A new initiative in New York City will hand out $ 324,000 to freelance dancers who have difficulty making ends meet.
Inspired by guaranteed income programs, the Dance Workforce Resilience (DWR) Fund will provide $ 1,000 subsidies without signs associated with more than 320 dancers.
The Non -Profit Dance Advocacy Group Dance/NYC, which has announced the initiative, says that the financing for the subsidies comes from the Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust and other donors.
Subsidies are granted through a weighted lottery system that prioritizes underpaid and unprotected groups of dance workers. Awoudees must have contracted the dance work that was completed between January 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026.
Says Sara Roer, interim executive director of Dance/NYC,
“Inspired by guaranteed income programs and by peer-guided wage subsidy efforts, the pilot of DWR Fund is an important intervention to confront the economic inequalities that the dance industry has long defined. By linking support to contracts, we not only put money in the hands of dancers.
According to a Dance/NYC research report from 2023, Dans is financially not sustainable for most employees, because they earn an average of $ 22 per hour, 15% under the Living Wage Standard of NYC. The report also showed that 44% of dancers adopt jobs without formal contracts, which contributes to their economic instability.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from 18 June 2025 to 3 March 2026. Award reports are sent every monthly application round.
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