partner story

Vitalizing the community through the arts.

Joshua M. Freeman Foundation

2020 grant recipient

Set in the heart of coastal Delaware, the Freeman Arts Pavilion is a performing arts venue for everyone. Both local acts and national artists take the stage. Opera singers and pop stars headline. Underserved youth and out-of-town visitors groove together.

And when crowds pour in for performances, local businesses get a boost too.

So when the pandemic all but extinguished live events, the whole community felt the strain. The Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, which oversees the pavilion, decided to get creative. With grant funding from Red Wagon, the organization acquired a large, simple lawn adjacent to the pavilion grounds. The plot’s lack of infrastructure and fixed seating made it perfectly suited to socially distanced performances.

And so the beat went on during the 2020-21 season. The pavilion hosted 67 shows and drew around 80,000 people to the area during an economically dry time. After a full capital campaign, the foundation plans to develop the grounds into a larger arts complex—yet another investment in bringing the arts to all.

highlights

$20k

initially granted
by Red Wagon

67

socially distanced performances made possible

80,000

tourists drawn into the area

One positive action leads to another

Our partners use funding to accomplish something greater than themselves. Consider the ripple effect of Joshua M. Freeman Foundation’s work.

  • Red Wagon granted money for a venue expansion during the pandemic
  • The Freeman Arts Pavilion was equipped to safely carry on performances
  • The whole community received a needed economic (and mood) boost

The funding helped us expand during covid so that live arts could continue. This gift of confidence and belief leveraged other community members to give.

Patti Grimes,
Executive Director at Joshua M. Freeman Foundation

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