What Shubert Foundation does

The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is a private not-for-profit foundation established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert in memory of their brother Sam, with its formal grants program launched in 1977. It is the nation's largest funder dedicated exclusively to unrestricted general operating support for not-for-profit professional theatres and dance companies in the United States, with the Foundation's stated funding mix being approximately 73% to professional theatres and 17% to dance companies. Operationally, the Foundation runs five distinct grant programs — Theatre Grants, Dance Grants, Arts Related Organizations Grants, Shubert Scholars (MFA scholarship support), and NYC Department of Education Programs (including the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program and the High School Theatre Festival) — and maintains the Shubert Archive, a century-spanning cultural repository of production designs, scripts, sheet music, photographs, and business records.

The Foundation operates with a small staff of five (Executive Director Vicki Reiss, Senior Program Director Amy Dorfman Wine, Program Director Rebecca Hewett, Senior Program Associate Joshua Hardcastle, and Grants Coordinator Jacob Horn) under Chairman Robert E. Wankel and President Diana Phillips, with a Board of Directors that includes Laura Forese, Wyche Fowler Jr., Pamela Newkirk, Richard J. Poccia, Lee J. Seidler, and Stuart Subotnick. Grantmaking is conducted through a centralized annual application cycle managed on the Fluxx grants management platform, with applications accepted September through early December and notifications issued in the last week of May. Grant amounts are not applicant-requested; the Foundation sets them, starting at $15,000 and scaling upward for organizations with multi-year roster tenure.

The Foundation does not generate revenue from operations — it disburses grants from its endowment. In 2024, it awarded a record $40 million to 653 not-for-profit arts organizations, and announced $45 million to 701 organizations for FY2026, bringing cumulative disbursements since 1977 to over $653 million. An affiliated cultural entity, The Shubert Organization, is a separate for-profit theatre company and the largest Broadway theatre owner; the two share the Shubert brand and overlapping board leadership (Wankel serves as Chairman of both) but operate as distinct legal entities.

Name

Shubert Foundation

Legal name

The Shubert Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://shubertfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Shubert Foundation is a private 1945-established not-for-profit foundation that is the nation's largest funder of unrestricted grants to U.S. not-for-profit professional theatres, dance companies, graduate drama programs, and NYC public school theatre education, disbursing $45 million to 701 organizations in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Performing arts grants
• Arts philanthropy
• Unrestricted funding
• Nonprofit theatre funding
• Dance company grants

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Disbursements: As a private foundation, The Shubert Foundation does not generate revenue from operations. It disburses grants from its endowment to not-for-profit performing arts organizations. The Foundation provides unrestricted general operating support grants rather than project-specific funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Shubert Foundation is a private not-for-profit foundation that awards unrestricted general operating support grants to U.S.-based professional not-for-profit theatres, dance companies, arts-related organizations, preeminent graduate drama programs, and the NYC Department of Education. Grants start at $15,000 and are determined by the Foundation rather than requested by applicants; funds come from the Foundation's endowment and are dispersed through an annual cycle managed via the Fluxx grants portal.

Product overview

The Shubert Foundation is a not-for-profit grant-making organization dedicated to sustaining and advancing the live performing arts in the United States. The Foundation offers five distinct grant programs: Theatre Grants (primary focus, approximately 73% of funding), Dance Grants (secondary focus, approximately 17% of funding), Arts Related Organizations Grants, Shubert Scholars (MFA program scholarships), and NYC Department of Education Programs (theatre education including Broadway Junior and High School Theatre Festival). All grants are unrestricted general operating support, not earmarked for specific programs or projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Theatre Grants Unrestricted general operating support grants for U.S.-based, not-for-profit professional producing theatres; the primary grantmaking program of The Shubert Foundation. Award amounts start at $15,000 and larger grants are typically made to organizations that have remained on the Foundation roster for several years.
• Dance Grants Unrestricted general operating support grants for U.S.-based, not-for-profit, professional dance companies; a secondary grantmaking program of The Shubert Foundation. Eligible companies must have minimum operating expenses of $150,000+ and at least 8 ticketed professional performances annually.
• Arts Related Organizations Grants Limited grants program primarily for arts-related organizations located within New York City and regional theatre service organizations that serve producing companies; supports administrative strength, fiscal stability, and organizational impact.
• Shubert Scholars Scholarship support awarded to preeminent university graduate drama programs (MFA in Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Producing, and Stage Design) for training and developing theatre artists; funding may only be used for scholarship support and is not awarded directly to individuals.
• NYC Department of Education Programs Theatre education programs including the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program, which guides teachers and students through producing their first musical in year one with schools presenting independently by year three, and the High School Theatre Festival, where over 100 young NYC public school theatre artists make their Broadway debuts annually across nearly 100 participating schools.
• Shubert Archive A research collection maintained by The Shubert Foundation since 1976, available to researchers, writers, historians, and theatre professionals, containing over a century of American theatrical production and business records.

