Venturous Capital Grants is sponsored by Venturous Theater Fund (a program of Broad Reach Foundation). Venturous Capital Grants is a grant from the Venturous Theater Fund, a program of Broad Reach Foundation, that funds small to medium-sized nonprofit theaters and professional independent producing organizations creating text-based, author-driven new works in the United States.

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--> Next Venturous Capital Grant Cycle Dates Letter of Inquiry (LOI) Submissions: Open Now LOI Deadline: June 1, 2026 ​​​Venturous Capital Grants Important Note: With the Summer 2026 grant cycle, we are now accepting Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) through the Broad Reach Foundation grant portal. See instructions below. We will no longer accept LOI submissions by email.

The goal of our Venturous Capital Grants program is to support writers of bold, experimental, and/or large-scale new plays by giving theaters the ability to say “yes” instead of “no” to writer-driven projects that are unusually heavy lifts, i.e., that are perceived as especially challenging.

While we do not fund routine production costs, we offer grants to support specific extraordinary costs that might otherwise make venturous plays difficult or impossible to produce. We make grants to small and medium-sized not-for-profit theater companies to support productions of text-based, author-driven new plays that are “venturous,” i.e., controversial in subject matter, (and/or) unabashed in their theatricality.

These grants do NOT fund the following genres/processes: Musical theater works including operas, theartical concerts, cabaret, revues, etc. Dance, dance theater pieces, movement-driven theater, mime, circus, etc. Plays for children/young audiences Plays authored/devised by companies or collectives New plays that have already been widely produced/programmed, or that have received major productions in New York City, London, or other English-speaking theater capitals Developmental processes such as readings, workshops, etc. Non-AEA productions or AEA showcases.

Important note: We do not support non-AEA productions under any circumstances. These grants do not support projects produced on any of the AEA showcase codes. These grants do NOT fund routine production expenses .

Our support is limited to extraordinary costs for productions that are especially challenging to mount. See below for examples of specific costs these grants do and do not fund. Support is limited to productions at small- and medium-sized theaters with annual budgets of under $5 million.

Theaters must be professional, independent producing organizations located within the U.S. that produce plays on Actors’ Equity Association contracts. They must be tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization. We support co-productions.

However, all involved producing organizations, producing partners, and above-the-title entities must meet the criteria described above in order for a project to be eligible for support. We do not make grants to individual writers or non-producing organizations under this program.

Requirements for Funded Productions Requirements for Funded Productions Scripted, text-based, author-driven, full-length new plays by a living writer Produced in the United States by an eligible theater company (see above) Must offer reasonable compensation to the author via a royalty, fee, etc., exclusive of any commission or performance fees.

Produced under an AEA collective bargaining agreement with a minimum of TWO performers employed on an AEA contract, not counting stage managers and understudies. No AEA showcases. Full productions open to the general public for a run of at least 13 performances.

Workshops, staged readings, and developmental productions will not be funded. Preference for plays written by authors who identify as American or who reside in the US. World premieres or second/third productions with writer involvement (we may request a written statement from the author describing their participation in the production process).

We cannot consider LOIs for plays that are in production or rehearsal while our selection process is underway. See below under “LOI Deadlines and Timing. ” There must be draft of the play for our Selection Committee to review if the project is selected to advance.

This may be a rough or preliminary draft; we do not require that a production-ready script exists at the time of application. See above for info about genres/processes we do NOT fund. What These Grants Support Specific Costs These Grants Fund Our grants cover extraordinary integral expenses necessary for the production of a new play— specific expenses without which the play could not be produced .

We do not support routine production expenses (see below) or enhanced production values or costs associated with specific production styles. The expenses we fund must be: Extraordinary – beyond standard producing expenses; Integral – costs without which the play could not be produced; and Essential – we do not support enhancements to raise the level of production or to accommodate a particular production concept.

These grants are intended to remove perceived obstacles to production by underwriting unusual expenses. Eligible extraordinary expenses typically include: Cast size—support for additional performers in large-cast productions Extraordinary technical requirements Additional production elements Unusual casting challenges Other expenses—you tell us.

Specific examples of supported costs from successful past applications: AEA compensation and fringe for additional performers in large-cast productions Out-of-town expenses for artists in unusual circumstances Costs for plays that involve music, dance, movement, etc. as an integral narrative element, but that are not musicals or musical theater works Additional rehearsal time due to unique production requirements Costs involved in mounting multiple productions of individual authors’ works (plays staged in rep, commitment to produce 3-5 plays, etc.) Interactive technology for the cast or audience members’ use during performances.

What These Grants Do NOT Fund Because these grants are intended for extraordinary costs, we do NOT fund routine production expenses. Also, we do NOT fund enhanced production values , i.e., expenses that enable the theater to stage the play at a higher level.

Examples of specific expenses we do NOT fund: Normal director/designer/actor salaries and other regular production costs Playwright royalty/compensation Playwright travel, housing, or other standard author expenses Costs related to star casting Standard projection equipment rental/purchase Workshops, readings, and other developmental processes Non-production costs such as marketing/PR, outreach, education, etc. Compensation for non-AEA performers Grants range from $10,000 minimum to $45,000 maximum.

