The Taking Care Fund, an initiative of theatreWashington, was born to meet a critical need in our community, assisting currently active Washington area theatre professionals and artists in personal emergency situations.

There are many ways to help support this initiative. For more details, please contact President and CEO Amy Austin, at aaustin@theatrewashington.org. We have listed some options below, but we welcome other ideas as well.

Bucket Brigade Collection

Each spring, we reach out to area theatres with productions on their stages to request that they hold a Bucket Brigade collection during their run. Each theatre will designate at which performances it is able to do a Bucket Brigade. Some theatres do a performance or two, especially those presenting readings or one-night events, while others collect donations for a week or over the run of a production.

• theatreWashington will provide yellow buckets, fliers, and a curtain speech that can be customized to suit the theatre. That speech can be delivered by a cast member or theatre representative after each performance to tell patrons about the program and ask if they would like to contribute.
• Cast members or a theatre representative should be stationed at the door with buckets to collect donations after the speech. Hint: when cast members get engaged to participate, it really does affect the amount of collections at the end of a performance.
• theatreWashington will do weekly collections from each theatre, unless other arrangements are made, of the total donations collected at the theatre.

Host or Designate an Event as a Fundraiser

During our inaugural year, Signature Theatre produced a one-night-only variety show called the “Summer Hummer” featuring area performers singing and dancing to raise additional funds for the Taking Care Fund. We also closed out 2012 with two CD launch parties: one for “Holiday: the Divas of DC,” a cd produced by artists associated with Signature Theatre and local divas of Washington stages; and one for Sandy Bainum’s “This Christmas,” with CD sales and donations from both events supporting the Taking Care Fund.

Your organization can get involved in a similar fashion by hosting an event specifically to raise funds for the Taking Care Fund or designate all or a portion of ticket sales at a particular performance for same.

Virtual Buckets and Promotions

Your organization may not be a presenter or have a production running during the Taking Care Fund promotion period — but you can still be involved by promoting the cause. We can get you copy and artwork for

• Program ads or stuffers
• E-blasts
• Postings on your website
• Social media updates

Reaching out to your patrons about this important initiative is just as valuable as collecting funds as awareness is half the battle.

Make a Contribution

Every little bit helps. You may not be involved with an organization that can raise funds for the Taking Care Fund, but you can attend fundraising events, make a donation, or contact us for volunteer opportunities.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the loss of work, theatreWashington announced an expansion of the Taking Care Fund. With the help of funders and supporters, theatreWashington is committing at least $115,000 to the Taking Care Fund—COVID-19 Emergency Relief. We are asking our community to raise $115,000 in public matching funds. Every dollar raised through this fundraiser will be allocated to direct relief to theater professionals in need at this time. 

Donate to COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund here.

As we support an intensely creative community, we recognize that you may have an idea not listed here. We encourage you to contact us if you want to participate, in the ways listed above or in other ways.

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