Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDs is the largest single financial supporter of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). Because of the generosity of Broadway Cares’ donors, $8.25 million was awarded to the Fund in fiscal year 2022.

The support included funding for a safety net of services helping everyone in entertainment and the performing arts.

For three decades, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS donors and supporters have helped create that safety net, easing the burdens of industry professionals so they can focus on what they do best: telling stories.

Even those who have consistent jobs in the theater industry are vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances — an unplanned show closure might mean they are suddenly without insurance or an unexpected injury could mean expensive specialty care.

When actor Julie Reiber got pregnant with her first daughter, she hoped to put in maternity leave from performing in Broadway’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Her stage management team told her the show would soon be posting its closing notice and recommended she stay in the show, otherwise she wouldn’t receive the closing notice severance, which included health insurance. She stayed until she was 16 weeks pregnant, which was much longer than she had hoped or expected.

“I plowed through,” Reiber said. “I didn’t want to be jumping around in heels—I was miserable. My body hurt. But I had postpartum preeclampsia, so not having insurance wasn’t an option.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of unpredictability, those working in the Broadway ecosystem still needed to maintain their necessities such as addiction recovery, housing and sustainable health insurance. These are concerns that shouldn’t get in the way of an actor enchanting the audience with their high notes, or a costume designer innovating material masterpieces. A year after the industry reopened, health care remained a top priority for entertainment professionals. To alleviate this anxiety, Broadway Cares granted $1 million in fiscal year 2022 to the Fund for the creation of Every Artist Insured through the Fund’s Artists Health Insurance Resource Center (AHIRC).

Due to the episodic nature of performing arts employment, it’s tough for industry professionals to secure and sustain health insurance in between gigs. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge crisis as industry members lost weeks of work that would have qualified them for health insurance from their various unions. It’s a devastation the industry is still rebuilding from. With the $1 million Broadway Cares grant, the Every Artist Insured initiative helped secure affordable health insurance plans that allowed industry members to maintain coverage without interruption. AHIRC was able to double its staff to increase its free and confidential health insurance counseling and enrollment support services.

“People are still hurting,” Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell said at the time. “Insurance, for example. For many who work in television, film, theater, your insurance is predicated on weeks worked in the previous year. People need substance abuse counseling. A lot of people are still dealing with long-COVID issues, especially those who, like me, got that Delta variant.”

“We recognize that it can be uniquely challenging to sustain a life in the arts,” Fund trustee and Emmy-nominated Grey’s Anatomy star Chandra Wilson added. “It is why we come together as a community to help each other.”

The Fund’s Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts is an important medical provider for New York City’s entertainment community. Located in the heart of Times Square, the center meets the medical needs of industry professionals, ranging from podiatry care to family planning to general treatment. As the industry rebounds from the devastating impact of COVID-19, having a reliable and consistent health center and health care options are crucial to the industry. This year, Broadway Cares increased its support of the Friedman Health Center to $1.5 million.

In addition, Broadway Cares provided $100,000 earmarked specifically for the Broadway Flu Shot Program, led by Dr. Jason Kindt, the Friedman Health Center’s medical director. Formerly managed by Dr. Barry Kohn’s Physician Volunteers for the Arts, this 20-year program of free flu shots offer a level of accessibility to the theatrical community, as they are provided onsite in the backstage area of Broadway theaters as well as union and theatrical management offices.

“We’ve always emphasized the importance of the health of our community. As we help our industry rebound from the effects of COVID-19, we recognize that health care remains a top priority to keep our community safe and thriving,” Broadway Cares’ Executive Director Tom Viola said. “Thanks to the kindness and compassion of our donors, we continue to eagerly support the Entertainment Community Fund’s essential services that address our theatrical community’s many needs.”

Support for the Entertainment Community Fund

Since 1987, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has provided more than $128.7 million in support to the Entertainment Community Fund. For more information about the Entertainment Community Fund, visit entertainmentcommunity.org.

