Corporate and Institutional Sponsorship

Why Should Sponsors Donate?

Tax Deductible Donations

Southbank Theatre Company is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3). That means every financial contribution is tax deductible! No matter how big or small, your contribution supports theatre artists and the stories they bring to our audiences. With your help, we will continue to develop a sustainable, creative theatre experience in Indianapolis.

Build Your Legacy

Being an arts sponsor means you are cultivating creativity and beauty in Indianapolis. That’s the sort of legacy we all dream about! Every show we produce has hundreds audience members looking at our sponsor list, reading our programs, and seeing the logos of our sponsors. Audiences pay attention to the corporations and philanthropists whose gifts and contributions make our work possible.  

Corporate Recruitment and Retention

With competition for highly qualified employees at an all-time high, corporations need to find ways to attract and retain the best employees. One way to do that is by making Indianapolis a more desirable place to live – not just with restaurants and sports, but with aesthetic experiences. By supporting Southbank Theatre Company, you are supporting a theatre company for intellectuals whose interest in history, politics, literature, and music aren’t always served in the arts scene in Indianapolis. Want to recruit employees from the east coast, west coast, or Europe? Help build the art scene in Indy so those prospective employees will not only want to relocate to Indianapolis, they’ll want to stay!

Show Support for Diversity

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to us. Supporting Southbank means that you will support a company that is dedicated to bringing the world to our stage and reflecting the society in which we live. Our goal is to desegregate the Indianapolis theatre community and give our cast and crew members appropriate wages for their work. We can only pay cast and crew members if we have financial resources to do so.

Recruit and Retain Artistic Talent

The reason why actors, singers, musicians, and artists leave Indianapolis in droves is because there aren’t enough jobs here for them that allow them to have a basic standard of living without also having a day job. That is not the case in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Sure, the competition is fierce in larger cities, but there are far more well-paid jobs in the arts industries there, too! If we build up the arts and culture sector of the Indianapolis economy, not only will we retain our native talent, but we will recruit from other cities and be able to build an arts scene that rivals any other midwestern city. That will make Indianapolis a better place to live for everyone – artists and business people alike!

 

 

Theatre in this city isn’t just pulled from a box, delivered by Amazon, ready to be put on display. It is the culmination of the work of so many minds constantly awhirl to produce quality entertainment just for YOU.

Kinds of Sponsorship

Sponsor an Actor

We believe in paying theatre artists for the work they do. You can help us pay fair wages by sponsoring an actor! Each actor in a show can be sponsored, no matter what their role.

Show Sponsor

Each show has its own budget with a variety of costs! If you are coming to sponsorship after our season has already begun, no problem! Individual shows can be sponsored, too.

Tech Sponsor

Tech sponsorship can cover anything from microphones to paying for light and sound board operators to set materials, and more! Every show has a scenic designer, a lighting designer, a costume designer, a director, stage manager, and more! If you love costumes, for instance, you can sponsor our costume designer and/or the costume budget. The backstage possibilities are endless! 

Season Sponsorship

When we plan our seasons, we create budgets for each show that feed into our annual budget. Annual costs include renting rehearsal space and production space, costumes, actors, directors, crew members, set materials and construction, along with rights to produce plays. All of those costs add up substantially. With your help, Southbank can provide excellent theatre experiences that celebrate emerging and established artists from all backgrounds.

Contact Marcia Eppich-Harris at marcia@southbanktheatre.org or (650) 787-4115 to sponsor Southbank!

It is instructive to look at such history to see what lessons it can teach us. We can do that here in a small theatre in Indiana and take those lessons to the wider world. This is how change happens. Not all at once, but but by bit until we paint a picture of a better place. Art matters. It is essential in these perilous times.

Sponsorship Levels

We’re happy to work with you on choosing the right level for your company! In addition to the benefits above, major sponsors will receive the following: 

Washington $2,000

  • Southbank merchandise (coffee mug, tote bag, t-shirt, or other)
  • 2 premium tickets with reserved seating of your choice to all shows
  • 1/4 page ad in our printed programs
  • Logo on our website

Keystone $4,000

  • Southbank merchandise (coffee mug, tote bag, t-shirt, or other)
  • 4 premium tickets with reserved seating of your choice to all shows
  • 1/2 page ad in our printed programs
  • Acknowledgement from the stage at performances
  • Logo on our website

Mass Ave $10,000

  • Southbank merchandise (coffee mug, tote bag, t-shirt, or other)
  • 8 premium tickets with reserved seating of your choice to all shows
  • Full-page, full-color ad in our printed programs
  • Acknowledgement from the stage at performances
  • Logo on our website

Meridian $25,000

  • Southbank merchandise (choice of coffee mug, tote bag, t-shirt, or other)
  • 10 premium season tickets with reserved seating of your choice — use them or give them to customers! 
  • Complimentary show streaming (depending on availability)
  • Full-page, full-color ad in our printed programs
  • Acknowledgement from the stage at performances
  • Logo on our website

Monument Circle
$50,000

  • Southbank merchandise (choice of coffee mug, tote bag, t-shirt, or other) 
  • 16 premium season tickets with reserved seating — use them or give them to your customers! 
  • Blog post about your contribution
  • Complimentary show streaming (depending on availability)
  • Double-page, full-color ad in our printed programs
  • Acknowledgement from the stage at performances
  • Logo on our website

Print Sponsorship Rates

Interested in having your company’s sponsorship displayed in our full-color, glossy printed programs? Download our rate sheet here or check it out below. If you’d like to be a named sponsor, scroll down to see our sponsorship levels. 

Rates for print ads for one show start at $150 and go up to $1600. Full season sponsorships start at $425 and up to $4,775. 

Sample Programs

Our full-color, glossy, printed programs always impress our audiences! Get the royal treatment in Southbank’s beautiful keepsake programs, available for every show we produce! 

Proudly Supported By

Let's Make History