On behalf of our Ko-Thi Dance Company family we extend our most sincere appreciation for your support of our work. Your contributions allow us to provide a diverse array of programming that nurtures growth in our children, inspires our adult company, and allows us to continue creating art that resonates through the community at large. Last year, the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) sent to us, and many nonprofit arts groups across the country, that stated:

“The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities...Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.” - May 2025

Our art — rooted in African heritage — was deemed to be outside of the "new priorities" of federal funding. We were forced to reschedule our planned 2025 and 2026 programming due to the termination of over $90,000 of existing awards. In addition the Wisconsin Arts Board, which gets funding from NEA, was forced to cut $8000 in annual funding to us. The Milwaukee County Arts Fund also reduced funding 50% across the board to the 40+ groups it supports. One blow after another has hit us. It has been a great challenge to generate sufficient funding to present a full 2025-26 season, including 2 concerts. Your donation will help us get there!

As Ko-Thi celebrates the 57th anniversary of our founding, we take pride in having exposed several generations in our community to the beauty of many cultures expressed through dance, music, and song. In spite of recent and current events, with the help of our community, we pledge to continue to pass down the richness that exposure and training in diverse cultural arts brings to our human experience.

You are a truly significant part of our ability to continue our work! As they say in the African language of Swahili, Asante Sana! (Thank You!)

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