struggled since educational initiatives like No Child Left Behind (2001) began using test scores as sole markers of success. However, until we shift how “success” is understood in an educational context, teachers and schools will face financial constraints as they attempt to implement arts programming.
Given these realities, CHANGE believes it is crucial to start your funding journey locally. Generating district, county, and state support is the best way to build your network and necessary support. Ask yourself:
Does your department of education have an arts office? Does your local council person know when your shows are being performed? Are your families and community engaged in the production? Are local businesses buying digital or print ads in your programs? Are there state, county or local arts councils that offer project grants for performing arts programs?
The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) and Educational Theatre Association (ETA) are excellent organizations to join for networking purposes and building relationships with peers in the field. The larger these networks grow, the more meaningful the voices become to government representatives when making decisions about discretionary funding. Ultimately, we believe that striking the balance between public and private dollars is the way to success. This has long been the funding model for the arts.
An individual school’s theater program might receive money from a local family foundation, or local business sponsorship, but for larger foundational grants, corporate sponsorships, and federal government programs, the work requires strategic planning and innovative thinking. These organizations and alliances allow our work to become more visible to policy makers and funders.
Successful Case Studies
Below, we provide two real-world examples that showcase the transformative power of effective arts advocacy and programming. One is an innovative theater collaborative in NYC and the other is an example from the music education industry, a discipline that has historically fared better than theater when it comes to budget cuts (6% of schools in the United States lack music education, while a staggering 96% lack theater, according to Americans for the Arts’ “Arts Education Navigator”). Perhaps borrowing tactics from a more successful sister arts discipline can advance our own cause?
One example is the work of the Arthur Miller Foundation and its Teacher Fellow program. According to its website, “In 2015, the Arthur Miller Foundation Fellows Program was launched in partnership with the New York City Arts Office with the goal of expanding equitable access to quality theater education for students by supporting public school theater teachers.” It might surprise many that even in New York City, the largest public education system in the United States, arguably in the country’s cultural center, there are only 198 full-time theater teachers in a system with over 1800 individual schools. You can imagine that this means that many schools and students go without. The Arthur Miller Foundation now offers support to half of those theater teachers! This might be an interesting idea to get started in your community: a consortium of local theater teachers coming together to offer professional development and start more local advocacy efforts.
A case study from music education is “TeachRock.” According to its website, “TeachRock improves students’ lives by bringing the sound, stories, and science of music to all classrooms.” In looking at available resources, we appreciate how the website offers free resources to teachers in a streamlined way. This ease-of-use is meaningful in the educational space, where teachers are not compensated for planning time and might not have the training necessary to implement music-focused lessons in a civics, history, or math class– all options on the site.
You’ll read in Section VI about how CHANGE Arts is using a similar approach for all arts disciplines with Find Your Art, the arts-in-education platform marketplace. Similar to the Arthur Miller Foundation, TeachRock also offers opportunities for teachers to participate in professional developments.
We asked Phil Bravo, cofounder of Two Five One Consulting, to give his advice on fundraising for arts programs in schools. Phil has over two decades of experience in programs and fundraising in the arts education space.
This is what Phil said:
Before exhausting hours of time and energy fundraising, recognize the value of in-kind support from organizations working to support teachers across the arts, with professional development and free classroom resources. Most often, fellow theater educators are your best source to find unexpected and valuable resources. In looking to our colleagues in music education, one of the less seen benefits of the number of schools with certified music teachers is the professional network that is readily available to share knowledge and resources around successful fundraising. While this may be less available in the theater education space, it is no less essential that we help build an active and collaborative teaching community - both locally or digitally.
How to Apply for Grants, Funding, and Join Advocacy Networks
Check out the advocacy pages on AATE, Educational Theatre Association, and American for the Arts’ websites to help amplify the importance of the program you’re running or hope to start.
If you are at the stage to pursue grant opportunities for your school’s theater program, again we recommend starting very locally and investigating crowdfunding opportunities, small grants that might be available in your district, a local arts council, or getting local business support.
Phil Bravo of Two Five One recommended looking at the annual reports of cultural institutions near your school to see if there might be familiar names of families from your school or local sponsors. Bravo also said:
When looking for grant opportunities, it is very helpful to look at resources like candid.org or grantmakers.io, and creating lists of the funders supporting other local performing arts nonprofits. Local foundations, especially private family foundations, that are supporting multiple youth arts or community theater programs in your area, may be open to having a conversation.
