The Denver Actors Fund has announced its latest innovation to help Colorado theater artists: The creation of a new, separate support source called the PAWS Fund that will make limited financial relief from pet-related medical bills available to qualified members of the Colorado theater community.
“We started the Denver Actors Fund to help Colorado theater artists experiencing medical hardships, and we have discovered that emergency pet medical expenses can be just as financially devastating to them as their own medical expenses, and sometimes more so,” DAF Executive Director and co-founder John Moore said in announcing the new initiative in May 2023.
“Anyone who owns a household pet has likely faced excruciating decisions regarding the value of a pet’s life during a medical emergency. We exist to help lift the burden of medical expenses off our local theater artists so they can focus on making the art that entertains Colorado audiences. But when someone in our community gets hit with a medical expense that runs into the four or five figures, they are often saddled with a long-term, high-interest line of credit that will make it harder for them to perform in a show until the debt is paid off. We never want artists to have to choose between performing and paying off a debt. And that’s true whether that debt is from their own medical expenses – or their pet’s. And we certainly never want anyone to have to make brutal decisions that will affect whether an animal lives or dies based on their ability to pay.”
The PAWS Fund is a pilot program that launched with a $35,000 balance, including a $10,000 dedicated boost from the Howard and Marty Corren family in memory of Denver playwright and director Terry Dodd. The PAWS Fund will exist as long as donations dedicated specifically to the PAWS Fund continue to come in and keep it sustainable.
“We love theater and those who make it,” the Correns said in a collective statement. “But we know that, off stage, those who bring us the magic have real-life needs. The Denver Actors Fund is there to help meet those needs, and we are pleased to support their mission with the launching of the new PAWS Fund.” The Correns’ daughter, Talia, was recently named co-executive director of the Alliances of Residential Theatres/New York (A.R.T./NYC), an umbrella organization that provides support to more than 500 New York City not-for-profit theaters. “Her love of theater was nurtured in Denver, and it is alive and thriving!” her parents said.
It is important to point out, Moore said, that, as a separately funded initiative with a limited balance, qualified applicants will be limited to no more than $2,000 in PAWS Fund assistance in any calendar year (amended down in January 2024 from $3,000). Read about the first PAWS Fund recipient here.
It is also important to acknowledge, he added, that some loyal longtime donors to the primary Denver Actors Fund might not want their donations going to pay for an applicant’s animal expenses. That’s why the PAWS Fund is being created as a separate fund that must be able to survive and grow on its own – or it will expire and be over, Moore said.
Any donation to The Denver Actors Fund will continue to go directly to the primary general fund and be reserved for human medical-expense reimbursement unless the donor specifically designates that money to go to the PAWS Fund. “There is a pull-down menu on our year-round Colorado Gives Day donation site that allows a donor to specifically donate to the PAWS Fund,” Moore said. “Otherwise, rest assured, your donation will go toward paying off qualified, human medical expenses, just as it has for the past 10 years.”
Anyone with questions regarding the PAWS Fund or any other Denver Actors Fund business is encouraged to email denveractorsfund@gmail.com.
“Many thanks to Howard and Marty Corren for their generosity, helping to establish the PAWS Fund,” Gibley said.
To apply for help from the Denver Actors Fund PAWS Fund, click here
