Support Ballet 5:8
Tickets open the door. Giving sustains the mission.
When you see Ballet 5:8 on stage, you are seeing the visible result of a much larger ecosystem of artists, students, live music, touring, production, scholarships, and community outreach.
Why giving matters
Performances need philanthropy.
Ballet 5:8 is more than a ballet company. We are a creative sanctuary where artists, students, families, and audiences encounter stories of resilience, redemption, faith, and human dignity through dance.
There is a common assumption that performances should pay for themselves through ticket sales alone. The reality is that a performance is not just one night in a theater.
Every performance represents months of rehearsal, artist salaries, production planning, costumes, sets, music, theater rental, technical support, marketing, administration, student training, scholarships, touring, and community engagement.
The Annual Ecosystem
$1.2MAnnual budget supporting the full Ballet 5:8 ecosystem, not just one production.
Tickets Are Only Part of the Story
19%Approximate portion of Ballet 5:8's annual budget covered by ticket revenue.
Public Support Bridges the Gap
$330KPublic support helps undergird the mission through individuals, businesses, grants, and fundraising.
The funding model
Ticket sales matter. They cannot carry the full mission.
Like most nonprofit arts organizations, Ballet 5:8 depends on both earned revenue and contributed support. Ticket sales help make the work possible, but philanthropy helps make it sustainable. The simplified funding picture below shows 19% ticket revenue, 26% public support, and 55% other earned income.
Model
Ballet 5:8 is sustained by a mixed nonprofit revenue model.
What your gift makes possible
Your gift sustains the whole ecosystem.
When you give, you are not simply helping pay for a show. You are helping keep Ballet 5:8 artistically excellent, financially sustainable, and accessible to the communities we serve.
Major funders
Public and private partners help keep the work moving forward.
Major grants and foundation support are an essential part of Ballet 5:8's funding ecosystem. Support from public arts and humanities funders, state and regional partners, and private foundations helps undergird performances, touring, education, outreach, new work, and organizational sustainability.
We are grateful for support from funders including the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, Healing Illinois, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Illinois Arts Council, and private foundations.
Leadership giving
Become a Season Partner.
Ballet 5:8 is seeking 5 Season Partners willing to invest $10,000 each season to undergird mission-critical artistic work.
$10,000 Season Partner gifts help undergird live music with IPO, national touring, artist employment, production infrastructure, and the development of new work.
Ways to give
Choose the giving path that fits you best.
Every gift helps sustain the Ballet 5:8 ecosystem. Some donors give online. Others give monthly, recommend a grant, donate stock, or underwrite a season priority.
Give Online
Make a secure one-time gift today and help sustain Ballet 5:8's mission.
Give nowGive Monthly
Monthly giving provides steady, reliable support that helps Ballet 5:8 plan with confidence.
Start a monthly giftSeason Partner
Make a $10,000 leadership gift to help undergird live music, touring, artists, and production.
Become a Season PartnerStock and Assets
Give stock or appreciated assets as a strategic way to support Ballet 5:8.
View stock gift detailsDonor-Advised Fund
Recommend a grant to Ballet 5:8 through your donor-advised fund.
DAF giving detailsIRA Gifts
Eligible donors may be able to make a qualified charitable distribution directly from an IRA.
IRA giving detailsPartners and Grants
Businesses, foundations, and grantmakers can support performances, touring, education, outreach, and scholarships.
Start a conversationMatching and In-Kind
Employer matches and approved in-kind gifts may help offset specific production, touring, facility, or event needs.
Learn moreGive today
Your generosity keeps the mission moving.
Help artists work, students grow, audiences encounter beauty, and communities experience stories that spark meaningful conversation.
Looking ahead
Building for the next generation.
Annual giving keeps Ballet 5:8 moving today. Visionary giving will help secure the future: long-term artistic sustainability, a permanent home, and the capacity to serve more students, artists, and communities for years to come.
Endowment Fund
Future endowment giving will help provide long-term stability for artists, students, scholarships, new works, and mission-driven programming.
Discuss endowment givingA Permanent Home
Ballet 5:8 is preparing for the future need of a building that can support training, rehearsal, production, community gathering, and organizational growth.
Learn about the missionFuture Capital Campaign
As planning develops, Ballet 5:8 will invite lead partners to help make a future capital campaign possible.
Start a conversationExplore the ecosystem
See the work your gift sustains.
Giving supports the full life of Ballet 5:8: performances, education, artists, students, and the mission behind the work.
Attend a Performance
Explore upcoming performances and see the stories unfolding on stage.
Learn About Ballet 5:8
Read more about the mission, vision, and professional company your generosity supports.
Discover the School
See how Ballet 5:8 trains students with excellence, care, discipline, and purpose.
Donor clarity
Questions donors often ask.
Clear answers help our community understand why fundraising is essential to Ballet 5:8's nonprofit model.
Why do performances need donations if people buy tickets?
Ticket sales are a vital part of the model, but they cover only part of the full cost of the mission. A performance depends on year-round artistic labor, rehearsal space, production design, music, technical support, touring logistics, marketing, administration, education programs, scholarships, and audience development. Giving bridges the gap between what tickets can cover and what the mission truly requires.
What does a donation support?
Donations support the whole Ballet 5:8 ecosystem: professional artists, students, scholarships, performances, outreach, live music, national touring, new choreography, production infrastructure, and the administrative capacity that keeps the work sustainable.
Can I give stock, through a donor-advised fund, or from an IRA?
Yes. Ballet 5:8 welcomes strategic gifts such as stock, appreciated assets, donor-advised fund grants, IRA gifts, matching gifts, and planned gifts. Visit the Ways to Give page for next steps and contact information.
Is my gift tax-deductible?
Ballet 5:8 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please consult your financial or tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation.
Thank you for sustaining the work
Your gift sustains more than a performance.
A gift to Ballet 5:8 helps artists work, students grow, audiences encounter beauty, and communities experience stories that spark meaningful conversation.