Live performance on stage with dramatic lighting

Turn Your Patrons Into Your Greatest Fundraisers

Arts organizations need funding beyond the box office. Party Book lets your most passionate supporters host intimate events that build lasting patrons — not just one-time donors.

Shows build audiences. Hosted events build patrons. You need both.

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The Funding Gap Arts Organizations Know Too Well

The creative work is extraordinary. The funding picture is harder to talk about — but it has to be talked about.

of total philanthropy

Arts and culture receives just 5% of all charitable giving in the US — despite the outsized role the arts play in community life and identity.

–14%

ticket sales post-pandemic

Attendance dropped 14% after the pandemic and hasn't recovered. The audiences that return are smaller and less predictable than before.

Grants

enormous effort, uncertain results

Grant writing consumes significant staff capacity. Outcomes are uncertain, timelines are long, and restrictions often limit how funding can be used.

~30%

audience retention

Only about 30% of first-time audience members return for a second show. Building lasting relationships with supporters requires more than great programming.

Small staff

stretched across two worlds

Arts organizations ask their teams to be both creators and fundraisers. That tension is real, and it takes a toll on the people and the work.

Galas

high cost, high overhead

Traditional fundraising galas require significant upfront investment, professional event staff, and venue costs that erode net proceeds.

The tension between art and commerce is real. Party Book doesn't pretend otherwise — it gives your community a way to resolve it together.

Supporter-Powered Fundraising

Your patrons already love what you do. They talk about your shows at dinner parties, recommend your gallery to their friends, and wish they could do more than buy a ticket once a year. Party Book gives them a way to act on that passion.

Your most committed supporters host benefit performances, masterclasses, gallery opening receptions, and intimate dinner-and-show evenings. They invite their own networks. Their guests discover your organization through someone they trust.

The organization focuses on the art. Supporters focus on fundraising through experiences they care deeply about. Everyone wins — especially the work.

Intimate gathering at a gallery event with people engaging in conversation

Mission-Aligned

Every hosted event celebrates your art. Benefit performances, studio visits, and masterclasses deepen appreciation for the work — they never dilute it.

Patron Cultivation

Turn audiences into committed supporters. Intimate hosted events create the personal connection that transforms a ticket buyer into a true patron.

Low Staff Lift

Supporters host; you coordinate. Your team doesn't need to plan events from scratch — your community brings the passion and the hospitality.

New Audience Reach

Supporters bring their own networks to your art. Every hosted event is an introduction — a warm handshake between your organization and a future fan.

Experiences Your Patrons Can Host

From backstage access to intimate studio dinners — the arts offer experiences that no gala auction item can replicate

Benefit Performances

Private or semi-private performances hosted by your supporters in their homes, studios, or community spaces.

Backstage theater area with stage lights

Backstage Experiences

Behind-the-scenes tours, meet-the-cast evenings, and technical walkthroughs that give patrons rare insider access.

Music workshop with instructor and students

Masterclasses & Workshops

Artists share their craft — voice, movement, design, direction. Supporters host; artists inspire; participants leave changed.

Gallery Opening Receptions

Intimate openings hosted by a patron in their home or at a member-only venue — a different kind of gallery night.

Dinner & Show Evenings

A patron hosts dinner; artists perform. The most personal fundraising experience in the arts — and the most memorable.

Open Studio Nights

Artists open their studios to a curated group of supporters — work in progress, real conversations, no velvet rope.

Artist Talks & Panels

Intimate conversations with artists, directors, or curators — moderated by a supporter who knows how to hold a room.

Creative Workshops

Painting, ceramics, printmaking, movement — supporters host hands-on workshops that inspire participants to see art differently.

Fund Your Creative Mission

The work you do matters. It deserves the resources to sustain it.

Production Costs

Sets, costumes, lighting design, sound engineering — the real costs of bringing a production to life. Patron-hosted events put money directly where the art happens.

Artist Compensation

Artists deserve to be paid fairly for their work. Fundraising through hosted events builds the unrestricted revenue that makes competitive compensation possible.

Scholarships for Emerging Artists

Talent shouldn't be gated by financial circumstance. Community-funded scholarships and fellowships open doors for the next generation of creative voices.

Equipment & Infrastructure

Instruments, staging, technical equipment, digital tools — the investments that raise the quality of the work for artists and audiences alike.

Community Access Programs

Subsidized tickets, free community performances, education outreach. The art should reach everyone — funding makes that commitment real.

Education & Outreach

After-school programs, touring performances, and teaching residencies that bring the arts into schools and underserved communities.

Why Community Support Is Essential for the Arts

$25.1B

in charitable giving to arts and culture in 2024 — an all-time high

53%

of arts nonprofit revenue now comes from contributed sources — donations, events, and grants

1 in 3

arts nonprofits have less than two months of operating reserves

“76% of American adults agree: arts and culture are personally important to me. Engagement in the arts makes the public feel healthier, more creative, and more empathetic.”
— Randy Cohen, VP of Research, Americans for the Arts (2023 National Survey)

Sources: Giving USA 2025, SMU DataArts / Candid (2024), Americans for the Arts Public Opinion Poll (2023)

Audience applauding at a live performance

Ready to Let Your Community Champion Your Art?

Your patrons want to do more than applaud. Give them a way to step forward — and watch what happens to your culture and your funding.

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