WACO THEATER CENTER

Programs

1. Waco's most ambitious programmatic undertaking of fy25 was the continued development of still here - a dual-platform creative intervention that exists at the intersection of art, advocacy, and public health. Still here is both a written publication and a live performance experience, and together they form a powerful, unapologetic response to one of the most underreported health crises facing black women today: the rising rate of hiv diagnoses in black communities across the country. The still here magazine was completed for printing during this fiscal year - a landmark achievement representing months of creative labor and community collaboration. The publication features stories commissioned from 32 black women writers, each bringing a distinct voice, perspective, and lived experience to the page. The result is not a clinical health resource. It is a living document - part anthology, part resource guide, part love letter to black women - that meets readers with honesty, dignity, and care. The magazine is designed to reduce stigma, spark conversation, and affirm the lives of women who have too often been rendered invisible in both mainstream media and public health discourse.…

   $1,205,734 spent
   76% of program spending

2. Waco's education program, the angels and warriors mentorship program, is built on a simple but radical belief: every young person deserves to be seen, supported, and equipped to pursue their fullest potential. The program provides comprehensive wrap-around services designed to facilitate personal development and growth for young people from 8th grade through college - meeting them where they are and walking alongside them as they grow. At the core of angels and warriors is the work of helping young people identify their dreams and then building the clarity, discipline, and skill to actually achieve them. This is not a passive program. It is an active, relational investment in the next generation of black artists, leaders, and change-makers. Through mentorship, participants develop not only artistic skills but the confidence and self-awareness to navigate the world on their own terms. The program curriculum is intentionally expansive - extending beyond classroom walls through off-site field trips, hands-on workshops, and meaningful encounters with guest artists. These experiences expose young people to the full breadth of careers available in the arts while fostering a deep…

   $180,198 spent
   11% of program spending

3. As waco deepens its roots in leimert park ahead of our venue transition, our community engagement program this year was anchored by the our vision portrait and archive campaign - an expansive, participatory initiative dedicated to documenting the spirit, faces, and stories of the leimert park community in a permanent, publicly accessible archive. The campaign was built on the conviction that community members are not just the audience for art - they are the art itself. Every portrait, every oral history, every planning conversation was an act of cultural preservation, ensuring that the people who have shaped this neighborhood are seen, honored, and remembered. The results speak to the depth of community trust and participation the campaign generated: 135+ portraits were captured, each one a testament to the presence, beauty, and resilience of leimert park's community members. These are not passive images - they are declarations of existence, gathered with intention and care. 60 mini oral histories were collected through intimate conversations with participants - preserving personal narratives, neighborhood memories, and community wisdom that might otherwise go undocumented. The…

   $111,750 spent
   7% of program spending

4. During this fiscal year, waco made significant investments in organizational infrastructure to ensure that our transition to the vision theatre is not only successful, but sustainable. We recognize that a move of this magnitude requires more than enthusiasm and artistic vision - it requires sound planning, strong governance, diversified financial strategy, and the leadership capacity to steward a complex, multi-program institution at a new level of scale. Becoming the vision is the work of building all of those things at once. To guide this process, waco engaged experienced planning consultants whose expertise spans nonprofit organizational development, arts administration, and institutional capacity building. These partnerships were not transactional. They were deeply collaborative engagements designed to align our organizational structure with the ambition and responsibility of operating a major performing arts complex in one of los angeles' most historically significant cultural corridors. The work this fiscal year centered on three interconnected areas of development: business planning. Waco worked with consultants to develop a comprehensive business plan that charts a clear…

   $88,670 spent
   6% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,586,352.