The Theater Offensive (TTO) — a Boston-based “cultural incubator” for queer and trans people of color with its mission to advance equity in the theater industry — has received a $3 million unrestricted gift from philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett. Together, Jewett and Scott (the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) distributed $2.7 billion in gifts to some 286 nonprofits, including this significant grant to TTO.
“I have immense gratitude for MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett for selecting The Theater Offensive to be a recipient of such a transformative gift,” said TTO’s Executive Director and Cultural Strategist Harold Steward.
“During this prolonged pandemic and the ongoing racial upheaval, we committed to being a people-centered and mission-focused organization no matter what the risk may be,” Steward said. “This gift allows us to continue to fulfill that commitment, but it also has allowed us to ask ourselves a new set of questions including: what’s unique about our influence, cultural rights and responsibilities in service of stewarding this fantastic resource? And how do we affirm that distinction and be strategic and resourceful at this moment?”
As explained on the TTO website:
The $3M gift comes at an important moment in the history of TTO – a social change organization that uses theater and the creative process to deconstruct oppressive practices and policies to liberate Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC).
Steward, who joined TTO in 2017, has led the organization into a new period of financial stability while creating a unique aesthetic vision for the Company. Steward led the development of a strategic plan that included a model for shared leadership — integrating existing staff with new vision and voices.
Steward said the extraordinary gift will be used as an investment in TTO’s future, applying pandemic lessons to a radical new vision for Queer life and wellness that TTO is callingQueer Regeneration and Rebirth. Specifically, funds will help support plans for program enhancements; a more equitable organizational infrastructure; and for seeding new investments in people and ideas.
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