Transformation Starts With You
Use our secure online donation form
Give us a call at 434-977-4177
Mail a check to:
Live Arts
PO Box 1231
Charlottesville, VA 22902
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Stories of Transformation
"This is why I love Live Arts"
Click here to read Ckalib's story!
Ckalib Nelson is a shy, data-driven guy who found his “home away from home” as an audience member. He helped his best friend run lines and then saw him perform in RAGTIME. This stirred something in Ckalib. "Live Arts is a majestic experience. This is what change looks like. This is how stories ought to be told. This is why I love Live Arts."
Ckalib says that without Live Arts, something inside him is missing. He can’t bear to miss an opening night and even buys a second subscription to bring someone new to every show.
As a Board member, Ckalib learned first-hand that running Live Arts isn’t cheap. Royalties alone approach $20,000 a year. In fact, it takes $1 million a year to run our nonprofit theater. Ticket sales and tuition cover less than half. The rest comes from theater lovers like you.
So far, we’ve raised $175,000 of the $500,000 it takes to fully fund our mission. Ckalib invites you to help close that gap by making a year-end contribution.
"Theater has taught me to be in the moment"
Click here to read Kerry's story!
Like most Live Arts volunteers, Kerry Moran started small, taping sets and painting black. As she got to know us, she took on more challenging projects, constantly stepping out of her comfort zone.
“There was an assumption that I could do extraordinary things—and the trust that I would. I appreciate that about Live Arts. It’s exhilarating to be part of, no matter what role you play.”
An architect by profession, Kerry has served as director, actor, and designer of everything from sets to props, from costumes to entire galas.
“People think of me as a fixture at Live Arts, but I try to approach every project like it’s new. Theater has taught me to be in the moment, to be flexible. I try to apply this outlook to everything I do.”
Kerry is just one of hundreds of big dreamers who turn imagination into transformative theatrical experiences for our community.
It takes $1 million a year to fuel those dreams, with less than half coming from ticket sales and tuition. To fully fund our mission, we rely on the generosity of dreamers like you to close the gap.
"I started as a kid in camp"
Click here to read Etta's story!
Etta Feigert has been involved at Live Arts for as long as they can remember. After attending summer camps, they began helping out backstage for the teen summer musical PIPPIN in 2017. Since then, Etta has worked on countless productions—a list that includes every single show during our reIGNITE season!
Most recently, Etta served as the production stage manager for LOVE AND INFORMATION and a lighting programmer for our upcoming musical VIOLET. Beyond developing skills in technical theater, Etta says working on shows alongside their family has provided a place "to connect with my parents as people, not just my parents."
Etta invites you to be a part of future stories of transformation at Live Arts with a year-end contribution.
"I have been able to learn so much from so many people. I still have a lot to learn (and always will). I can't wait for the next opening.”
Stay Tuned!
New STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION posted every week
Your donation allows us to:
Engage volunteers in meaningful ways with minimal barriers to participate
Improve our physical space and technology
Attract and retain a devoted staff
Offer financial aid for all education programs
Be flexible and resourcesful in times of uncertainty
Hire talented teaching artists for classes, camps, and workshops
Maintain affordable ticket options
Collaborate with new partners who bring fresh perspectives, creativity, and stories
Invest time, energy, and resources to DEI training and endeavors
At Live Arts, there is no “average” donor. Hundreds of gifts of every size help create a strong foundation on which we forge theater and community. Just as our artistic and education programs are strengthened by diversity, so is our base of philanthropic support.
We invite you to join our family of supporters with a one-time, quarterly, or monthly gift. Visit our secure donation form, or contact us to learn more.
Interested in corporate sponsorship or philanthropy?
We create custom packages designed to fit your goals for community engagement, marketing, and hospitality. Currently seeking show sponsors, Pay-What-You-Can sponsors, and special event sponsors. Please contact our fundraising team at donate@livearts.org.
Gift Acceptance Policy
We solicit and accept gifts that further our mission of forging theater and community. In pursuing a gift, we consider how it might benefit Live Arts in the most ethical manner possible, and how it supports our goals and priorities, including our commitment to advance social justice by dismantling the systems, policies, and practices that have perpetuated patterns of institutional and systemic racism.
We encourage unrestricted gifts that enable our Board and staff to be responsive to the evolving and rapidly changing needs of our community.
Our full Fundraising and Gift Acceptance Policy, including detailed criteria and our donor bill of rights, is available here.
Live Arts is registered to receive charitable contributions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A financial statement is available from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services upon request.