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Jordan Roth’s Givenik.com Expands Charitable Efforts
Site that marries Broadway and philanthropy increases participating theaters and nonprofits
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Sometimes, giving to charity is as easy as booking a show.
That is, if you book your Broadway and off-Broadway tickets via Givenik.com, a new web site that has a dual mission: encourage people to see theater and, at the same time, contribute to worthwhile charities. Imagine marrying top entertainment with social responsibility—and all just a click away.
Since launching last December, 35 theater organizations have signed on to the new ticketing service, and shows from Altar Boyz to Gypsy are available. Givenik.com encourages ticket sales by linking them directly to a cause, versus, for example, soliciting donations at a curtain call for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Before you make a purchase, the site tells you how much you’ll pay for the ticket, any savings if tickets are discounted and how much money (five percent of the ticket price) will go directly to the selected charity.
Any certified nonprofit organization can sign up to be a part of Givenik.com, thereby developing a new, year-round fund-raising arm.
“It used to be, you’re doing Fiddler on the Roof, you connect to some temples, they buy some tickets, and that’s the end of it,” explained Jujamcyn Theaters’ Jordan Roth, who spearheaded the program, to Variety. “Instead, this is an ongoing relationship.”
Roth, who produced A Catered Affair, Mambo Kings and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has also enlisted an array of theater companies from beyond The Great White Way. Organizations nationwide are participating, from the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, to the Soulstice Theatre in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. New York-area theater organizations benefiting from Givenik.com include the Atlantic Theatre Company, The Vineyard Theatre, City Lights Youth Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club.
The charities are equally varied, covering an array of nonprofits: medical, educational, artistic and religious. At present, more than 150 organizations have joined Givenik.com, representing arts, education and healthcare. Among them are Human Rights Campaign, Central Park Conservancy, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and community PTAs and synagogues.
Simply put, “at Givenik.com,” says Roth, “everybody wins.”
For More Info: www.givenik.com