What The Need for Legacy does

The Need for Legacy (Stichting The Need for Legacy) is a Dutch non-profit foundation founded on 7 July 2020 and registered in Amsterdam (Marnixstraat 427, 1017PK). It operates as an independent stichting governed by a board chaired by Gable Roelofsen, with Nilay Ceber as Secretary and Naomi van der Linden as Treasurer, alongside additional board members. The foundation was built by a young generation of BIPOC theater makers and credits RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. (Marjorie Boston and Maarten van Hinte) with originating its name and spirit through earlier gatherings at Nieuwe Grond and a 2020 online lecture series at the Nederlands Theater Festival.

The organization's mission is to make Dutch theater history inclusive by documenting, celebrating, and reinserting the work of makers of color into the historical record and curricula. It runs three core program lines: Need for Legacy Tables (closed gatherings for BIPOC makers), Need for Legacy Talks (public lectures at festivals and theaters), and Archives (research and documentation projects including the 360 research program and the Thea Doelwijt archive). It also operates the recurring portrait series at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam — with annual unveilings of Rufus Collins (2021), Felix de Rooy (2023), DeltaDua (2024), Meral Taygun (2025), and upcoming subjects through 2026 — and the (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek writing trajectory (4th edition in 2025) co-organized with Theaterkrant and the Nederlands Theater Festival. The House of Legacies digital archive portal, launched 31 January 2025, and the Sound Fragments program series at Stadsarchief Amsterdam (2026) represent newer extensions of this archive-and-storytelling work. Sub-brands include House of Legacies, Sound Fragments, Open House of Legacies, and (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek.

The foundation is funded primarily through grants, project funding from Dutch cultural funds, and donations, and follows Fair Pay guidelines with a lean core team supplemented by freelancers and ZZP'ers. All programs, archive access, and educational materials are provided free of charge to the community and public. Its 'customer' or stakeholder base spans a 70+ BIPOC theater maker community, Dutch theater schools and educational institutions (including HKU), major theater institutions and archives (ITA, Theaterkrant, Nederlands Theater Festival, Stadsarchief Amsterdam), and the broader Dutch theater workforce mobilized through the 'Wij Zien Jullie' (We See You) open letter signed by over 700 sector workers. Recognitions include the VSCD Proscenium Prize (September 2021) and the &Award Projectprijs (€20,000, November 2021) from Code Diversiteit & Inclusie. The foundation does not develop proprietary technology products; its work centers on archival research, community organizing, and cultural preservation.

Name

The Need for Legacy

Legal name

Stichting The Need for Legacy

Website

https://theneedforlegacy.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Need for Legacy is an Amsterdam-based Dutch non-profit foundation that documents, archives, and celebrates BIPOC theater makers to make Dutch performing arts history inclusive. It serves BIPOC professionals, theater schools, institutions, and the broader Dutch theater sector through community gatherings, public talks, portrait commissions at ITA, and a digital archive portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage & Performing Arts Archives

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations (BPAGAHAI), Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils) (EDAAAFAD), Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI), Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)

Keywords

• Performing arts archives
• Theater history research
• Cultural diversity programs
• Archival research services
• Community engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation / Grant Funding: The Need for Legacy operates as a non-profit foundation (stichting) funded primarily through grants, project funding from cultural funds, and donations. The organization follows Fair Pay guidelines and works mainly with self-employed professionals (ZZP'ers).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Need for Legacy is a non-profit foundation that runs community programs, public talks, and archival research projects aimed at making Dutch theater history inclusive of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) makers. Its work spans closed community gatherings (Tables), public presentations (Talks), and ongoing research and documentation projects (Archives), including an annual portrait series installed at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam and the House of Legacies digital archive portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• House of Legacies: Een digitaal archiefportaal voor het toegankelijk maken van archieven en verhalen van podiumkunstenaars van kleur. Gelanceerd op 31 januari 2025.
• Sound Fragments
• Open House of Legacies
• (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek

