Theater Grant Application Form

Important Information and Conditions (US)

We appreciate receiving your application and hearing from you. We are a small largely volunteer charity. Please be patient if it takes a few days to get back to you.

Who can apply for a tw! grant?

• Theaters where participating schools and community groups meet all our criteria, in particular where 40% or more children are receiving Free School Meals (FSM)/Title 1 and/or 25% are SEND (Special Needs) students. Preference is given to schools with higher FSM/SEND%. We use the latest published government figures for each school.

• Children should be aged 7-16.

• In exceptional circumstances we award grants to cover schools below the 40% threshold. Generally, these schools have a significant number of SEND children, there is a strong educational element to the programme, or some other deserving reason which would cause our Independent Reviewer to be flexible.

• Applications must be for verifiable school or community groups.

What does the charity pay for? How large are your grants?

• We pay for theater tickets, transport, and related educational activities such as workshops or Q&A sessions. Typically, we do not expect to contribute more than $15 per theater ticket.

• We are happy to pay only for transport or educational activities providing they are linked directly to a theater production that meets our criteria.

• We will pay for teacher/carer support up to the level recommended by the State Education guidelines, and as required for SEND students.

• We do not pay for programmes and refreshments.

• Our maximum grants are $5000.

• We expect theaters to provide the standard student reductions on theater tickets. Please encourage schools to use the most economical transport available.

• Every effort should be made to ensure FSM students are not singled out.

• The play must be a professional production. This means writers, actors, directors and crews are paid for performing in the production.

• We rarely pay up to 100% of the grants requested. We look to schools to use their PP funds and those available from parents and PTA’s, where possible.

How does the grant process work?

• An Independent Grant Review team look at grant applications on a rolling basis

• We aim to provide a decision within 45 days of receiving your application. Please plan well ahead, particularly for Christmas shows. Applications received for performances that fall within 60 days of receipt of your application will not be progressed.

• The number of FSM students who attend must reflect the percent of FSM students in the school. We will ask you to confirm this in an evaluation report.

• If your application is accepted, you will be asked to submit an initial invoice account for 80% of the agreed grant, with a balancing invoice once a satisfactory evaluation report has been submitted.

• Payment of the 80% amount is made prior to the event as required by the theater’s payment terms. Accompany your invoice with copies of any relevant support invoices, as relevant.

• If costs quoted on your application are estimates, such as for bus transport, and turn out to be less than our grant we will normally reduce our grant accordingly. If actual costs turn out to be higher, we will not increase our grant to cover any shortfall.

• Please note that the balancing amount is not payable until a satisfactory Evaluation Report [link] has been received. If balancing invoices are not submitted within 60 days of the performance date, we reserve the right to withdraw our grant for the outstanding 20% amount.

How can I help my application succeed?

• We want to support grants where an effort is made to provide related educational experiences. These efforts may be as simple as providing teachers with some pre- and post-classroom materials to promote discussion of the impact of the play. Theatre works! will start to provide related educational materials in Autumn 2025. We also encourage provision of Q&A sessions following the performance.

• Please specify in your application what efforts you will make to ensure a wide range of disadvantaged children benefit from this programme. These may well include children who don’t meet the FSM definition but who for a variety of reasons do not have access to the theater, e.g. SEND children. Preference will be given to applications that show the theater has implemented plans to reach out to children who may not have had the opportunity to attend theater performances in the past.

What types of plays are eligible for funding from theatre works!

• We like to support projects that reach a large number of children. Applications from regional theaters and touring companies are welcome as these can be an excellent way to expose a larger audience to the theater.

• We want children and young people to be exposed to a broad spectrum of plays. When you apply for grants over time (theaters can only apply for a grant every year), we encourage you to look at a range of plays. If you apply for a musical one year, the next time you might apply for a drama appropriate for that age group. 

Do you cover theaters across the whole of the US?

• Yes. We want to support a diverse range of projects across different regions to maximize our national impact.

• We are keen to consider local needs and gaps in arts access. We might for example favour rural applicants if the application indicates there is limited access to cultural activities for disadvantaged children and young people in the area.

Should I book schools before making my grant application?

• If relying on a grant from theatre works! please do not book schools in advance as your application may not be funded. Where bookings are dependent upon our funding, any reservations you make on behalf of schools should be provisional.

Can I challenge the decision on my grant?

• The decision on a grant application is final; we do not engage in communications on reasons for our decision. You may make a subsequent application.

Can I apply every year?

• Theatres can make one grant application a year but note that schools or community groups are only eligible to receive a grant every other year.

Do I need to provide feedback?

• Feedback from students, in particular, and teachers is critical to the charity. People who are considering donating to the charity look at the evidence we provide to see if the charity is being effective. The quality of your feedback will be considered when reviewing any subsequent applications you make to theatre works!

• We welcome direct quotes from students that talk about what the experience has had on them. Please don’t simply say that a child or young person liked the play. Possible feedback questions are provided on the Evaluation form. If related workshops or educational materials are created, please tell us about them. We also like to see extracts of written work or pictures students created.

• Video footage is welcome including from any workshops or post-event activities. Please focus on the children not the performers. We appreciate that getting parental permission for filming students can be challenging.

• Evaluation forms should be submitted to us within 30 days of the performance date. We recommend that you avoid performances near the end of school terms (particularly the summer term) which may not provide you with sufficient time to secure schools’ feedback. Evaluation forms not received within 60 Days will lead to forfeiture of the outstanding 20% of our grant.

• We suggest that you recommend to schools that they appoint one or more of pupils from their student council or equivalent to act as a ‘reporter’ for their theatre visit.

• Please note that the quality of your feedback (and application) will be taken into account as part of the consideration given to any future applications you may make to theatre works!

Is there a time limit for grant payments?

• Yes, you have six months from the date of our approval to your application, to claim your grant i.e. submitting your initial 80% invoice. Similarly, you must claim the balancing 20% within 60 days of the performance otherwise you will risk forfeiting payment.

How far in advance can I apply?

• We give grants for performances that are within 12 months from the date of an application.

What else is required?

• We ask that theatre works! is given credit in any accompanying communication material (such as newsletters and social media) published by the theater. This should include the theatre works! logo where appropriate. Brand identity information is available in the Brand section at the bottom of our website home page.

• It is a condition of our grant that an advertisement encouraging donations to theatre works! is included in your programmes. We provide this with our formal acceptance of your application.

• We need to comply with various regulations. Please read the Fine Print section below. Your signature on the application form confirms you have read and agreed to these requirements.

Conditions - The Fine Print

1. You confirm that a written Child Safety Policy is in place, including a Disclosure and Barring Service or equivalent checks for everyone who will be working with the children.

2. You confirm that the grant will only be used for the purposes outlined in the application, and any unspent funds will be returned to us.

3. If false information is provided or funds are used for purposes outside those outlined in your application, we will require repayment of all the funding provided.

4. theatre works! will not accept responsibility for any claims arising from the events for which funding has been agreed.

5. You agree that we can make public the name of the school(s) or sponsoring organisation that receives a grant from us.

6. You agree that any information provided to us, including quotes and photos from children and teachers, can be used for the charity’s promotional purposes.