The sign on the door of the St. Clement’s Episcopal Church food pantry was ominous: “Closed until additional funds can be secured to fill the pantry shelves.”

Like other neighborhood food banks across the country, St. Clement’s is a vital resource to its midtown Manhattan community, providing canned goods, fresh vegetables, pastas and other essentials to countless individuals and families year-round.

Just a couple blocks from the nonstop bustle of Times Square, the temporary closure at St. Clement’s exemplified the struggles facing organizations large and small as they continue to battle back from the increase in need and decrease in funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet, thanks to the generosity of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ donors and supporters, annual grants to places like St. Clement’s returned to, and in some cases exceeded, their pre-pandemic levels in fiscal year 2022.

“This achievement made a significant difference in how a wide variety of services continues to be delivered to hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other debilitating illnesses in New York City and across the country,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said. “It’s a testament to the commitment of Broadway Cares’ donors and the extended theater community who help make these grants possible.”

Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program awarded a record $8.65 million in fiscal year 2022 to 485 social service organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. In 2019 – the last full year of grants before COVID-19 hit – Broadway Cares awarded a then-record $8 million in national grants.

When COVID-19 shut down the theater industry in March 2020, just as Broadway Cares’ spring in-theater fundraising efforts were to begin, Broadway Cares anticipated having to temporarily suspend grant-making altogether. However, thanks to Gilead Sciences and major donors, $1,171,000 was awarded to 279 organizations. Similarly, in 2021, contributions from Gilead Sciences and major donors meant 252 social service providers received spring grants totaling $1.6 million.

When Broadway reopened in 2022, grant-making returned to its traditional schedule, awarded through three primary grant rounds.

In January 2022, $2.5 million was provided to 127 food service and meal delivery programs.

These organizations are based in cities and small towns, serving urban centers, rural communities and everything in between. The ultimate beneficiaries of the grants – the tens of thousands served by the organizations – found comfort again through eating with neighbors, freedom from isolation thanks to daily home-delivered lunches and strength from a nutritious diet tailored specifically for them.

As one organization noted: “We’ve seen that a spark of connection, just a puff of hope, can become a bright flame. Simply being there – with a shared meal, an outstretched hand or a celebration of goal achieved – fans the flames of dignity and hope.”

In March 2022, $1 million was shared with 45 of the largest AIDS service and nationally recognized advocacy organizations.

Then in June, 21 actors and stage managers who helped lead their shows’ efforts in the Spring Fundraising Campaign met to award 2022’s final grants. They represented 14 shows: Aladdin, American Buffalo, The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, The Lion King, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Six and Wicked.

Gathered around a large conference room table and remotely on Zoom, the committee reviewed 262 applications from organizations providing essential support through direct services, emergency assistance, harm reduction and quality of life services.

This round awarded $2,135,000 in grants in four categories. In the first, just over 100 direct servicesorganizations – which focus on the well-being of their clients, including case management expenses, transportation costs, gasoline and care of vehicles, personal care items and clothing – received $795,000 in grants. Emergency financial assistance grants totaling $582,500 were awarded to 72 organizations that provide urgent or short-term support for bills, food, transportation or health insurance.

Another 48 organizations were awarded $527,500 for harm reduction programs to focus on care for those living with addiction, HIV/AIDS or those at significant risk for HIV infection. And 39 quality-of-life service organizations received grants of $230,000 to help provide companion animal support, art and education projects to the underserved, summer camps and recreational programs for children living with AIDS and their families and more.

Because of the success of the Spring Fundraising Campaign, the continued support of Gilead Sciences and countless other donors, the grants were fully restored and even increased for some. The average grant amount in this round increased from $7,584 in 2019 to $8,200 in 2022. The applications also included nine new organizations from Arizona, California, Indiana, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia that were invited to join this grant round.

Some of these organizations are the only of their kind in their area – like Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association, which was established in 1985 and is now the state’s leading HIV/AIDS-focused agency serving 91% of the state. Their existence is essential for those they serve.

