thank you! - Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
HOW A DOLLAR
MAKES A DIFFERENCE
The fundraising and grantmaking success of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the result of
thousands of simple gestures of generosity and concern that come together as one phenomenal show of support for people with
HIV/AIDS and their families. This is never more apparent than in the audience appeals that are done twice a year, for two six-week
periods, by the Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring shows prior to the annual Gypsy of the Year and Easter Bonnet Competitions.
Here is how a single dollar becomes what, in 2003, was a $5 million campaign.
A theatregoer is moved by the curtain speech made by a member of the cast after the curtain call. In support of BC/EFA, or
simply because it was such a thrill to hear the show’s star informally and enthusiastically talk to the audience about our work, he or
she puts ONE DOLLAR into the collection buckets manned by other members of the company or BC/EFA volunteers. In an average
Broadway house of 1,800 seats, this means the following:
one generous gesture $ 1
the amount raised at one performance $ 1,800
there are 8 performances a week (x 8) $ 14,400
30 other shows are making the same appeal (x 30) $ 432,000
appeals are made for six weeks (x 6) $ 2,592,000
twice a year (x 2) $ 5,184,000
Audience appeals are the backbone of BC/EFA’s yearly fundraising efforts. Of course, money is raised in other ways – through
direct mail, major donor campaigns, corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales, CareTix, and CareCards, as well as the tickets sales
of special events. Together, all of these efforts made it possible for BC/EFA to raise over $10 million in fiscal year 2003. Yet, without
a doubt, the foundation of this success is the audience appeals – to be more specific, the thousands of times one person reaches into
a pocket or purse and drops $1 into a volunteer’s bucket.
BC/EFA’s grants committee awarded more than $2.7 million in grants to over 450 AIDS and family service organizations in
2003 to provide meals, transportation, emergency assistance, housing, case management, and other vital services to people with
AIDS, as well as another $2.8 million to support six programs at The Actors’ Fund of America.
ALL FROM YOUR ONE DOLLAR!
One bucket of hundreds; cast members from Les Misérables in the lobby of the Imperial Theatre; La Bohéme’s director, Baz Luhrmann, signing show posters in the lobby
of the Broadway Theatre; Gavin Creel leads cast members from Thoroughly Modern Millie collecting for BC/EFA in the lobby of The Marquis Theatre.
how a dollar makes a difference
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Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
is the nation’s leading industrybased,
nonprofit AIDS fundraising
and grantmaking organization.
BC/EFA is the ongoing, committed
response from the American
theatre community to an urgent
worldwide health crisis. By
drawing upon the talents, resources
and generosity of this community,
BC/EFA raises funds for AIDSrelated
causes across the United
States. Since its founding in 1988,
BC/EFA has raised over $85 million
for critically needed services for
people with AIDS, HIV or HIVrelated
illnesses, and their families.