Make an Impact

Great theatre starts with you. Individual donations allow Cygnet Theatre to produce bold performances, sustain daily operations, cover overhead costs, support ongoing educational and community impact programs, and so much more. Every gift, big or small, makes a lasting impact—thank you for being a part of our story.

To make an individual donation, click here.

Help ensure the future vitality of Cygnet Theatre by including us in your estate plan. You can provide a simple bequest through your will or name Cygnet as a beneficiary of an Annuity* or a Charitable Remainder Trust. Your gift for the future will enhance the long-term stability of Cygnet Theatre.

Depending on your specific situation, making a planned gift can have tax advantages for your estate. We recommend that you consult with your attorney or financial advisor to find a solution that accommodates your needs and assures that your wishes are fulfilled.

Do you have capital invested in the stock market? Did you know that if you make a gift of appreciated stock to Cygnet, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that you will pay no tax on the appreciated value? Of course, Cygnet gets the full value, so your contribution is recognized at that level. This means that you can avoid capital gains tax while providing funds to support our programs. It is our policy to sell stock immediately upon receipt.

Like cash donations, stock or IRA gifts can be used for general support or directed toward a specific program.

Via Charles Schwab
Account Name: Cygnet Theatre
Account Number: 6246-4876
DTC Number (Clearing Number): 0164
Organization Address: 2880 Roosevelt Road, San Diego, CA 92106

Many San Diego companies offer Matching Gift Programs to encourage charitable giving by their employees. Through these programs, your donation to Cygnet Theatre can be doubled—or even tripled—at no extra cost to you! Not only does your contribution go further, but it also helps Cygnet build relationships with businesses that value giving back to the community, creating opportunities for even greater support.

Check with your employer today to see if your donation qualifies for a matching gift!

Cygnet Theatre accepts in-kind donations for use on-stage, behind the scenes, in our administrative offices, or as auction items. Goods, services, products and equipment will help us continue to produce high-quality theatre.

If you have pre-1980s clothing, hats or furniture, in good condition, we’d love to hear from you. Other unique items can be of great value as props. Please understand that Cygnet’s storage space is quite limited, so we may not be able to accept all donations.

New items and services can also be contributed as auction items to raise funds for the theatre. We accept items like vintage wines, personal care services, restaurant certificates, hotel stays, museum passes, etc. for auction at our Annual Gala.

By contributing to Cygnet Theatre’s Endowment Fund, you help ensure the long-term vitality and financial stability of our theater. Endowment gifts are essential to maintaining Cygnet’s artistic independence and innovation. With a strong financial foundation, our artists are free to produce challenging, thought-provoking work.

When you invest in Cygnet, you’re investing in the future of theatre and creating a lasting legacy for generations to come.

For more information or to make an endowment gift, click here or contact Development Director Marinda Peugh at 619-574-0059 ext. 121.

The San Diego Foundation and The Jewish Community Foundation offer Charitable Gift Annuities for many nonprofits in San Diego. We are happy to provide contact information if you are interested.

Named Endowment Funds
The following endowment funds honor individuals and organizations whose generosity has made a lasting impact on Cygnet Theatre:

• The Joseph Clayes III Charitable Trust. This trust supports the performing arts, museums, and other cultural organizations, as well as programs for physically and mentally challenged young people in San Diego County, Orange County, and Coachella Valley.

Due to our exciting transition to a permanent home in the Arts District Liberty Station, we’ve made the decision to pause our annual gala. We’re fully dedicating ourselves to ensuring a smooth transition. We look forward to celebrating with you at future galas once we’re settled in our new location. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

For more information please contact Marinda Peugh at Marinda@CygnetTheatre.org or call 619-574-0059 x121

We love our artists, and we think you do, too. Our actors, designers and directors combined have won more than 130 awards for artistic excellence. Cygnet has made a commitment to appropriately compensate these talented individuals, and for that, we need your help. Consider sponsoring an actor, designer, director or a full cast today!

• Actors are often the most captivating aspect of any performance. For a few hours each night they portray characters who make us laugh and cry, and examine ourselves and the world around us. But most of us don’t think about the hours upon hours of rehearsal time spent to create these characters, to make them real. By supporting an Actor, you are helping Cygnet bring these wonderful storytellers to our stage.
• Designers work behind-the-scenes bringing to life fantastic sets, costumes, lighting, sound, and more. In collaboration with the director and other designers, they help establish the tone and style of a production. Designers must be creative, as well as practical about what works best to serve the production and the vision of the director. Whether a design dazzles or perfectly blends in, the process takes time, thought, and expertise. By supporting a Designer, you are helping us maintain the high production value that you’ve come to expect on the Cygnet stage.
• Directors are the artistic visionary of each production. The Director works tirelessly to interpret the script, make artistic choices, and lead the rest of the team toward a cohesive product. By supporting a Director, you are helping us create fresh, unique, and relevant theatrical works of art.
• Cast: Most productions have more than one actor, and these actors must diligently collaborate to create believable character interactions and relationships. By supporting a Cast, you are helping Cygnet bring an entire group of carefully selected talented actors to the stage.

For more information, or to become an Artist Advocate, please contact Emma Bradford at EBradford@CygnetTheatre.org or call 619-574-0059 x117

Our Producer’s Circle is comprised of generous donors who support the theatre with annual gifts of $5,000 or more. These donations can be directed toward specific productions, education and outreach programs, special projects or to cover general operating expenses.

• Associate Producer: Each production at Cygnet requires countless hours of work by many devoted artists. In addition to paying these talented people, there are costs for supplies and equipment, marketing and program printing and upkeep of the theatre and rehearsal hall. As an Associate Producer, you help defray these costs and allow us to provide high quality productions to the community.
• Technical or Orchestra Sponsor: As a Technical or Orchestra sponsor for a production you provide vital funding to purchase various behind the scenes technical equipment from lighting grids to microphones. Your generosity also allows us to hire the backstage staff necessary for the show to run smoothly, night after night. At Cygnet we hire a live Orchestra for each of our musicals and although the musicians may not be visible to the audience, they play a critical role in creating a complete and exciting musical experience for our audience. Musicians begin rehearsals several weeks before they actually start working with the actors. They then provide the score for subsequent rehearsals and the run of the production. By sponsoring the Orchestra, you help us hire top-quality professional musicians that are among San Diego’s finest.
• Major Production Sponsor: As a Production Sponsor you help underwrite the costs of producing a show. From keeping the lights on in the theatre to renting the rehearsal hall; from paying actors and designers to printing the programs and marketing materials; from paying box office staff to purchasing props and costumes, your support is like rain on a garden, allowing all aspects of the production to come to fruition.
• Lead Production Sponsor: As a Lead Production Sponsor, your generous support plays a crucial role in bringing a play to life. Your funding helps cover essential expenses like keeping the lights on and the theatre warm. It ensures that directors, stage managers, and crew members are paid a meaningful wage for their expertise and hard work. Your contribution also supports the creation of stunning set designs, intricate costumes, and essential props that bring the story to the stage.
• Season Sponsor: Each season, Cygnet produces at least six main stage productions and performs to more than 45,000 patrons. Presenting a year-round season of classics, musicals, and off-Broadway style shows, Cygnet has garnered over 130 awards in 15 years. By becoming a Season Sponsor, you give Cygnet the freedom to continue to present a wide variety of high-quality, daring and diverse programming at an affordable price.

For more information please contact Marinda Peugh at Marinda@CygnetTheatre.org or call 619-574-0059 x121

Our Leadership Circle is comprised of generous donors who support the theatre with annual gifts of $100,000 or more. These donations can be directed toward specific productions, education and outreach programs, special projects or to cover general operating expenses.

A contribution to our General Fund allows Cygnet the flexibility to direct monies where they are most needed.  Whether your gift is used to pay for dry cleaning costumes or paying box office staff, for buying lumber to build the sets or ensuring that the lights stay on, your generosity will have an impact on all that we do.

For more information please contact Marinda Peugh at Marinda@CygnetTheatre.org or call 619-574-0059 x121

Cygnet Theatre is proud to be a Blue Star Theatre offering discounted tickets for U.S. military personnel, veterans, their spouses and children to any Cygnet season production.

Help us bring the joy of theatre to these heroes by making a gift to Cygnet Serves today!

• Tickets For Troops: Every $50 donation we receive to our Tickets for Troops program allows one military personnel, veteran, spouse or child to come to a Cygnet production for FREE! Tickets are distributed by our military community partners.
• Arts Engagement: Founded with support from the James Irvine Foundation Exploring Engagement grant, Cygnet Serves provides  arts engagement opportunities for active military, veterans and families. Customized workshops and performances engage this important audience in authentic communication and creative expression, in a program designed to startle the soul and ignite debate with the same passion that drives our mission here at Cygnet.

Why is arts engagement important? It improves students’ reading and communication skills, test scores, and attendance. It teaches students to exercise their imaginations while developing critical thinking, cooperation, and self-esteem.

Young people are the future of the theatre. From the audiences of tomorrow to the actors in a play that has yet to be written, from the director of the next Broadway-bound hit to the designer of its set, getting youth interested and engaged is critical to the long term health of live theatre.

At Cygnet, we have a number of programs designed and proven to do just that, and we need your help to sustain them.

