The Jim Henson Foundation

What The Jim Henson Foundation does

The Jim Henson Foundation is a private non-profit foundation established in 1982 and headquartered in Long Island City, New York, dedicated to supporting contemporary American puppet theater. It serves two primary constituencies: individual artists and ensembles creating new puppet theater works (through Artist Grants, Seed Grants, Children's/Family Grants, and the O'Neill Residency), and presenting venues that host puppet productions (through Presenter's Grants and PATCH programming at the Carriage House). Since inception it has awarded over 1,200 grants, ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 each. The foundation is governed by Cheryl Henson as President and operates with a small staff (1-10 employees).

The foundation's product surface spans grant programs, the historical Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater (1992-2000, which presented 136 productions from 31 countries), the Puppets on Film Festival (2011-2014 with BAM), professional development workshops ('Making Connections Through Puppetry'), a published institutional history ('Out of the Shadows,' 2020), a traveling photography exhibit, and a curated archive (the JHF Collection) housed at NYPL's Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. It has also co-sponsored clinical research with the Yale Child Study Center (2017-2021) on puppetry's application in autism therapy. The foundation does not develop technology; its infrastructure is essentially a grantmaking and curatorial operation.

The revenue model is non-commercial: funding derives from endowment/investment returns and likely ongoing contributions from the Henson family estate and affiliated entities, with no pricing for services rendered. Distribution occurs through annual grant application cycles and direct partnerships with presenting venues such as La MaMa E.T.C., St. Ann's Warehouse, The Public Theater, BAM, HERE Arts Center, and Japan Society. The foundation is closely affiliated with—but legally and operationally independent from—The Jim Henson Company, sharing family leadership via Cheryl Henson.

Name

The Jim Henson Foundation

Legal name

The Jim Henson Foundation

Website

https://hensonfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Jim Henson Foundation is a private non-profit founded in 1982 that grants funds to contemporary American puppet theater artists and presenting venues, having awarded over 1,200 grants across four decades from its New York base.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Puppetry & Marionette Theatre (MPAGABAK)

Keywords

• Puppet theater grants
• Performing arts funding
• Nonprofit foundation grants
• Artist development programs
• Puppetry education workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grant Funding: The Jim Henson Foundation operates as a private grant-making foundation that provides financial support to puppet theater artists and presenters. Revenue is derived from endowment/investment returns and likely contributions from the Henson family estate and related entities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Jim Henson Foundation is a private nonprofit charitable foundation that supports contemporary American puppet theater through financial grants, professional development programs, and curated festivals. It awards Artist Grants (Project, Seed, and Family/Children's Show tiers) and Presenter's Grants to theaters and ensembles, runs residency and workshop programs (O'Neill Residency, PATCH, Making Connections Through Puppetry), and has produced the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater and Puppets on Film Festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Henson Festival: The Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater - a major international puppet theater festival presented from 1992-2000 in New York City, featuring productions from countries around the world.
• Out of the Shadows

