Dance Base Emergency Crowdfunder
Tax deductible
Dance Base needs you
Dance Base is Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. We are a charity that encourages people from every corner of the community to get dancing.
Why we are Crowdfunding
Like so many charities, we are facing incredibly challenging times. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures, our studios have been closed to the public since March 2020, and we estimate we could lose up to 80% of our public class income this year – a loss of approximately £300,000. Whilst we have worked hard to reduce expenditure, we still face considerable operating costs to maintain our facilities and support our highly experienced staff.
Our perilous financial situation means that our important outreach work with communities in Edinburgh and across Scotland is in danger at a point when people need it most. You can help us to bring the joy of dance to people in Scotland and allow this work to continue.
“Honestly, I would encourage everyone around me to get involved in Dance Base’s projects in the future.”
(Youth Exchange participant, 2019)
What we have achieved during closure
We haven’t been defeated. During lockdown, we moved our dance classes online and from April –to August we offered 275 completely free classes with nearly 6,000 attendances. More recently we have started to offer paid online courses in five-week blocks, offering the chance for progression. We have continued to deliver our Dance for Parkinson’s Scotland classes and social cafés online, together with Scottish Ballet, as well as creating new digital offerings for families with young children and older adults in care settings. We have also worked hard to support freelance artists and the dance community, many of whom lost all of their work overnight. We honoured their contracts with us and are providing new opportunities like rehearsal space and commissions.
We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the UK Government’s furloughing scheme and our individual donors. We were recently successful in an application to the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund, allowing us to bring designated support to professional dance artists and choreographers. Unfortunately, this has rendered us ineligible for any other Scottish Government relief funding for the rest of the organisation and our work with the public.
The harsh reality now is that we are having to divert all of our remaining resources into the survival of the organisation, and this will mean we are unable to continue our programme of community classes and outreach work. This includes projects with schools and hospitals, older people, dancers with disabilities, LGBTQI+ young people, young people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people from refugee backgrounds.
How you can help
We are asking for your help to raise £25,000 to ensure the survival of the organisation and to continue our incredible community outreach work.
What your donations could support:
£30 – A free online dance course for an NHS worker.
£50 – A dance class for a person living with dementia in their own home.
£100 – A dance workshop for a class of children with disabilities in their school.
£250 – A person living with Parkinson’s to join classes at Dance Base for a whole year.
£500 – 1-year bursary for a young person in our Youth Dance Company.
We understand that these are difficult times for everyone and that many very worthy causes will be reaching out to you at the moment, and we really appreciate any support that you can give.
Please help us to ensure Dance Base’s survival by making a donation of any size today.
If you feel unable to donate, you can still help Dance Base by sharing this campaign on social media, it makes a real difference.
#LoveDanceBase
https://www.dancebase.co.uk
Dance Base is Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. We are a charity that encourages people from every corner of the community to get dancing.
Why we are Crowdfunding
Like so many charities, we are facing incredibly challenging times. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures, our studios have been closed to the public since March 2020, and we estimate we could lose up to 80% of our public class income this year – a loss of approximately £300,000. Whilst we have worked hard to reduce expenditure, we still face considerable operating costs to maintain our facilities and support our highly experienced staff.
Our perilous financial situation means that our important outreach work with communities in Edinburgh and across Scotland is in danger at a point when people need it most. You can help us to bring the joy of dance to people in Scotland and allow this work to continue.
“Honestly, I would encourage everyone around me to get involved in Dance Base’s projects in the future.”
(Youth Exchange participant, 2019)
What we have achieved during closure
We haven’t been defeated. During lockdown, we moved our dance classes online and from April –to August we offered 275 completely free classes with nearly 6,000 attendances. More recently we have started to offer paid online courses in five-week blocks, offering the chance for progression. We have continued to deliver our Dance for Parkinson’s Scotland classes and social cafés online, together with Scottish Ballet, as well as creating new digital offerings for families with young children and older adults in care settings. We have also worked hard to support freelance artists and the dance community, many of whom lost all of their work overnight. We honoured their contracts with us and are providing new opportunities like rehearsal space and commissions.
We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the UK Government’s furloughing scheme and our individual donors. We were recently successful in an application to the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund, allowing us to bring designated support to professional dance artists and choreographers. Unfortunately, this has rendered us ineligible for any other Scottish Government relief funding for the rest of the organisation and our work with the public.
The harsh reality now is that we are having to divert all of our remaining resources into the survival of the organisation, and this will mean we are unable to continue our programme of community classes and outreach work. This includes projects with schools and hospitals, older people, dancers with disabilities, LGBTQI+ young people, young people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people from refugee backgrounds.
How you can help
We are asking for your help to raise £25,000 to ensure the survival of the organisation and to continue our incredible community outreach work.
What your donations could support:
£30 – A free online dance course for an NHS worker.
£50 – A dance class for a person living with dementia in their own home.
£100 – A dance workshop for a class of children with disabilities in their school.
£250 – A person living with Parkinson’s to join classes at Dance Base for a whole year.
£500 – 1-year bursary for a young person in our Youth Dance Company.
We understand that these are difficult times for everyone and that many very worthy causes will be reaching out to you at the moment, and we really appreciate any support that you can give.
Please help us to ensure Dance Base’s survival by making a donation of any size today.
If you feel unable to donate, you can still help Dance Base by sharing this campaign on social media, it makes a real difference.
#LoveDanceBase
https://www.dancebase.co.uk
Organizer
Emma Louise Smith
Organizer
Dance Base
Registered nonprofit
Donations eligible for Gift Aid.
