Dance/NYC Announces Final Application Round for Dance Workforce Resilience Fund
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Dance/NYC Announces Final Application Round for Dance Workforce Resilience Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2026
Dance/NYC Announces Final Application Round for Dance Workforce Resilience Fund
Applications Open Until March 3, 2026
New York, NY – Dance/NYC announces the final application round of grants through its Dance Workforce Resilience (DWR) Fund, a pilot designed to promote fair labor practices, support contracted freelance dance work, and reduce wage inequities across New York City’s dance sector. Applications are open until March 3, 2026. To apply, visit Dance.NYC/DWRFund.
Launched in June 2025, the DWR Fund offers one-time $1,000 grants to freelance dancers working in the NYC metropolitan area for eligible, contracted dance work completed between January 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. Grantees are selected through a monthly weighted lottery designed to prioritize individuals from groups historically underpaid or excluded from traditional funding opportunities. To date, 59% of grantees are of African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) identity; 25% are immigrants; 63% are LGBTQIA+; and 23% are dancers age40 and above.
Supported by the Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, and other generous funders, the DWR Fund is a core component of Dance/NYC’s multi-year Dance. Workforce. Resilience. (DWR) Initiative, which advances economic sustainability for dance workers and organizations. The Fund is administered by Dance/NYC in collaboration with consultants F. Javier Torres-Campos and Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq., utilizing guidance from an advisory group of dance workers with experience in grantmaking and arts labor advocacy. The DWR Fund will distribute $324,000 over the grant period to 320+ awardees for contracted dance work.
“The DWR Fund was created in response to what freelance dance workers across our region share with us every day—that artistry alone is not enough to sustain a life in dance,” says Raquel Du Toit, Executive Director of Dance/NYC. “This fund honors labor with tangible support, and affirms that contracted, fairly paid work matters. As we enter this final round, we invite the field to lean in. When we invest directly in dance workers—especially those too often under-resourced—we strengthen the entire ecology.”
“Receiving the DWR Fund grant comes at a timely moment where the reality of funding dance competes with the cost of living,” shares Lu Yim, a DWR Fund grantee. “This award softens the blow, and is exemplary in what organizations and institutions can do for our communities at this time.”
With the pilot nearing completion, March 3, 2026 marks the final opportunity for eligible dancers to apply for support through the DWR Fund.
Dance/NYC offers a range of application support services to ensure accessibility and ease of participation. These include:
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One-on-one technical and legal assistance sessions with Spanish and Chinese translation and ASL interpretation available upon request
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Support webinars with recordings available on Dance/NYC’s YouTube channel
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A downloadable application guide
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Sample contracts and contract request templates
For more information about eligibility, upcoming due dates, and support services, visit Dance.NYC/DWRFund.
About Dance/NYC:
Dance/NYC champions the New York City metropolitan area dance sector by fostering a more just, equitable, and inclusive landscape where dance workers and organizations can thrive. Rooted in research, Dance/NYC engages in advocacy, regranting, and knowledge-sharing that works toward establishing dance as a valued form of cultural expression and a common good. Through this work, Dance/NYC strengthens the ecosystem, expands access to resources, and supports the leadership of historically under-resourced communities across the field.
About the New York Community Trust:
The New York Community Trust connects past, present, and future generous New Yorkers with vital nonprofits working to make a healthy, equitable, and thriving community for all. From the creation of the country’s first donor-advised fund to our vital role in the region’s response to the AIDS crisis, September 11th, and COVID-19, The Trust has always been a pioneer, innovator, and leader in offering donors effective ways to empower and champion nonprofits.
About the Ford Foundation:
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization with assets currently valued at $16 billion. For more than 85 years, it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
About F. Javier Torres-Campos:
F. Javier Torres-Campos is a seasoned philanthropic leader committed to liberated and self-determined futures for all people. Professionally, Javier is the co-founder of Liberation Partners Co-Op and deploys his more than 20 years of experience as an independent consultant providing interim leadership, philanthropic and executive advising, board development, fundraising consulting, curriculum and program design, and cultural audits for organizations to align their governance, operations, programs, and policies with their values. His work centers on a just transition of our culture centering deep investment in care for people and community while investing in imagination, world-building, prototyping, and power-building. Javier is also the co-founder and co-chair overseeing Strategic Partnerships for Twenty43 Ventures, a pilot impact investing vehicle for commercial-scale BIPOC film and theater working to illustrate market viability and increase ownership, control, and wealth-building opportunities for creators.
About Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq.:
Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq. is an award-winning attorney, founder, CEO, and advisor who founded J.A. Williams Law P.C. in 2012 to provide entrepreneurs, public figures, companies, brands, nonprofits, and thought leaders with ways to successfully maximize their careers, secure their companies/organizations, and provide assistance with business, and intellectual property matters.
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Media Contact:
Michelle Tabnick, (646) 765-4773, michelle@michelletabnickpr.com
