Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS looks to sustain its mission by cultivating long-standing donor connections.

With ever-growing needs, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS looks to move beyond traditional “red bucket” fundraising after performances and toward strategic, thoughtful donor cultivation. The New York-based organization leverages Blackbaud’s fundraising and relationship management solution to build and grow its annual and planned giving programs.  

Every year more people living with HIV/AIDS and people who work in the performing arts rely on Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to help provide a safety net of social services. This much-needed lifeline includes access to lifesaving medication, counseling, healthy meals, emergency financial assistance, and more.

“We raise as much as possible to ensure that our expanded community has access to the support they need, a need that is ever-growing,” said Senior Development Officer Sarah Cardillo. “In this complicated political climate, our grantees at more than 450 organizations nationwide are facing severe budget cuts, as state and federal funding continues to shrink, so we do our best to help. As a grant-making organization, that means we have to work
harder to meet those needs.”

In 2018 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS awarded $7.3 million to HIV/AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., through its National Grants Program. An additional $5.8 million was awarded to The Actors Fund, which provides essential social services for all individuals in the performing arts and entertainment, including actors, stage managers, ushers, choreographers, dancers, musicians, and stagehands. Those numbers reflect a 9% increase in funding to the National Grants Program and a 5% increase in funding to The Actors Fund over the previous year.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS looks to harness the most strategic tools available to connect with loyal supporters and untapped audiences alike. “Technology, in general, creates awareness to spread the word about what we’re doing, to get people excited and aware that their contributions will be impactful,” Cardillo explained. “We’re using Blackbaud to identify current supporters who may want to get more deeply involved and have the capacity to do so.”