Operating Support

In order to ensure that the arts are interwoven into every facet of community life, the Ordway is complementing its offerings by implementing and growing new programming, such as our free outdoor Summer Dance Series and opportunities to take Ordway programs out into the community. The Ordway increased and deepened partnerships, particularly with organizations connected to African and African American communities: Sabathani Community Center; Minneapolis Urban League; Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Inc.; and the YWCA - Saint Paul. The Ordway continues to be a statewide organization, with participants from every corner of Minnesota. 25% of our attendees come from St Paul and the east metropolitan area, while 20% come from Minneapolis and the west metropolitan area. Another 12% come to us from the north and 16% from the south suburbs. Our greater Minnesota attendance is 20%, with an additional 7% from around the upper Midwest. We grew partnerships with Minneapolis and Saint Paul Public Schools and other Minnesota schools through K-12 programming. 2: In order to ensure that people of all ages, ethnicities, and abilities participate in the arts and that Minnesotans believe the arts are vital to who we are, the Ordway is growing and strengthening its K-12 and Campus Connections education programs, and building the next generation of arts participants. In our newest program, the Ordway will engage twenty families, self-identifying as African American and of economically disadvantaged backgrounds, in the Family First Nights program through a partnership with the YWCA. We hope it will lead to increased involvement in the future. We continued to offer the SoulTouch discount in the African American community through our partnership with Robin Hickman, and found that 31% of those that use SoulTouch as their first experience at the Ordway return to the theater again.