Virginia · Nonprofit
The Byrd Theatre Foundation
The Byrd Theatre Foundation (Virginia) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,908,839 to it, the largest being THE PAULEY FAMILY FOUNDATION ($375,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.6M
- Funders on record
- 28
- Grants received
- $1.9M
- Net assets
- $1.6M
What The Byrd Theatre Foundation does
Mission
To preserve the landmark byrd theatre while providing unique experiences for all with a vision to establish the byrd theatre as a premier destination for our visitors to encounter exceptional experiences that engage, educate, motivate, and inspire.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Capacity building for growth:the foundation continues to employ a professional staff to oversee the day-to-day operations of the theatre and has made major strides in capacity building. As of june 30, 2024, the foundation had several full-time employees including an executive director, a general manager, and a director of historic preservation and chief curator, and multiple part-time employees to cover activities ranging from managing the theatre's social media to working front of house and projection positions. The foundation raised and used funds for the replacement of an aged and non-functioning hvac chiller system.
$459,049 spent53% of program spendingRestoration and improvements to the theatre:listed on the state and national registers of historic landmarks, the byrd theatre opened ninety-six years ago on december 24, 1928. It has remained operational and nearly unchanged since the day construction was completed. In 2011, The Byrd Theatre Foundation launched a bold initiative to raise the first $1,800,000 for phase one restoration projects, mortgage reduction and capacity building. Significant achivements included replacement of the roof, replacements of the theatre's heating and cooling systems, installation of a digital server, installation of a new state-of-the-art 4k projector, ongoing maintenance and repairs on the mighty wurlitzer orgran. More recent work has included repair and restoration of the theatre's plasterwork, installation of a point-of-sale system at the theatre, replacemnet of the theatre's center section of seats in the main auditorium, creation of a wheelchair accessible seating area and construction of an ada family restroom on the first floor of the theatre. This past year, the foundation raised the necessary funds and replacaed its hvac chiller unit as well as installing a new building automation system…
$161,306 spent19% of program spendingEvolving the byrd as a center for film, film literacy, and program expansion:the foundation has worked hard to expand its audience reach. To achieve this goal, the foundation has partnered with multiple film festivals as the host venue, including the richmond international film festival and the richmond animation festival. Each film festival brings in hundreds of patrons to the theatre each year. During the past year, the foundation successfully completed a contract with an architectural firm that produced a mechanical, engineering, and plumbing report and a concept and feasibility study, both of which will be used to rehabilitate the theatre. And, finally, the theatre has continued to collaborate with the carytown merchants association to program activities for the community.
$247,179 spent$581,136 earned by the program28% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $867,534.
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 $1.9M to $2.6M (+35%).
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: 2021 17% · 2022 38%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
42% of The Byrd Theatre Foundation’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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
Ben Cronly
Executive Director
Board chair
Martin Davenport
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $110k → $317k.
4 of 28 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 13% 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 The Byrd Theatre Foundation’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
The Byrd Theatre Foundation has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 20% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
34% 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 The Byrd Theatre Foundation.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 55% · 2019 79% · 2020 36% · 2021 39% · 2022 38% · 2023 32% — diversifying over time.
“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
35% of The Byrd Theatre Foundation's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 57% 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
76% of The Byrd Theatre Foundation's grant income comes from Virginia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $257k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
The Byrd Theatre Foundation holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like The Byrd Theatre Foundation
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
65% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
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 The Byrd Theatre Foundation: 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 The Byrd Theatre Foundation?
- The Byrd Theatre Foundation (Virginia) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,908,839 to it, the largest being THE PAULEY FAMILY FOUNDATION ($375,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does The Byrd Theatre Foundation have?
- IRS filings report 28 organizations giving $1,908,839 in grants to The Byrd Theatre Foundation, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Byrd Theatre Foundation?
- THE PAULEY FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $375,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Byrd Theatre Foundation 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 Byrd Theatre →
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 28 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