Products and services

• Artist Grants Production, Workshop, and Family Grants (Project Grants $5,000, Seed Grants $2,000, Children's Show/Family Grants $3,000) awarded to American artists and ensembles for the development and presentation of new works of live contemporary American puppet theater.
• Presenter's Grants Grants ($5,000-$10,000) for presenting organizations and venues to host puppet theater performances, festivals, and related programming for audiences.
• O'Neill Residency Residency program at the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference supporting the development of new puppet theater works by American artists.
• PATCH (Puppetry at the Carriage House) Grant program funding puppetry programming and performances presented at the Carriage House venue.
• Allelu Award Award recognizing excellence in contemporary American puppet theater.
• Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater International festival series presented between 1992 and 2000 in New York City, presenting 136 productions from 31 countries in 24 theaters. Over 120,000 people attended New York performances; nearly 400,000 saw exhibitions; and 100,000+ attended Festival on Tour performances.
• Puppets on Film Festival Annual film festival co-presented with BAMcinematek at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from 2011-2014, featuring new and classic puppet films, documentaries, and compilations of short puppet films.
• JHF Collection at NYPL - TOFT Archival collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Theatre on Film and Tape Archive containing over 70 recordings from the 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998 International Festival of Puppet Theater, accessible for student and researcher viewing.
• Making Connections Through Puppetry Professional development workshop series teaching educators, therapists, counselors, and parents how to use puppets when working with children on the autism spectrum and neuro-diverse children.
• Out of the Shadows: The Henson Festivals Book Book by Leslee Asch with foreword by Cheryl Henson, published by Itasca Books, examining the Henson International Festivals of Puppet Theater and their continued legacy on contemporary puppet theater.
• Richard Termine Photography Exhibit Traveling exhibition featuring over 100 photographs by Richard Termine documenting American puppet theater across more than 30 years, illustrating the dynamic range of puppet theater created in NYC and at National Puppet Festivals across the US.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,200 grants awarded since 1982
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kennedy Center (Office of VSA and Accessibility)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020The foundation was awarded a contract in 2020 to be a VSA program site through the Kennedy Center's Office of VSA and Accessibility, enabling online workshops for the 2020-2021 school year.
• Museum of the Moving ImageminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnered with WonderSpark Puppets to offer workshops to educators, therapists and counselors for CTLE (Continuing Teacher and Leader Education) credit.
• Itasca BooksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2020Itasca Books serves as the publisher and distributor for 'Out of the Shadows: The Henson Festivals and Their Impact on Contemporary Puppet Theater' by Leslee Asch with foreword by Cheryl Henson.
• Yale Child Study CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016From 2017-2021, the foundation collaborated with the Yale Child Study Center on the first clinical research study on how children on the autism spectrum look at puppets. The study was supervised by Dr. Katarznya Chawarska and utilized puppet videos made with the foundation. A paper was published in the International Society for Autism Research journal in August 2021.
• WonderSpark PuppetscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016WonderSpark Puppets delivers the 'Making Connections Through Puppetry' professional development workshops developed by Lindsey 'Z.' Briggs, formerly Foundation Manager. Workshops teach educators and therapists how to use puppets when working with children on the autism spectrum.
• BAMcinématek (Brooklyn Academy of Music)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Co-presented the annual 'Puppets on Film' festival with BAMcinématek from 2011-2014. The festival showcased new and classic puppet films, documentaries, and short puppet films including those produced by Hand Made Puppet Dreams.
• New York Public Library for the Performing ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992The JHF Collection of Puppet Theater is housed at NYPL's Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. The collection contains over 70 recordings from the 1992, 1994, 1996 & 1998 International Festival of Puppet Theater, accessible for student and researcher viewing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Center for Puppetry Arts: Center for Puppetry Arts is a nonprofit cultural institution in Atlanta housing a museum, performances, and educational programs dedicated to puppetry. Comparable as a major puppetry-focused nonprofit that also receives Jim Henson Foundation grants, though it operates a broader museum/performance/education model rather than pure grantmaking.

Direct peers

• National Performance Network: National Performance Network is a network of presenters, artists, and cultural organizers providing project-based grants and residency support for contemporary performing artists. Comparable as a performing arts grantmaking and residency organization serving similar artist and presenter populations.
• Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation provides grants and programs supporting performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts across the mid-Atlantic region. Comparable as a regional arts grantmaking foundation supporting presenters and touring artists in similar tier-based grant programs.
• Creative Capital: Creative Capital is a nonprofit organization that provides grants and advisory services to innovative artists across disciplines including performing arts, visual arts, and emerging fields. Comparable as a project-based performing arts grantmaker supporting innovative work, with a similar grant-tier structure.
• New England Foundation for the Arts: New England Foundation for the Arts is a regional nonprofit grantmaker supporting artists and cultural organizations across New England, with significant funding flows to performing arts including theater, dance, and puppetry. Comparable as a regional arts foundation funding innovative performance work and presenters.
• MAP Fund: MAP Fund is a grantmaking program supporting contemporary performance in the US, providing project-based grants to artists working in dance, theater, music, and puppetry. Directly comparable as a performing arts grantmaker serving innovative live performance work including puppet theater.
• The Shubert Foundation: The Shubert Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that makes grants to nonprofit theaters and performing arts organizations across the US. It is directly comparable to The Jim Henson Foundation as a performing-arts grantmaking foundation, although its scope is broader (theater generally rather than puppetry specifically).

Others

• The Jim Henson Company: The Jim Henson Company is the commercial entertainment entity producing film, television, and consumer products featuring Jim Henson characters and properties. Related through shared Henson family leadership (Cheryl Henson serves on both boards) but operationally distinct — it is a for-profit entertainment company, not a grantmaking foundation.

Emerging players

• Asian Cultural Council: Asian Cultural Council supports international cultural exchange between the US and Asia through grants to artists, scholars, and arts organizations. Comparable in funding international performing arts exchange and presentations including puppetry work from Asia.
• Trust for Mutual Understanding: Trust for Mutual Understanding is a New York-based foundation that funds international cultural exchange between the US and Eastern/Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Comparable in supporting international performing arts presentations including theater and puppetry exchanges with foreign artists.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5N3XDrNFHRcTjcGSqMmXa4w
• Xx.com/jimhensonfound
• Facebookfacebook.com/JimHensonFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jim-henson-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Jim Henson Foundation