The Big Give - December 2, 2024
We’re excited to have some amazing guest artists for the night! Nancy Nogood will be performing and serving as our MC for the event! Plus, Peter Michael Marino will be available to chat and offer advice to anyone who wants to sit at his table.
We’ll also feature Glory Hole by Lee LeBreton, a participatory performance art installation. And don’t miss the Give & Gain board, where you can share skills and find support.
The virtual party will take place via Zoom.
The Big Give is IndieSpace's annual event that celebrates indie theater and gives grants to indie theater companies, fiscally sponsored collectives/productions, and indie theater venues.
We have created this joyous event so you can reconnect and socialize with your fellow indie theater makers, celebrate and honor the amazing work, artistry, and love in the indie theater community, AND so we can distribute $1,000 grants! We really hope you can join us!
The in-person event will take place at the Chelsea Factory, 547 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001.
Pay Your People Grants
We’ll hold a lottery for the Pay Your People Grants at the event. These $1,000 for NYC-based indie theater companies/collectives and venues to pay historically excluded artists or leadership to work in, administrate, or perform in their spaces and/or productions. For venues, you can use these funds to subsidize a rental from an artist in your venue or to pay performers or administration directly.
To be eligible for this grant, recipients must commit to using the grant to pay artists or leaders of color and/or artists or leaders who have been historically and currently excluded from funding based on gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, disability, economic disadvantage, refugee/immigration status or for other reasons you define.
Pay Your People Grants - Additional Details
Below is additional information about the Pay Your People Grants. If you have a question and it’s not answered here, please reach out to us. You can send us a note at hello@indiespace.org.
We’re here to support you.
Application Cycle
October 15 – Application Opens at 12:00am
November 20 – Application Closes at 11:59pm
November 21 - November 25 – Applications are reviewed by the IndieSpace staff and Board for eligibility only
November 25 – Applicants are notified of their application status and eligibility. If you do not receive an email regarding your eligibility by November 25, please contact us at hello@indiespace.org.
December 2 – THE BIG GIVE event at the Chelsea Factory and on Zoom!
Who Is Eligible?
You are eligible if:
You ARE a NYC-based indie theater company, fiscally sponsored collective/production, OR indie theater venue (venues with 99 seats or less).
You CAN COMMIT to using the grant to pay artists or leaders of color and/or artists or leaders who have been historically and currently excluded from funding based on gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, disability, economic disadvantage, refugee/immigration status or for other reasons you define.
You ARE planning to produce at least one show, reading, or workshop in the 12 months following The Big Give (December 2024 to December 2025).
You HAVE a bank account in your organization's name or have a fiscal sponsor to receive funds. Checks will NOT be written to individuals.
You are NOT eligible if:
If you are a venue that RECEIVED the Little Venue that Could grant, you ARE NOT eligible to apply for a Pay Your People Grant this year.
If you received a Pay Your People Grant in 2023, you ARE NOT eligible to apply for the Pay Your People Grant this year. Organizations can not receive this grant two years in a row. If you received a grant in 2023, you are eligible to apply again for Pay Your People in 2025
Application Process
To apply for funds, please complete the application AND RSVP for The Big Give.
Before submitting your application, please note:
Only one application for the Pay Your People Grant should be filled out per venue/company/collective.
This application will ask you to upload a performance/rehearsal or venue photo to be used in a slideshow at The Big Give event or in marketing materials. By uploading this photo, you give IndieSpace permission to use it in the slideshow at The Big Give, where it may also be captured in the background of photos or video taken that evening to be used in future marketing.
THIS PROCESS HAS THREE STEPS:
READ ALL OF THIS INFO - You are already doing this one! Be sure to consider everything in these guidelines before applying and ask questions if you have them! We are happy to answer them.
FILL OUT THE APPLICATION: To be considered for the Pay Your People Grant and entered into the lottery, you must complete the application through Submittable. And you or someone from your org/collective must be present (in person or on Zoom) at The Big Give to receive a grant if you are pulled in the lottery. The Big Give will be on December 2 at 7pm.
RSVP TO THE BIG GIVE - You must RSVP for The Big Give on EventBrite PRIOR to submitting the application. Register HERE. While only one grant application must be filled out per venue/company/collective, we ask that each person who will be attending The Big Give party RSVPs individually - share the RSVP link with others. You are welcome and encouraged to attend The Big Give party even if you are not applying for a grant. The more the merrier!
If you have any questions about the application or need assistance completing the application via phone, please reach out to our staff by emailing hello@indiespace.org.
Payment Process
Eligible applicants will be entered into the live grant drawing that will occur at our hybrid The Big Give event on December 2. Checks will be written and given out at the event that evening; PayPal is also possible, if preferred. For those who attend the event virtually, IndieSpace staff will reach out to you and arrange payment either via PayPal, ACH, Zelle, or check.
