The National Theatre School and stagehand union IATSE will announce on Wednesday that they are joining forces to secure the immediate future of the long-running Ontario Drama Festival, as well as its younger offshoots in British Columbia and Atlantic Canada – after the student-theatre showcases known to generations simply as the "Sears Festival" lost approximately $200,000 in annual sponsorship from the struggling retailer this summer.
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I have never been a fan of corporate sponsors. They are always finicky about where their money goes and in an instant that money can disappear. I love to see the folks at IATSE step up and help and I am sure that the crowdfunding campaign will be a huge success. What can be learned here is that every group that relies on corporate funding should start working on alternatives to that funding in case it dries up. There needs to be more non-profit organizations and foundations whose mission it is to fund projects like these so that groups don’t have to rely on corporate sponsorships and donations. These non profits would have the mission to support the arts as a industry and not just something to put a name on for branding purposes. Corporations pay to have their name on things and that changes as the mission of the board and share holders change. Performing arts groups can no longer rely on corporate or government donations. We see that all too clearly with the current US Presidential administration that wants to eliminate programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, two organizations whose mission is to fund the arts and humanities projects all over the country. It’s a shame that Arts funding takes a backseat to corporate profits and business interests.
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