Sponsor Story: The Hal Jackman Foundation
2020 brought extraordinary challenges to the Toronto arts sector. Thousands of performances came to a standstill due to COVID-19. Many arts organizations were forced to turn their lights off, leading to unprecedented depleted earned revenue. Recognizing the devastating impact the pandemic is having on our arts sector, the Hal Jackman Foundation stepped up with swift action.
With an outstanding $1 million donation from the Hal Jackman Foundation, eighty arts organizations were aided in May 2020 to offset lost revenue, stabilize operations, and respond to emerging needs. This donation demonstrated true leadership and made a real difference on organizations across Toronto.
"The pandemic has given those in a position to help the opportunity to band together and to have an even greater impact. By collaborating with the Toronto Arts Foundation, we were able to expedite the grant making process and distribute funding to 80 arts organizations across the city when it was most urgently needed." said Victoria Jackman, Executive Director, Hal Jackman Foundation.
The Hal Jackman Foundation chose to allocate their grant to help small and mid size arts organizations that do not have the working capital, endowment funds or large donor bases to sustain them during a crisis. Toronto Arts Foundation was grateful to provide help by administering the crucial donation to the selected eighty organizations.
The Hal Jackman Foundation supports a range of philanthropic activities in line with the family’s long-standing commitment to education and the arts. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $50 million to over 250 charitable organizations in Toronto.
"We know that investment is essential to ensure that Torontonians have strong arts programming to return to after this crisis" said Victoria Jackman, Executive Director, Hal Jackman Foundation. "I hope that other Foundations and individuals will reach out to the Toronto Arts Foundation to see how they can work together to support our artists and the vibrant cultural infrastructure of our city."
Since Toronto has one of the most diverse arts sectors in the world, it is critical that it continues to thrive. We encourage other arts champions to reach out to us to discover how they can make an impact with a contribution to Toronto’s artists and arts organizations. We are stronger together.