Virginia · Nonprofit
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER (Virginia) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,021,569 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($236,330). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 65% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.8M
- Funders on record
- 27
- Grants received
- $1.0M
- Net assets
- $485k
What American Shakespeare Center does
Mission
The American Shakespeare Center advances understanding, imagination, and community by illuminating shakespeare through performance, research, and education in the blackfriars playhouse and beyond.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program and a significant change in how it conducts a program.
Asc launched one new program during the year: the asc book club, a recurring text-based learning program for adult participants that supports community discussion.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Asc refined several education programs to align with organizational capacity and participant needs. Adjustments included changes to summer camp structure and expanded use of on-site educational delivery to improve participant experience and instructional consistency.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Artistic innovationasc produces classical and contemporary works in rotating repertory, using original staging practices including shared light and direct audience engagement to create accessible and historically informed performances. Productions take place in the blackfriars playhouse, the world's first re-creation of shakespeare's indoor theatre. During the year, asc presented 305 performances and expanded artist development through mentorship and directing opportunities. Asc also piloted a new children's adaptation of the winter's tale titled sorry, most sorry, which welcomed more than 200 families, including children as young as three, into the playhouse. Additional detail is provided on schedule o.asc expanded professional development pathways through mentorship, understudy training, and the artist development initiative, which provided directing opportunities for veteran artists and early career directors. Asc piloted a new children's adaptation of the winter's tale titled sorry, most, sorry. This performance introduced young audiences to shakespeare through age-appropriate storytelling and interactive performance and welcomed more than 200 families into the playhouse.…
$2,803,683 spent$2,575,972 earned by the program90% of program spendingEmpowering educationasc provides education programs for learners of all ages through student matinees, workshops, summer theatre camps, drama clubs, and community learning programs. This year, asc welcomed more than 7,600 students to matinee performances. Many of these students were experiencing live theatre for the first time. Asc awarded more than $15,000 in camp scholarships. New offerings included the asc drama club, the asc book club, and the no kidding adult learning program. Asl interpreted performances increased access for students from the virginia school for the deaf and the blind and other community members. Additional detail is provided on schedule o.asc theatre camp students completed performance-based study of shakespeare's history plays henry vi parts I through iii and richard iii. Students developed communication, collaboration, and leadership skills through ensemble work. Participants in the no kidding adult program explored classical performance techniques through scene study. These programs extend asc's commitment to lifelong learning for participants of all ages.
$278,962 spent$274,762 earned by the program9% of program spendingBuilding community and fostering accessibilityasc expanded accessibility through community partnerships, flexible pricing, and initiatives designed to reduce barriers to live performance. The library culture pass provided 177 residents with free admission. Asc offered pay what you will events, veterans discounts, and asl interpreted performances. Asc also introduced an asl interpreter training initiative that provided rehearsal access and practical training for developing interpreters. The organization welcomed more than 19,700 first-time visitors during the year and strengthened regional engagement. Additional detail is provided on schedule o.asc served more than 7,600 students through student matinee programming and offered complimentary tickets through community partners to increase access for local families and schools. The asl interpreter training initiative provided training opportunities for developing interpreters within the rehearsal process. Expanded community access initiatives included asl interpreted productions, intergenerational workshops, adoptable dog events, and the library culture pass. These efforts supported asc's goal of reducing social, financial, and…
$23,356 spent$21,156 earned by the program1% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,106,001.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $3.9M to $2.6M (−32%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 2% · 2018 2% · 2019 3% · 2020 3% · 2021 63% · 2022 29% · 2025 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
24% of AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Vanessa Morosco
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $65k → $76k.
9 of 27 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 65% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
73% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 22% · 2018 31% · 2019 34% · 2020 27% · 2021 37% · 2022 42% · 2023 26% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
56% of AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
65% of AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $356k that is directly attributable, 83% of it comes from funders outside Virginia, across 11 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $666k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $1.0M to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $20k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$20k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
95%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER?
- AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER (Virginia) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,021,569 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($236,330). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 65% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 27 organizations giving $1,021,569 in grants to AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $236,330 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds American Shakespeare Center →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 27 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing