$1 million of government funding rescinded? Big deal. When your nonprofit arts organization chooses to do the right thing, it’s an equation that works.
If you cast your mind back, I’m sure you’ll remember this column from May 7, 2024: Nonprofit Arts Success: Out of Hand Theater Shakes the Trees of Social Justice. After all, it was only just under 500 days ago and not much has happened since then. I mean, it’s just been a national news snoozefest and your nonprofit arts organization, I’m sure, is doing swimmingly. /s
If you read that May 7 article, you’ll remember that there is one theater, located in Atlanta, Georgia, that was, in fact, succeeding: Out of Hand Theater. Now, because the new HHS head, brain parasite and all, regularly kisses the Big Mac special-sauce covered ring of Donny Dingdong, the only thing masquerading as health care policy now is havoc, conspiracy theory, and predictable, preventable outbreaks (In 2025, there are already over 1,400 confirmed cases of measles — remember when there were 0 cases in the US? Good times.).
There’s rescission and there’s rescission. In March 2025, Out of Hand’s largest contract — a $1 million public health grant from the Georgia Department of Public Health — was abruptly terminated due to sweeping federal budget cuts. This contract funded the Equitable Vaccines (EqVax) program, a statewide initiative designed to increase vaccine confidence and access among rural Black and Hispanic communities through arts-based storytelling, dialogue, and on-site vaccine administration.
The termination resulted in a nearly $300K loss in anticipated revenue and required Out of Hand to immediately suspend the EqVax program and lay off associated program staff.
“We got the letter the night of March 26 from the Georgia Department of Public Health saying our contract had been terminated because the ‘funds are no longer available to satisfy the obligations of the Department under this contract effective March 24, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST,’ meaning the federal government had taken them back.
— Ariel Fristoe, Founder/Artistic Director, Out of Hand Theater
“We had to immediately halt the program and tell the four staff members directly associated with it, because without those funds, we had no way to pay. We gave the two program directors a month to close out the program and complete work they were in the middle of, like publishing the wonderful comic book they produced, and we gave the other two staff members two weeks’ notice, even though we had to pay out of cash reserves for all of that. We then went about trying to help those four staffers get new jobs. We succeeded with one, and another one we hired back onto our staff starting July 1! We were worried we would end our fiscal year with a deficit, which hadn’t happened in 15 years, but we ended on June 30 with a surplus of over $100,000, and have replenished our cash reserves.”
A million dollars. In one f***ing swoop. And now, good people may die of a disease for which there is an effective vaccine, or at the very least, they’ll get very, very sick. Unnecessarily.
You’d think that a $2 million company could not withstand a $1 million bloody scalp haircut, and yet Out of Hand continues to thrive. They may have suspended that program, but not their core beliefs as a company. Their new manifesto doubles down on that.
Just remember as you read — and, if you’re smart, steal from — this manifesto: your nonprofit arts organization can succeed, too, despite the current administration’s intimidation and extortion tactics. Your first step is to put your big boy/girl pants on, grow a backbone based on outcomes and not programs, and have the intent to serve the whole community — not just those who are wealthy enough to buy tickets or donate. You have to want to be a community hero, not a seller of tickets.
Art + Information + Conversation = Social Change
We are Out of Hand Theater.
We believe theatre can do more than entertain.
It can disrupt systems.
It can disarm fear.
It can connect strangers across difference.
We believe that art is a civic tool, not a luxury.
And we use it—with courage, with intention, and with our community.
We take theater to our community.
We go to them.
Into homes.
Into schools.
Into churches, office buildings, shelters, and Zoom rooms.
We bring theatre to where people already gather—where they feel safe, seen, and heard.
Because a story is most powerful when it meets people where they live.
We make theatre with the world rather than about it.
We make theatre with the world, not just about it.
Each of our programs begins not with a script, but with a question:
What matters most right now in our city, in our neighborhoods, in our bodies?
Who is already doing the work?
We partner with those people—with civil rights advocates, public health leaders, educators, and everyday citizens.
Together, we develop theatre that addresses real issues—racial justice, vaccine equity, housing, education, and more.
The community defines the problem.
We build the solution together.
Then we act—on stage and off.
We go beyond performance.
Because performance alone is not enough.
Change happens in conversation—when people sit down, face each other, and speak honestly.
So every Out of Hand show includes information to inform and conversation to transform.
We bring audiences into dialogue—structured, brave, respectful.
We give them a voice.
We break bread together.
We set the table for justice.
We embrace complexity.
We face it with empathy and rigor.
When a topic is hard to talk about—racism, mass incarceration, public health mistrust—we lean in.
We create space for truth and accountability, because without them, there is no progress.
Our plays open hearts.
Our data opens minds.
Our facilitators open pathways forward.
We are innovative.
We do not run a theatre building.
We do not rely on ticket sales.
Less than 10% of our revenue comes from audiences.
The rest comes from collaboration—contracts with partners, and grants we win together.
Our revenue has grown steadily since we adopted this business model.
We have remained debt-free, with cash reserves and a sustainable future.
We are proof that arts organizations don’t have to choose between impact and income.
We choose both.
We are co-creators.
Our work only exists because of others.
We are co-creators with nonprofits, city governments, public schools, corporations, and courageous individuals.
Each collaboration is an invitation to build something new:
A dinner where hundreds talk about equity across tables.
A living room play about mass incarceration.
A short film that helps someone trust a vaccine.
Each moment is an act of art, of service, and of belief.
We believe in results.
And we have them.
Over 90% of our participants say they learn something new, feel something deeply, and are inspired to act.
They volunteer.
They vote.
They speak up.
They connect.
The arts change lives—not through spectacle, but through proximity, purpose, and practice.
We believe in a different future.
Where theatre companies are also community hubs.
Where performance is also participation.
Where artists are also facilitators, educators, and bridge-builders.
Where the line between art and activism is joyfully erased.
We believe theatre belongs to everyone.
Not just those who can afford it.
Not just those who are already comfortable.
Everyone.
Especially those whose voices have been silenced.
We are changing the world.
We are not waiting for the world to change, we are changing it—one conversation, one collaboration, one courageous act at a time.
Out of Hand Theater
Atlanta, Georgia
Est. 2001
Radically Local. Fiercely Collaborative. Unapologetically Hopeful.
If your nonprofit arts organization is not doing these things, but instead is just treading water looking for answers by focusing on the financials instead of the impact, counting the butts in seats because you’d rather be popular than heroic, and presenting plays and musicals and concerts and ballets that you think will sell lots of tickets to rich folks who might want your services instead of poor folks who definitely need to benefit from the experience… If you won’t change your community for the better in specifically charitable 501(C)(3) kinds of ways (read the code for yourself), why haven’t you just become a for-profit company?
Because even though you might legally be able to run a nonprofit company, that doesn’t make it one that’s worth a plug nickel.
This is an excerpt from a letter Out of Hand sent to its supporters just recently. Can your company say as much?
What We Achieved: Impact Across Georgia
Equitable Dinners: Thriving Together Atlanta
In partnership with the CDC Foundation, City of Atlanta, and National Black Arts Festival
- Explored racism as a public health crisis through theater and facilitated conversations over meals
- Reached 1,931 attendees at 55 events
- 96% were emotionally moved
- 92% left inspired to act
How to Make a Home
In partnership with Partners for Home and the City of Atlanta
- Explored homelessness through performances and conversations in private homes and community centers
- Engaged 1,111 people at 39 events
- 86% learned something new about homelessness
- 91% were inspired to act
Creative Kids
Provided 532 free theater classes to 440 students at 7 high-poverty schools
- 97% of students improved in creativity, confidence, communication, and collaboration skills
- 58% showed more than 50% growth based on pre/post teacher assessments
Equitable Dinners @ Work
Served 475 participants across 6 events
- Partners included the City of Brookhaven and United Way of Georgia
Equitable Vaccines
In partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health
- Addressed vaccine hesitancy in rural Black and Hispanic communities
- Served 315 participants through 15 events before federal funding was cut in March
Community Impact Lab
Served 100 high school students in partnership with Drew Charter School and Grady Healthcare’s Teen Experience and Leadership Program.
What’s Ahead: Staying Grounded, Moving Forward
In FY26, we will continue building programs that meet the moment. Upcoming work includes:
- Shining a light on immigrant detention in Georgia through Prisontown, the 2026 Shows in Homes presentation
- Reflecting on American identity and civic polarization through storytelling and dialogue through We Hold These Truths
- Addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women through Say Their Names
- Exploring racism as a public health crisis through Thriving Together Atlanta
Look, I know you. You don’t believe the title of this article is true. You probably think your company should be trumpeted like this. Good, stay skeptical. But know this: smart, influential, and private and public companies all over the country (and beyond) are betting on Out of Hand. Are they betting on your company?
Do what they do and they’ll bet on you.
Now is the time to send them as much as you can spare. Literally, people will die unless the vaccine program comes back. If you have access to a million dollars, please send it immediately.
If you don’t have millions, there is a more unglamorous problem right now. Their website doesn’t do them justice. Like yours, it has outdated links and such. The least we can do is help them update everything. The cost: about $10,000. I’ve sent them $2,500 (the last of my Jeopardy! winnings) to support the effort because if people get a flawed first impression, they might not appreciate Out of Hand as much as I and so many others have. Please join me by sending $100, $500, $1000, $2500, or whatever you can. I don’t get a dime for telling you all of this. All I get is the knowledge that the best theater in America can help more people lead better lives. It’s easy: just click here to donate, re-post this article to your own colleagues, and write “Done” in the comments section of this article just to show the world that you care about humanity and the arts.
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