News

About the Fund

Raleigh Little Theatre values everyone’s story and is committed to ensuring that seeing a show, taking a class, and volunteering at the theatre are as accessible as possible. We know it takes resources to volunteer and participate in creating art – transportation, child care, time in busy schedules, etc. To that end, we are interested in working with our volunteers to identify and help address barriers to volunteering at RLT, and to better understand how we can help break down those barriers to volunteering. As a first step in this process, and in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, we are creating the RLT Volunteer Access Fund Pilot Program. The fund is designed to help volunteers that have to navigate barriers or financial strain when deciding to volunteer with RLT.

About the RLT Volunteer Access Fund Pilot Program

This pilot program is focused on addressing the costs of transportation to and from the theatre for volunteering with a production. For this initial pilot phase, we have $4,000 in funding from BCBSNC to allocate toward transportation stipends for volunteers that work on The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Blood Wedding, Fancy Nancy: The Musical, My Wonderful Birthday Suit, and Hands on a Hardbody. As of May 15, 2023, this program is also extended to all shows in the 23-24 season.

Stipend amounts will:

• Be based on travel distance and the number of times a volunteer expects to be at RLT per production.  
• Be intended to contribute to the cost of transportation, but may not cover the entire cost of transportation.
• Range from $5 to $90 and be administered via check.
• Be available one per volunteer.
• Be reviewed and administered beginning with the first rehearsal of the show that is being volunteered on (generally 6 weeks prior to opening). Please allow 2 to 3 weeks after review to receive your check.

If this resource will address a barrier or financial strain you experience as a volunteer, please complete this short application. Applications will be accepted and funds distributed until funding has run out. Since this is a pilot program and we are learning about how to make this program accessible and meaningful for volunteers, we would appreciate your feedback and thoughts, and will be sending a follow-up survey after the pilot ends. 

If you have questions about this form, or would like to receive the application for one of the three productions when application review begins, please contact Cari at Cari@nullRaleighLittleTheatre.org or 919-821-4579 ext. 232.