Some larger foundations support theater programs in schools, like the Shubert Foundation, but it’s based in and only for New York City. A similar and seemingly unique initiative for the whole country is offered through the American Theatre Wing and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation. Its shared program, the Classroom Resources Grants, are for “public schools to help drama teachers get more of the resources they need to provide quality theatre instruction in their schools. Through this grant-giving program, funding will be provided directly to under-resourced public schools for equipment, instruments, and other necessary materials to create new opportunities and enhance existing theatre programs.”
Again, with such few private options, we believe that we must first collectively build the case for needing this type of funding on a governmental level.
Building a Sustainable Theater Program
To build the infrastructure for program sustainability and relevance, we must highlight the importance of community engagement and partnerships. Building a theater program requires a collaborative effort, with educators, students, parents, and community members working together to ensure its success. Mr. Bravo had this to say about the impact of parents and families on sustaining such programs:
Parents are an especially powerful potential source of support. While it can be time consuming at first to build a culture of parental support or "boosters," this is a potential avenue to expand your fundraising capacity not only in terms of time and hands, but also in sheer network and potential connections to local businesses and potential funders. A small number of motivated parents will often generate significantly more impact than hours lost writing applications for highly competitive grants.
Cultivating partnerships with local businesses, arts organizations, and philanthropic foundations strengthens the program's foundation and enhances its impact. Additionally, ongoing evaluation and adaptation are essential for long-term sustainability, ensuring that theater education remains relevant and responsive to the needs of students and communities. Phil had this to say about keeping your story reflective of the current moment:
While supporters, donors and funders may believe in the inherent value of theater, in order to build consistent funding, you will need to demonstrate consistent results. What are the student outcomes you're working to achieve through theater education - whether it is artistic development, communicating across differences, or providing outlets for mental health. Then - how do you know that you are successful? Even something as simple as student surveys can yield powerful data demonstrating the impact of your work.
You are trained theater educators and teaching artists, but few of us are trained fundraisers. But the mechanics of professional fundraising are not hard. Be sure to have a "Case for Support," whether it is a one page written document or powerpoint deck. Be direct. $X amount of funding will allow X to happen. Share need, not want. Be clear on how your program specifically will work to achieve your goals for your students, and how this funding is an urgent need. In short, be ready to concisely share "Why", "Why Now", and "Why This".
Once you have more localized support, check out examples of larger community efforts that are built for arts sustainability in specific areas: Boston’s Arts Expansion Initiative, Chicago’s Creative Schools Initiative, the Houston Arts Alliance, New Orleans’s KID smART, Philadelphia’s Cultural Fund, and Seattle’s Creative Advantage. These models all require cooperation between school systems, local cultural organizations, and local government–a trifecta that might seem overwhelming but is essential for longevity.
CHANGE Arts’ solution to bringing the arts into classrooms is its innovative arts and education marketplace called Find Your Art (FYA). While still emerging, FYA aims to be the platform for educators to thematically find the arts education services and arts events that best belong in their classrooms. Using the multi-function platform, teachers will be able to search for, purchase, schedule, and apply for any necessary subsidy so the answer to wanting art in your classroom will always be “Yes!” By streamlining the administrative and financial hurdles that tend to limit these partnerships and collaborations, CHANGE hopes that these city’s programs become more ubiquitous across the United States.
Challenges and Considerations
Common hurdles in grant acquisition and management, such as limited funding and administrative barriers, hinder theater education initiatives. Moreover, issues of equity and inclusion in funding distribution underscore the need for a more inclusive approach to arts education. By acknowledging these challenges and working together to overcome them, we can create a more vibrant and inclusive theater ecosystem for future generations. We also recognize the inherent friction between creative-based teaching and test-based teaching: how can these two modes work together? Again, your are addressing larger systemic shifts necessary for the arts to take their rightful place in all educational systems.
Arts Programs Resources and Tools
While there are resources and tools to support you in your quest to develop a theater program, you first need to rally the support from within your community. Armed with knowledge and determination, educators can then use their community to help navigate the complexities of grant acquisition and management, ensuring that theater education continues to thrive in schools across the country.
The stage is set for a new era of theater education, one marked by creativity, collaboration, and community. Find Your Art is CHANGE’s solution to enable more and easier arts integration. Together, let us raise the curtain on a future where every child has access to the transformative power of theater education.