John Eric Parker, a grant committee member and actor in Broadway’s The Book of Mormon, said, “With these national grants, we are actually keeping the doors open for some of these organizations.” As for St. Clement’s in New York, the food pantry – which has been part of the National Grants Program since 2008 – received an emergency $7,500 grant from Broadway Cares to restock its shelves and reopen its doors.

2022 National Grants

2022 National Grantees by State

Please use the drop-down box below to view by state all the agencies Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS funded in fiscal year 2022.

While theaters on Broadway and across the country were darkened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS supporters shined brightly, fueling an extraordinary $4.98 million in grants to 424 social services agencies across the country during fiscal year 2021.

The following are members of the Visionary Circle and Angels Circle as of September 30, 2022. Names in bold indicate Premier Visionaries and Archangels, donors who increased their gift by 25 percent or more over the previous year. Contributions are not related to event ticket or merchandise purchases.

We thank these Visionaries and Angels who provide essential support for those affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19  and other life-threatening illnesses across the country. For more information about the benefits of the Visionary Circle or Angels Circle visit broadwaycares.org/angels or contact Sarah Cardillo at cardillo@broadwaycares.orgor 212.840.0770, ext. 275.

*Indicates members of the DRA Angels Circle
**Indicates members of the Broadway Cares and DRA Angels Circle

As of September 30, 2022

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is fortunate to have the continued support of a broad range of corporate partners.

As the philanthropic heart of the Broadway community, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is able to connect major corporate brands with one of the nation’s foremost creative industries and our most loyal supporters. We are also able to ensure that a corporation’s support reaches into nearly every community in the country through our National Grants Program.

Our Corporate Partners are able to build brand loyalty among millions of people associated with Broadway, be it on tour, onstage, backstage or in the audience.

Partner with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on a broad range of projects that could include annual partnership, event sponsorship, customized programming, cash and in-kind donations.

We salute these generous partners for their compassionate commitment to making a difference.

The Colleen Dewhurst Legacy Society is the planned giving program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, honoring those who have included Broadway Cares in their estate plan or will.

The society is named for the late Colleen Dewhurst, the Tony Award-winning actress and past president of Actors’ Equity Association. She pioneered the formation of the Equity Fights AIDS Committee, which merged with Broadway Cares in 1992 to become the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS of today.

“I’m so proud of what we do for each other. There are so many people who thought this thing would never go. That it couldn’t be done. But it happened anyway because so many people came forward and, in many different ways, made it happen. And to this very day, I love you all for that.”

– Colleen Dewhurst, June 1991

Joining the Colleen Dewhurst Legacy Society ensures that the values that mean so much to you will extend far into the future.

Please contact Nick Mayo, major gifts and planned giving officer, at mayo@broadwaycares.org for information on how to include Broadway Cares in your estate plan or will.

In fiscal year 2022, gifts to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS were received from the following estates:

A.N Abell Auction Co on behalf of the Estate of Carol Channing
Robert Avian
Delores Gray Crevolin
Aaron Frankel
John Geist
Annette Janowitz
Neil Lewis Kirsch
Donald B. Maxwell
Elizabeth McCann
Gary H. Phillipp
Arthur Siccardi Edward Slater

The following people have provided for an estate or other planned gift to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS:

We salute our many friends and colleagues who are no longer with us and left planned gifts to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Officers

Robert E. Wankel, president
Thomas Schumacher, executive vice president
Ira Mont, first vice president
Schele Williams, second vice president
Tom Kirdahy, third vice president
Philip Birsh, treasurer
Judith Rice, secretary

Paul Libin, president emeritus

Trustees

As of October 2022

Tom Viola, Executive Director
Lane Beauchamp, Director of Communications
Larry Cook, Director of Finance & Administration
Valerie Lau-Kee, Producing Director
Danny Whitman, Director of Development