Supporting Artists, Supporting Art

FACT/SF believes that a robust and thriving arts sector is an essential component of a vibrant society. We’re a home where artists work, where resources are strategically deployed to enrich the larger dance ecosystem, where audiences experience the power of live performance, and where strong community bonds are formed. We need your support to help us continue our work. Check out the many details below!

FACT/SF’s 16th year ushered in new opportunities, new partnerships, and new ways of engaging with our growing family of artists, audience members, and donors. Our dedicated network of support has allowed us to continue creating our own ambitious work while simultaneously providing more opportunities for dance artists in San Francisco and beyond via our Fieldwork programs. Between now and December 31st, our goal is to raise $25,000 in support of FACT/SF’s mission to make San Francisco a place where dance artists thrive.

A Year in REVIEW

2024 was a big year for FACT/SF and for the larger Bay Area dance scene. Deep support from our community allowed FACT/SF to grow the scope of our artistic work and our administrative team, expand our fiscal sponsorship program, and increase our impact at a time when the larger field is experiencing a contraction and increased precarity.

We premiered Half Time, Full Out and gave free, outdoor performances at historic LGBTQ+ locations around San Francisco. We became an ODC Theater Home Company, brought local and visiting artists together for the 5th annual Summer Dance Festival, toured to Portland, Oregon, and taught workshops and classes in the Bay, Southern California, Arizona, Oregon, and Canada.

With the support of our donors, FACT/SF spent 2024 realizing and expanding our vision of making San Francisco a place where LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists have the resources they need to make the work they want with and for the people they want. Our robust and varied Fieldwork programs remain a cornerstone of this mission. Since 2018, FACT/SF Fieldwork has provided resources and opportunity to more than 80 lead artists, who in turn engaged more than 400 artistic collaborators and 16,000 audience members.

We continued paying our employees a living wage with retirement and commuter benefits, while reducing cost barriers for audiences by offering no-cost tickets to all of our programs. We also continued to recognize artist labor by paying all of our Fieldwork artists to apply to our programs; we remain just one of two dance companies in the country modeling this practice. All of this work is made possible through the investments of those who believe in our vision of viability and equity in the dance industry.

THE YEAR AHEAD

We are raring and ready to hit the ground running in 2025. Next year, Charlie will begin his multi-year project, The Waves, creating the first three works in a series about brain waves, light waves, sound waves, and intersubjectivity. We’ll commission acclaimed 2024 Fieldwork artist, Jenna Riegel, to make a new duet on the company. And, we’ll support 26 Fieldwork artists from the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Columbus, and The Hague!

Check out our full 2025 calendar here.

In 2025, we will also launch our inaugural Winter Dance Salon, a new Fieldwork offering for dance artists to get paid to share works-in-progress with an audience of their peers. We will continue our Winter and Summer Labs, host our 6th annual Summer Dance Festival, engage a new slate of exciting new Fieldwork collaborators, and hold our first industry skills workshop aimed at providing dance artists the administrative skills needed to succeed in the fast-paced and competitive dance marketplace.

All of this work costs money, of course! In the spirit of transparency, we’ve outlined our basic expenses and income projections for next year. One major highlight: 78% of our 2025 budget goes directly towards compensation for artists and arts workers!

2025 budget

Projected total expenses: $257,356

Programming expenses: $187,450

  • People

    • $150,770 in compensation and grants to more than 75 dancers, administrators, and other arts workers

    • 80% of programming budget

  • Workshops & Performance Venues

    • $12,340 in rental costs for rehearsals, workshops and performance space

    • 7% of programming budget

  • Additional Costs

    • $24,340 in additional costs

    • 13% of programming budget

    • Includes payroll taxes and fees, workers’ comp insurance, liability and accident insurance, travel stipends for visiting artists, etc.

GENeral OPerating EXPENSES: $69,906

  • People

    • $49,626 in compensation, benefits, and associated fees

    • 71% of general operating budget

  • Additional Costs

    • $20,280 in miscellaneous expenses including office supplies, bank service fees, and the Yunakin Land tax

    • 29% of general operating budget

Projected total Income: $260,150

Contributed Income: $221,500

  • Individual Donors - $95,500

    • Includes individual donations, matching and corporate gifts, and funds from co-producers of FACT/SF’s upcoming original works

    • 43% of contributed income

  • Grants - $126,000

    • Charlotte Mailliard Shultz Fund for the Arts ($41,000, confirmed)

    • California Arts Council ($27,000, confirmed)

    • San Francisco Grants for the Arts ($10,500, confirmed)

    • San Francisco Arts Commission ($20,000, pending)

    • National Endowment for the Arts ($27,500, pending)

    • 57% of contributed income

earned Income: $38,650

  • Tuitions for Education Modules - $22,950

    • Includes tuition to the Winter and Summer Dance Labs, FACT/SF open classes, master classes taught by CSW, and industry skills workshops

    • 59% of earned income

  • Summer Dance Festival and Winter Dance Salon Ticket Sales - $10,500

    • 7 performances at ODC Theater and the Joe Goode Annex

    • Estimated 435 tickets and $22.50 average ticket price

    • Free tickets available to all who need them

    • 27% of earned income

  • Earned income from Fiscal Sponsees and Memberships - $5,200

    • FACT/SF offers fiscal sponsorship to 8 sponsees, providing financial management, grant writing support, and a whole range of additional services. In exchange for this, sponsees pay FACT/SF 5-8% of their contributed income.

    • FACT/SF also runs a Membership program for local dancers to attend company class and receive discounts on our workshops and performances. For this, Members pay $10/month.

    • 14% of earned income

Mission

FACT/SF believes that civic life is made more vibrant by the cultural contributions of dance artists, and that a robust and healthy arts ecosystem enables all artists to create at their greatest potential. In service of these beliefs, we produce our own adventurous and composed contemporary dance performances for the public, employ and model ethical work practices, and design and offer programs that support dance artists in their work.

Vision

FACT/SF envisions a world where dance artists have the agency to make the work they want, with the people they want, and for the people they want. FACT/SF is seeding an ecosystem where:

  • Dance artists have equitable access to the necessary and relevant resources, training, and community required to enter and remain in the field.

  • Dance knowledge and resources are shared across communities, regions, generations, economies, and identities, working from a model of resource abundance.

  • Gatekeepers listen to artists and prioritize their needs and interests.

  • Performing arts events are accessible to all people, as are educational tools and resources for expanding one’s understanding and appreciation of the arts.