Leo's First State Ballet Theatre Fundraiser

A fundraiser for First State Ballet Theatre

$1,815 raised from 40 donors

$2,000 goal

I’m Leo McGrath.

I’m fundraising for First State Ballet Theatre.

I have a tremendous amount to be grateful for, First State Ballet Theatre has been my home for coming up on 2 years now. In that time I have had the opportunity to bring this beautiful artform to thousands of audience members across Delaware and hundreds of underprivileged children across the city of Wilmington through outreach programming.

In the past year I have been placed in a position to help develop First State Ballet Theatre's outreach programming to reach even more children, I am ambitious and want every child who is interested in ballet to have access. The arts should not exclude based on financial flexibility and so the programs we provide currently, and in development, strive to include those with reduced access to the best of our ability.

Today, I am asking you to help me in this work and feed my ambitions so that our vision for the future of ballet in Delaware might come to fruition.

Every donation of $5 or more will make First State Ballet Theatre eligible for additional funds through a stretch grant provided by The Delaware Division of the Arts. The stretch grant is a total pool of  $175,000 which is distributed across organizations participating in Do More 24 based on number of individual donors. With just over 10000 individuals donating during Do More 24 across all organizations in 2022 that means every $5 donation could bring up to $17.50 in additional funds for First State Ballet Theatre.

If you are financially able, a donation of whatever you are able would mean the world to me. If you aren't maybe you could share and help this fundraiser find more people who can.

About First State Ballet Theatre

Mission: To present ballet boldly to Delaware To enrich our community with live professional performances To inspire and educate dancers and audiences of the future To connect local youth with a creative, inclusive movement experience

Now in its 22st season, First State Ballet Theatre is Delaware’s only professional ballet company and serves thousands of Delawareans each year through our performances, our school, and our outreach programs. FSBT’s performing artists come from around the world to dance in our mainstage season at The Grand Opera House and other performances statewide. The School of FSBT is Delaware’s leader in classical ballet training and was recently named in the Top 5% of U.S. Ballet Academies by an independent study at Northeastern University. In 2019 FSBT created the National Ballet Competition, which awards thousands of dollars in scholarships for aspiring dancers to prestigious summer programs around the country. FSBT's outreach programs serve thousands of Delawareans with low-cost or free dance instruction and lecture-demos in schools and community centers statewide.