Checks will be cut to companies, venues, or fiscal sponsors, not directly to individuals.
You must have a bank account set up in the name of the company or venue that is accepting the grant check or be working with a fiscal sponsor that can receive the funds.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT you or a colleague representing your company or venue is present, either in-person or virtually, when the names are pulled to claim and receive one of the $1,000 grants. You may only represent ONE company at the event. Names will be called three times. If someone is not present to respond, we will pull another organization’s name for that grant. Checks will be cut that night, and you’ll be on your way to paying artists and leaders!
Other Important Notes
Do not feel obligated to spend a tremendous amount of time on this application. This is not a trick. We do not want to further tax your limited resources. Feel free to write very short descriptions, even one sentence, or to copy language from other grant proposals.
We ask questions primarily to verify that you are actively producing and that you commit to using funds as we intend them to be used, including to pay artists or leaders of color and/or artists or leaders who bring an underrepresented perspective to our community through gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, economic disadvantage, refugee/immigration status or other reasons you define. Your narrative is not otherwise being judged in any way.
There is no required reporting for this grant. You may be asked for a testimonial on the impact of this grant at the end of the grant period.
If the Submittable Form is not possible for you, please email hello@indiespace.org to request the application/fact sheet in Word or have your application taken over the phone, by Zoom, or through video submission. If you have any other accessibility needs, or to request it in any other format or language necessary, please email the address above.
Do you have additional questions?
We love additional questions! Be in touch with us anywhere down the line if you have any questions at all. We are here! We will be offering technical assistance throughout the application period. If you need any help filling out the application, please email hello@indiespace.org
The Big Give - Additional Details
Below is additional information about The Big Give. If you have a question and it’s not answered here, please reach out to us. You can send us a note at hello@indiespace.org.
Event Details
Join us on December 2 as we give away “Pay Your People” $1,000 grants to deserving indie theater companies, collectives, and venues.
The in-person event will take place at the Chelsea Factory, 547 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001.
The virtual party will take place via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent to those who RSVP in the weeks leading up to the event.
Please note: you are welcome to attend The Big Give party even if you are not applying for a grant.
Special Thanks
We are so grateful to the Howard Gilman Foundation for their support of IndieSpace and The Big Give.
And we are thrilled to share that Tito's Handmade Vodka is returning to The Big Give as a sponsor and are grateful for their ongoing support of the indie theater community! We look forward to toasting them (and you) with a Tito's drink at The Big Give on Monday, December 2.
How to RSVP
Anyone and everyone should feel free to join us at The Big Give - regardless of whether you are applying for our grants or not. You will have the option to participate in The Big Give in whichever way feels the most comfortable, either in person or online. As of right now, masks are encouraged at the in-person event but are not required. There will be eating and drinking at the event.
When making your "ticket" selections on the next page, you will be able to decide how you will attend the event. Please note that it is important that you register for the event INDIVIDUALLY, NOT AS A COMPANY.
The order form will only allow you to reserve up to ONE ticket. Please have everyone in your company, family, or party fill out their own registration on Eventbrite. Because of the hybrid nature of this event, we can more easily track who will be attending where and who will be representing each company/venue. This information is important to us in order to set up the event spaces appropriately and will also help make our grant giving process more efficient.
While this event is free to attend, we do offer the opportunity to make a donation at check out that will help us cover the cost of this event (food, drinks, staff).
Accessibility For In-Person Event
The in-person venue is ADA-compliant and is wheelchair and direct-street compliant.
ASL interpretation will be provided for both the in-person and virtual events. ASL Interpretation will be provided by Inclusive Communication Services.
Service animals are allowed in the venue.
Chairs and tables will be set up throughout the venue. This is often an event with standing room. There will be enough chairs toaccommodate anyone who would like one.
Food and beverages will be served during the in-person event. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options will be available.
COVID-19 Compliance
Masks are optional, though we highly encourage them when not eating or drinking.
Please take a Covid test before coming to the in-person event, stay home, and join us on Zoom if you aren't feeling well.
These rules are subject to change due to NY infection numbers close to the date of the event.
Chelsea Factory - Our hosts for the In-Person Event
Chelsea Factory exists to provide responsive partnership to NYC-based artists from historically excluded communities. Launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, we welcome artists and organizations across all creative disciplines to experiment and perform work they find essential. Chelsea Factory’s support is customized to each collaborator, with resources including subsidized rehearsal and performance space, production support and career mentorship. Our programming reflects the values of NYC artists today and evolves to meet our community’s needs. In today’s rapidly changing world, we are committed to invigorating an inclusive and sustainable arts sector that long outlasts Chelsea Factory’s physical infrastructure. To learn more, please visit chelseafactory.org.
Do you have additional questions?
Great! Please send us a note at hello@indiespace.org and we’re happy to answer it!
Images From Prior Events