Products and services

• Need for Legacy Tables Closed gatherings for BIPOC theater makers providing a safe space to share experiences, find support, and exchange knowledge, addressing lack of safe dialogue spaces and underrepresentation in the Dutch theater sector.
• Need for Legacy Talks Public presentations and lectures sharing research on forgotten Dutch theater makers of color, first co-organized during the Nederlands Theater Festival 2020 with RIGHTABOUTNOW INC., targeting general theater audiences and educational groups.
• 360 Archival Research Projects Large-scale archival research project investigating the histories of BIPOC makers within Dutch performing arts, producing documentation, Thea Doelwijt archive study, and source material for inclusive educational use.
• House of Legacies Portal Digital archive portal making archives and stories of performing artists of color accessible to the public and to the BIPOC theater community, supporting research, education, and community engagement.
• ITA Portrait Series Commissioned annual portrait series installed at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam's gallery, adding portraits of important Dutch theater makers of color (Rufus Collins 2021, Felix de Rooy 2023, DeltaDua 2024, Meral Taygun 2025, with Hassan Gnaoui & Mnine Houcine announced for 2026) to give visibility to forgotten BIPOC pioneers.
• (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek Writing Trajectory Mentorship and publication trajectory for BIPOC writers aiming to publish theater criticism, co-organized with Theaterkrant and the Nederlands Theater Festival, with publication in special Theaterkrant Magazine editions, running for four consecutive years through 2025.
• Sound Fragments Program Series Public program series developed with Stadsarchief Amsterdam exploring Black musical and cultural expression as a space where past, present and future converge, connecting archives with contemporary makers and audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700 theater professionals united through the 'Wij Zien Jullie' open letter
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, foundational and minor.

• Stadsarchief AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Collaboration for the Sound Fragments program series (2026), developed alongside the Jazz-jaren exhibition on migration and music in Amsterdam (1930-1939). Multiple programs created to connect archives with contemporary makers and audiences.
• TheaterkrantcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2025Partnership for the (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek writing trajectory (4th edition in 2025), co-editorship of special magazine editions, and collaborative publications including the annual Theaterjaarboek.
• Nederlands Theater Festival (NTF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2025Annual collaboration for the (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek trajectory and joint organization of portrait unveilings. The organization originated partly from NTF's programming on diversity.
• Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2021Ongoing multi-year collaboration to add portraits of important makers of color to ITA's portrait gallery. The first portrait (Rufus Collins by Brian Elstak) was unveiled in March 2021, with continued annual unveilings planned through at least 2026.
• RIGHTABOUTNOW INC.foundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2020Founded by Marjorie Boston and Maarten van Hinte, RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. originated from Made in da Shade, the theater company that introduced urban theater to the Netherlands in 1992. They also created the MC theater and are credited with naming and establishing the spirit of The Need for Legacy. They co-organized the first lectures during NTF 2020.
• TheatermakerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMentioned as having collaborations planned with Theatermaker as part of the organization's networking strategy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Stadsarchief Amsterdam: Amsterdam City Archive, institutional partner for the Sound Fragments program series. Comparable as a Dutch heritage/archival institution that the foundation leverages for archive access and public programming.
• Stichting DOEN: Dutch foundation financing innovative culture, nature, and entrepreneurship. A potential funder/peer within the Dutch cultural philanthropy ecosystem rather than a competing programmatic organization.
• Fonds Podiumkunsten: Dutch public fund for performing arts that is a likely funding counterpart for the foundation's grant-funded model. Comparable as a sector-funding ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
• Theaterkrant: Dutch theater journalism platform that co-runs the (On)gehoorde Theaterkritiek writing trajectory and publishes the foundation's special magazine edition. Acts as a media partner/amplifier rather than a competing organization.

Regional players

• KVS (Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg): Brussels-based theater with a strong diversity and decolonization programming mandate, making it the closest cross-border analogue to The Need for Legacy's mission to broaden the theatrical canon in a Benelux context.
• Talawa Theatre Company: UK-based Black-led theater company with a parallel mission of championing Black and minority-ethnic voices in theater, producing inclusive programming, and influencing mainstream theater narratives — a useful international mirror for The Need for Legacy.

Broad incumbents

• Het Nationale Theater: Major Dutch theater company where board member Emmanuel Ohene Boafo performs and a regular collaborator of the foundation. Operates at a much larger scale with broader programming, but shares the Dutch performing-arts ecosystem.
• Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA): The Netherlands' flagship theater venue and core institutional partner hosting The Need for Legacy's annual portrait series. A large incumbent with overlapping cultural-heritage ambitions but a much broader programming mandate.

Direct peers

• Stichting Nieuwe Grond: Dutch BIPOC performing arts platform referenced in The Need for Legacy's founding history as the venue where the community originated. Operates as a comparable grassroots platform connecting makers of color in the Dutch cultural sector.
• RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. Dutch urban theater company co-founded by Marjorie Boston and Maarten van Hinte, credited with naming and shaping the spirit of The Need for Legacy and co-organizing its first lectures. Comparable as a Dutch BIPOC/urban performing arts organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/theneedforlegacy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-need-for-legacy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Need for Legacy