• From the Page to the Stage: A FREE educational program is a fun and engaging 45-minute presentation designed to inspire a love of reading in both children and adults through the magic and joy of live theatre.
• Donald C. & Elizabeth Dickinson Foundation Scholarships: Cygnet Theatre is proud to award a $2,500 one-time scholarship to four local San Diego high school seniors prepared to continue training in theatre programs nationwide.
• Free In-School Workshops: Cygnet brings in-school workshops to San Diego County students to compliment the free student matinees. The workshops expose students to theatre topics like acting, playwriting, literature and history. The curriculum meets multiple San Diego Unified Visual and Performing Arts and California Common Core standards and inspires students to see things differently.
• Free Student Matinees: Cygnet offers free student matinees for select MainStage productions. Cygnet creates study guides for students and teachers to compliment the matinee experience. Post-show forums with actors and Cygnet’s dramaturg help further the students’ understanding of each production. For many of the students, this is their first time attending a live theatre performance, and based on student comments, a large number of them love the experience so much that they plan to return. The majority of students come from underserved communities. Consider sponsoring a matinee for $5,000, or a bus to bring students to the theatre for $300. Tickets for students can be underwritten with as little as $200 for 10 students.
• Student Tickets: The cost of attending live theatre can be a barrier for some, especially young people. To help alleviate this issue, Cygnet heavily discounts the cost of tickets for students, to as low as $15 for groups or TIER1 pricing for individual students at the door. Each year, Cygnet provides a savings of more than $30,000 from regular ticket prices for students. Consider subsidizing the true cost of these discounted tickets with a gift of any size.
• Emerging Artists: Educating the artists that will engage future audiences is important work, and Cygnet provides both educational and professional opportunities for young artists. Cygnet partners with San Diego State University through the Jeffrey & Sheila Lipinsky SDSU Fellowship program to provide opportunities for graduate students to learn about lighting, sound, costume and set design under Artistic Director Sean Murray and working alongside other design professionals. For most students, this program provides their first professional design credit. Several students who participated in this program have since become regular designers at Cygnet after graduation. Others have found opportunities at theatres across the country, and still others have gone on to work in film and television. Cygnet provides professional performance opportunities for students and recent graduates of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. A paid, professional job early in their career with an established, award-winning theatre company, gives these individuals experience, establishes their resume and makes it easier for them to find paid parts elsewhere. A gift to support Emerging Artists provides design stipends, actor salaries, transportation, and housing.
• Pre-Professional Programs And Career Technical Education (CTE) Partnerships: Cygnet’s Pre-Professional programs are eight-week residencies of industry-standard instruction through an apprentice process that supports high school productions. This dynamic program provides essential work-based learning, which fulfills requirements for most CTE high school district departments.
• Cygnet Artists In The Schools: Cygnet’s Artists in the Schools programs provide professional teaching artists in classrooms and after school for performing arts residencies of four, six, and eight weeks. Designed to engage and inspire, the program incorporates artists from specific disciplines to lead students through a unit tailored to support in-class instruction or an exploration and discovery process. The program provides students with guidance and modeling in rehearsal and performance, culminating in a final presentation that showcases their growth and creativity. A designated space is required for this program. All content is customized for the population it serves.

Help us bring the joy of theatre to these heroes by making a gift to Cygnet Serves today! With an honorary or memorial gift you can:

• Remember someone special
  (Example – “In Memory of My Mom, Carol”)
• Celebrate a birthday, anniversary or milestone
  (Example – “In Honor of Frank’s 50th”)
• Observe an achievement
  (Example – “Congratulations Henry on Graduating from SDSU”)

Honorees or families of those you have remembered will be notified of your gift. Below are the Honor & Memorial Giving Options and Benefits that we provide:

• Gifts of $250 or more
  Published in the Cygnet Program for one year.
  Appear in the lobby for one year
• Gifts of $1,000 or more
  Published in the Cygnet Program for one year.
  Appear in the lobby for one year
  You can sponsor a seat and have a plaque engraved with the tribute of your choice.
• Significant Gifts
  If you would like to make a significant gift to permanently memorialize a loved one, please contact Marinda Peugh at 619-574-0059 x121.

Achieve your philanthropic mission and reach your target demographics while supporting Cygnet Theatre’s award-winning, innovative artistic and engagement programs. Cygnet partners with corporations and foundations throughout San Diego County and has a wide range of benefit packages available that include unique entertainment opportunities, networking with high profile Cygnet supporters, and co-branding your business in front of our 50,000 annual patrons. We would be happy to work with your company to create a benefit package that best suits the needs of your business.

Whether your goal is recognition as a philanthropic business, marketing and branding opportunities, providing employee volunteer opportunities, or offering your employees or clients a memorable theatrical experience, Cygnet Theatre values your support and the impact it has on the artistic and cultural landscape of San Diego.

Ways to become a corporate sponsor:

• Monetary contributions for general operations or directed toward a specific program.
• Production sponsorship.
• In-kind donations of goods or services.
• Corporate matching of employee contributions.

Depending on your level of support, we offer additional benefits to our corporate sponsors:

• Prominent association with Cygnet Theatre.
• Inclusion in advertising and marketing campaign and public relations efforts (print & web).
• Access to an educated, loyal, diverse and professional audience through product display opportunities.
• On-site acknowledgement including Opening Night VIP tickets.
• Complimentary tickets to Cygnet’s season, tickets for client entertainment and employee discounts.

For more information on corporate opportunities or to become a corporate sponsor, please contact Marinda Peugh at 619-574-0059 x121 or marinda@cygnettheatre.org.