Taking Care Fund Has Expanded & Will Continue For as Long as the Need Exists

Theatre Washington’s Taking Care Medical Fund and Covid-19 Expanded Emergency Relief Fund have merged and moving forward, the Fund will provide grants to Washington-area theatre makers facing financial hardship due to medical and personal emergencies.

The Taking Care Medical Fund was established in 2012 to provide financial relief to Washington-area theatre professionals in times of unforeseen medical hardship. When COVID-19 prompted a swift near-shutdown of the theatre industry in March 2020, Theatre Washington’s Taking Care Committee sprang into action, creating a new fund – the Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund – specifically to address the new, unprecedented need and provide microgrants for theater professionals who suddenly found themselves out of work. As the pandemic continued, so did the need, and a committee-led decision was made to provide relief for longer-term expenses like rent coverage, debt relief, and medical care. Over $825,000 in grants has been distributed to theatre professionals over the last two years.

There is now a single fund and a single application for Taking Care. This will simplify the application process for those in need and speed up the approval process to disburse funds. More details for applicants: 

  • Emergencies are events of an unforeseen, unanticipated, catastrophic, or extraordinary nature; normal expenses incurred within the last six months for an applicable emergency; or lack of income incurred within the last six months due to an applicable emergency, including those related to the ongoing pandemic
  • All professional theatre practitioners residing in the Washington, DC-area (including Virginia and Maryland) are eligible to apply
  • Applications are processed on a monthly basis, with deadlines on the 5th of each month
  • Documentation is required for the disbursement of funds, depending on the type of hardship specified in the application
  • Each applicant may be awarded a maximum of $2,500 per application. An individual may reapply as many times per year as they need to, with a calendar-year grant maximum of $5,000 per person


The application is available at: https://theatrewashington.org/taking-care-apply