Chutzpah! Needs Your Help
A letter to our family of supporters and devoted patrons

After nearly 25 years at the forefront of Jewish arts and culture in western Canada, Vancouver’s international performing arts festival, Chutzpah!, faces an urgent financial crisis. And we need your help to keep our stage lights on.

Shifting priorities in government arts funding as well as the impacts of October 7th and the war in Gaza, have created a perfect storm resulting in a dramatic drop in revenue.

How did this happen?

Chutzpah! depends importantly on government grants. Presently, the stagnant pool of arts funding, alongside a growing number of applications, means fierce competition for fewer dollars. In addition, Jewish arts programming officially falls outside of funders' "designated priority groups." Our funders tell us that, this year, only 15-20% of proposals will be approved. We’ve already been declined for several grants that we’ve received historically.

Additionally, last year the Chutzpah! Festival opened within weeks of the Hamas attacks and war in Gaza, within an atmosphere of international tensions and rising anti-Jewish hate that have been felt both globally and locally. In spite of our efforts to ensure the safety of our performers, audience, and staff, ticket sales suffered dramatically. With Jewish arts organizations and events in Vancouver, across Canada, and elsewhere targeted with petitions and protests, the erasure of Jewish language, art, and culture is, once again, a real threat. As a community, we cannot allow this to happen.

This is why we urgently need your support. The challenges we face are serious, but not insurmountable, and Chutzpah! has plans to strategically position the festival for the future.

We’re speaking with new philanthropic foundations, exploring capacity-building needs in the short- and long-term. Increasing our capacity would give us more resources to diversify and grow revenue through grants, audience development plans, sponsorships, private donations, and more.

Led by our campaign co-chairs, Jeffrey Goldberg and Emet Davis, we’ve established a circle of advisors —a few community members who are passionate about the arts, our community, and the Chutzpah! Festival. With their help, we hope to strengthen our base of individual donors and identify prospective program sponsors and partners.

And we’re reaching out directly to our community of patrons and supporters—that’s you!—to share the challenges we’re facing and ask for your support.

Our goal is to raise $60,000 from our loyal donors and patrons by May 31, and there are 5 simple ways you can help!

1. Dig deep: Please contribute to our campaign! You can donate online directly and securely through CanadaHelps (or by cheque to Vancouver West Side Theatre Society).

2. Pay it forward: Help us grow our network of support by sharing this message with your like-minded friends/colleagues. Add a brief note explaining why you support the festival and ask them if they might consider doing the same.

3. Increase your impact: Bonus! If you or your contacts donate before May 31, our campaign co-chair, Emet Davis, will match all gifts up to a maximum of $10,000! Please give generously!

4. Live large: Increase your own impact by offering a formal or informal matching gift challenge within your personal or professional networks. Simply direct friends and colleagues to our donations page, confirm gifts, then issue your matching gift. Let us know if you do this!

5. Be a sponsor: Sponsorships subsidize production and associated costs for festival performances. There’s a range of giving levels and recognition benefits, and we can match existing program plans to sponsors’ artistic interests. View our sponsorship guide and contact Artistic Managing Director Jessica Gutteridge for more information.

We urge you to give in any and every way you can. Together, we can ensure that Chutzpah! continues and flourishes into the future. Many thanks for your generous support!