After 140 Years, The Actors Fund Solves An Identity Crisis With New Name: Entertainment Community Fund

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS:  Since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020, The Actors Fund, the 140-year-old organization that offers emergency financial assistance and other support service to workers in the the performing arts industries, has distributed more than $26.8 million in emergency financial assistance – rent, groceries, medicine, health insurance premiums -.to about 17,900 individuals.

The pandemic-era distribution represents more than 13 times the amount of assistance typically provided by the Fund in an average year.With its name and services reaching unprecedented numbers of people, a rebranding might seem more than a bit counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what Fund officials announced last night: As of now, The Actors Fund the Entertainment Community Fund, a moniker designed to better reflect the entire scope of industry professionals serviced by the group.The change was announced last night by actor and Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell at the Fund’s Annual Gala held in both Los Angeles and New York City.

The evening, which was simulcasted from both coasts, raised a record-breaking $1.7 million for the organization, which celebrates its 140th anniversary in June.“It’s a new name and a new look, with the same mission,” said Mitchell. “We recognize the dedication of technicians, camera operators, stagehands, writers, musicians, stage managers, actors and thousands more who work in film, television, radio, music, theater, dance and opera.

They all contribute to our country’s cultural vibrancy. We value them. We support them. And the Fund is here for all of them.”During the pandemic, the Fund, as it will be called for short, scaled up operations, serving more than 60,000 individuals in 2020 and 2021, a 68%