Grants of $40,000 and above are awarded only in extraordinary circumstances. Grant amounts are based on the specific extraordinary expenses described in your application. Grants are production-specific and are NOT related to any previous support.

Smaller and more specific requests are more likely to be funded at 100%. Our selection committee is composed of independent theater professionals including playwrights, directors, producers, and dramaturgs, along with VTF staff members. The committee rotates with each grant cycle.

Past committee membership has included such artists as May Adrales, Luis Castro, Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Migdalia Cruz, Nathan Alan Davis, Sonia Fernandez, Connie Hall, Dave Harris, Johnny Lloyd, Ken-Matt Martin, Ben Pesner, Heather Raffo, Peter Richards, Lynde Rosario, Lloyd Suh, Chay Yew, Pirronne Yousefzadeh, and others. Any eligible theater may submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI).

We will invite selected companies to submit full applications from the pool of LOIs under consideration. We do not accept unsolicited applications. For projects selected to submit a full application, the theater will submit a playscript for review by our selection committee for that grant round.

The script may be in draft or final form. However, we cannot consider LOIs for plays that have not yet been written . Step 1: Letters of Inquiry We welcome any eligible theater to submit an LOI that describes the proposed project and the specific expenses a grant would cover.

We accept LOIs twice a year. Productions must begin rehearsals no earlier than August 15, 2026 Production must officially open before June 30, 2028 Submissions open November 1 Productions must begin rehearsals no earlier than February 15, 2027. Production must officially open before December 31, 2028.

…and continuing onward in June and December. We do not accept LOI more than 30 days in advance of the deadline. We do not accept out-of-cycle LOIs.

We can only accept LOIs for productions that begin rehearsal at least 2 1/2 months after the LOI deadline date. You may submit more than one LOI per grant cycle, but we will not consider more than two LOIs per theater in each calendar year. We accept LOIs through the Broad Reach Foundation grant portal.

The LOI is in two parts: basic info and a brief narrative. In the portal, you will need to provide basic information about the proposed production: Brief description of the play What makes this project venturous? (select one) Tentative amount of grant request Have you already committed to the production?

If so, when will it take place? # of performances (13 minimum) Cast size (2 AEA minimum) Producing partners (if any) You will be asked to upload a brief letter of NO MORE THAN ONE PAGE addressing these questions: What makes this project an unusually heavy lift, and what expenses are you looking to fund? What will be the impact of the grant?

What makes the project venturous? Beginning in 2026, Venturous Theater Fund will accept LOIs through the Broad Reach Foundation’s grant portal . We no longer accept LOIs via email.

To submit an LOI, you must 1) create an account via the portal and 2) pass our eligibility quiz. LOI submissions begin on May 1. The deadline for LOI submissions is June 1, 2026 at 5pm EDT.

We strongly suggest that you create your account in the portal and take the required eligibility quiz well in advance of the deadline . We usually notify theaters within 2-3 weeks of the deadline whether their LOIs will be considered for full application. Step 1: Go to the Broad Reach Foundation Grant Portal .

If you are unable to follow the above link, copy and paste this into your browser: https://www. grantinterface. com/Home/Logon?

urlkey=broadreachfdn Step 2: Register for an account by clicking the “Create New Account” button. If you already have an account, skip to Step 2. You will be required to set a password.

You will be prompted to enter informa tion about yourself (the person crea ting the account) and your organiza tion. If you are fiscally sponsored, you will need to supply informa tion about your fiscal sponsor. Step 3: Find the Eligibility Quiz for Venturous Capital Grants Summer 2026 on the portal home page.

If you don’t see it, click “See Opportunities” on the upper left-hand corner of the page under the Broad Reach Foundation logo. Step 4: Take the eligibility quiz, which will ask for information about your project. You may not submit an LOI until you successfully pass the eligibility quiz.

If you do not pass the quiz, your project does not meet our funding criteria. You may email [email protected] with questions. Step 5: Once you pass the eligibility quiz, you may begin your LOI.

It will appear on your dashboard alongside the completed quiz. Step 6: When you have completed your LOI and uploaded the required narrative, click “Submit LOI. ” Step 7: You may return to the portal at any time to check the status of your LOI.

If you wish to submit a second LOI, click the ✓Applied button and then the Apply Again button. We can accept up to two LOIs per theater in any calendar year. Please email [email protected] with questions about your LOI or the eligibility quiz.

Step 2: Applications (by invitation only) We do not accept unsolicited applications. Please see above for information regarding Letters of Inquiry. After our selection committee reviews the LOIs, we will invite approximately 12 to 15 selected companies to submit a full application, including a playscript and a budget enumerating the specific costs which the proposed grant will cover.

If you are invited to apply... Our grant selection process is competitive. We generally fund 50% to 75% of those projects invited to submit full applications.

Our selection committee members base their funding determinations in part on their responses to the playscripts. They also assess how closely each application matches our selection criteria and parameters, as articulated above. Final funding decisions will be made within 2-2.

5 months of the LOI deadline date. We authorize disbursement of Venturous Capital Grant funds once the production has been publicly announced, but no earlier than 3 months before the first performance. For questions, please contact us .