Foundation ATCA

Formed in 1991, Foundation ATCA is a public, not-for-profit, tax-exempt charitable corporation — organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code — that provides financial and other tangible support for scholarships, critics’ institutes, ATCA awards, educational talks and seminars and other eligible programs. All dues-paying members of ATCA are also members of the separate and distinct Foundation.

The Foundation has its own officers and board of directors, overlapping with ATCA’s, who work closely with ATCA to assist critics in their professional development and support the theater community in general. The Foundation has a set goal, not yet achieved, of raising sufficient funds to support its grants and programs from its annual investment income.

The Foundation serves multiple purposes for initiatives related to the work of ATCA in addition to supporting travel-related funding to international and other conferences.

The Foundation receives and then distributes funds for The Harold and Mimi Steinberg / ATCA New Play Award honoring a winner and two citation prizes each year, and for the The Francesca Primus Prize honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female-identifying playwright.

The Foundation entirely supports The M. Elizabeth Osborn Award for playwrights who may have established themselves regionally or in smaller theaters, but have yet to obtain national recognition. The Foundation also distributes Evan Shipley Hook Fund resources earmarked for critic education projects and programs, such as travel support to attend conferences and seminars, grants to conduct research, and scholarships to attend the annual Eugene O’Neill National Critics Institute.

The Foundation funds or partially supports two programs established in 2022 to honor and mentor the work of emerging artists. The Helbing Mentorship Program promotes the voices of young LGBTQIA+ arts writers through scholarship, mentorship, and professional development, and The Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism honors work by U.S. reviewers, critics, and journalists from under-represented groups who write about theater and its role in highlighting people from various cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.