Quantifiable outcome

• $653 million+ awarded to not-for-profit arts organizations since 1977
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Music Theatre International (MTI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005The Shubert Foundation partners with MTI and the NYC Department of Education for the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program, which brings musical theatre into NYC public middle schools. Nearly 100 schools in all five boroughs and District 75 participate annually via performing and production. The program guides teachers and students through producing their first musical in year one, with schools presenting independently by year three.
• NYC Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005The Shubert Foundation is the largest institutional funder of theatre education programs throughout NYC public schools. Since 2005, has provided close to $8 million for theatre and arts education programs. Also runs the High School Theatre Festival where more than 100 talented young NYC public school theatre artists make their Broadway debuts annually.
• Shubert ArchiveminorOthersThe Shubert Archive, maintained by the Foundation since 1976, contains more than a century's worth of production designs, scripts, sheet music, publicity materials, photographs, correspondence, business records, and architectural plans. Available to researchers, writers, historians, and theatre professionals.
• FluxxcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party grants management platform used for processing grant applications and managing applicant data including personally identifiable information, business information, and financial data.
• Polk & CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPress inquiries contact for The Shubert Foundation at (917) 261-3988.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations with major arts and culture grantmaking programs. Comparable as a large endowment-funded private foundation supporting not-for-profit arts organizations, though Ford operates a much broader social justice and global development agenda alongside arts.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Large-scale philanthropic organization with substantial arts and culture grantmaking, including support for major performing arts institutions. Comparable as a US arts funder, though Bloomberg Philanthropies is much larger in scale and operates across many additional domains (public health, environment, education).
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Largest US foundation dedicated to the arts, with multi-billion-dollar endowment and major performing arts grantmaking (~$200M+ annually to arts and culture). Directly comparable as a US arts-focused private foundation, though operating at substantially greater scale with broader programmatic scope including humanities and higher education.
• Knight Foundation: Major US private foundation with a dedicated Arts program supporting performing arts organizations and cultural institutions in Knight communities. Comparable as an endowment-backed funder of US performing arts, though Knight emphasizes journalism and community-focused investments more heavily.

Direct peers

• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Private foundation with a dedicated Performing Arts program that provides multi-year unrestricted operating support to US dance, jazz, and theatre companies. Directly comparable in mission (unrestricted arts operating support), grantee base (professional not-for-profit performing arts), and funding model (endowment-backed, multi-year relationships).
• Jerome Foundation: Private foundation supporting emerging artists and not-for-profit arts organizations, with significant dance and theatre grantmaking. Comparable as a US arts-focused private foundation providing unrestricted support, though smaller in scale and with an emphasis on emerging rather than established organizations.
• Barr Foundation: Private foundation with a significant arts and culture grantmaking program supporting performing arts organizations. Comparable as a US private foundation funding not-for-profit arts groups, though Barr places additional emphasis on climate and education initiatives.
• Wallace Foundation: Private foundation with significant arts and arts education grantmaking, including support for performing arts organizations and cultural leadership. Comparable as a US arts-focused private foundation, though Wallace places heavier emphasis on research and arts education initiatives.
• Howard Gilman Foundation: Private foundation historically focused on dance and performing arts grantmaking. Directly comparable as a US private foundation providing operating support to dance companies and performing arts organizations, though with a more concentrated geographic and programmatic focus.

Others

• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): New York-based arts grantmaking and service organization providing fellowships and grants to individual artists and not-for-profit arts organizations. Comparable as a US arts funder, though NYFA is more of a regrantor and service provider than an endowment-backed private foundation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments2 records

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Frequently asked questions about Shubert Foundation