Pay Your People 2024 (For Companies, Collectives, and Venues only)

ABOUT THE PAY YOUR PEOPLE GRANTS:

The Pay Your People Grants are $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.

Please note that while all of these grants are being called “Pay Your People” grants, we will still maintain separate drawing pools for venues and companies/collectives.

ABOUT THE BIG GIVE:

Mark your calendar now: The Big Give is December 2! The Big Give is our annual grant giving event and creates an opportunity for all of us to get to know more members of our community, and maybe even make some productive connections. As leadership in your organization, consider coming to the event yourself, bring other company and board members, and bring friends. It’s always an awesome night, with free food and drink provided. The in-person event will take place at The Chelsea Factory and the virtual party will take place via Zoom.

RSVP here

Someone from your organization must be present at The Big Give (in person or on Zoom) to receive a grant, if you are pulled from the lottery.
 

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 below 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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!

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!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.