The Future Fund for EST
A multi-year campaign as we celebrate our 55th anniversary!
When we think about EST, we start by imagining the same thing you probably do: EST’s theatre – crowded, noisy, alive. Performances, rehearsals, gatherings, in every nook and cranny. Art and creation and community, everywhere you look.
Now imagine walking into EST in 2027. Imagine that same spirit carried into the future, with a renewed focus on hospitality, care, and belonging- for our artists, our audiences, our staff.
EST’s mission says that extraordinary support is essential to yield extraordinary work. We plan to live this mission to the fullest. We believe that by heightening the level of support EST offers, the art created here and the impact it makes in the world will grow and rise in years to come, up and up and up.
Your gift is especially meaningful right now as EST celebrates historic milestones: welcoming new leadership; the EST/Sloan Project's 25th anniversary; our Youngblood program's 30th anniversary; and the mighty Ensemble Studio Theatre itself turns 55 years old, standing tall and proud!
Your support over the next three years will help us launch towards this future. Over this time, we will:
Invest in the artistic growth of the member artists and programs of the company
A key part of EST’s unique identity is its 600-strong Membership - playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and more. Together with our existing programs – EST/Youngblood, the EST/Sloan Project and the Marathon of One-Act Plays – this is EST’s contribution to the greater good. We are committed to supporting these exceptional artists (current AND future!) throughout their careers by creating opportunities for exchange and learning, investing in new ways to share resources, and supporting their artistic development.
Build staff capacity and infrastructure to better support artists and their individual processes.
The EST staff is small but mighty, supporting the development of new work at all stages, and aiming to create a personalized approach for each process. As they work to support the artistic life of the theatre, we are committed to supporting them in doing this work! This includes hiring more positions to spread the workload, raising all salaries to meet the minimum NYC living wage, and investing time and resources into evolving our processes and systems, centering anti-racist practices.
Develop and nurture partnerships, audiences, and community engagement.
We believe that theatre is a unique shared experience between artists and audiences, provoking thought and conversations and emotions that help us co-imagine the world we want to create. We are committed to deepening and nurturing our community partnerships and engagement practices, to ensure that we are in conversation with the city, the country, and the world we live in.
Upgrade the experience of physically being at EST for artists, audiences, staff, and all who come through our doors.
The grand vision for EST is a brand-new theatre on the first floor of our current building. That prospect is very real, but as we work towards it, the necessary first step is making some key improvements to our existing space, where we all work every day, to ensure a more accessible, welcoming theatre for all. That’s the safety and stability that EST and the people who fill it need and deserve. It’s the solid ground we need to build the future.
These are achievable goals! Affordable dreams!
Your support is how we get there.
So far, we have raised $50,000 towards the Future Fund, and thanks to a donation from our Board Chair, we have a $25,000 1:1 match now through 6/30. We hope you will consider making a contribution to join us in kicking off EST’s future. We can see it from here!
Donating online is the easiest and fastest way for you to support EST, but if you prefer to donate by mail, please use our secure post office box:
Ensemble Studio Theatre
P.O. Box 1584
New York, NY 10101
If you have any questions about making a gift, please contact developmentmanager@estnyc.org.
Good To Know: If you or someone you know is over the age of 70 ½ and has an individual retirement account (IRA), you can take advantage of the significant tax benefits associated with making a rollover gift to a non-profit like EST.
Hear more about your effect from those who directly benefit: the artists.
