Support New Australian Storytelling
Over the last 44 years, Griffin Theatre Company has been one of the great engine rooms of Australian theatre, passionately working to nurture new artists and ensure that ambitious, bold, courageous, urgent and nationally relevant stories get from a page onto a stage.  While our theatre may be small, our ambitions are bold. Philanthropy shifts what is possible at Griffin and allows us to take bold risks—both on stage and off—extend our impact, trial new programs and support our wider artistic community. Griffin simply wouldn’t be the company we are today without the commitment and generosity of our donors, partners and foundations. Donating to Griffin is open to all. Every gift makes a difference. For more information, please get in touch with Ell Katte, our Relationship Manager, at [email protected]. [generic-button link="https://welcome.griffintheatre.com.au/dev/contribute.aspx" bg-colour="" hover-colour="" target=""]Donate Now[/generic-button]
All donations over $2 are tax deductible. There are so many ways to become more involved with Griffin—discover how you can align your support with something you’re passionate about:
Trusts & Foundations

The generous financial support of Trusts and Foundations is critical to maintaining and expanding Griffin’s key artistic programs, and we’re enormously grateful to our current partners in these areas.

Visit our Trust and Foundations page to learn more about the crucial support they provide for Griffin.

If you feel that you could support any of Griffin’s programs in future years, please contact Head of Development Jake Shavikin on (02) 8960 7799 or [email protected].

Production Partners

As a new writing theatre, we program a wide range of stories that reflect our time, place and the unique voice of contemporary Australia. It takes courage to support untried and untested work; plays that can be raw, honest and unflinching.

To ensure that these stories continue to be told, we need private production support for one play each year. A play that stands out in terms of its ability to articulate a new and powerful vision, that brings strength, insight and candour to the stage.

The Production Partner program is for people who believe in giving a platform to Australia’s bold and courageous stories. Most recently, this program supported Suzie Miller’s Jailbaby in 2023—a play we simply couldn’t have staged without the community of support around it.

How to donate
Production Partners are invited to make a tax-deductible gift of $10,000 annually. To thank you for your generous support, you’ll be acknowledged in our programs, foyer screens and website, be kept up to date with tailored communications and will have the opportunity to attend a number of supporter events aligned with the production. Not to mention you’ll join a group of theatre-loving visionaries and have the unique privilege of helping shape the future of Australian theatre.

In 2024, we’re inviting you to support not one, but three plays and one ambitious vision for The Lewis Trilogy by Louis Nowra.

Learn more about the Production Partner program’s 10th Anniversary

To make a donation or to discuss the program further, please contact Head of Development Jake Shavikin on (02) 8960 7799 or [email protected].

Griffin Studio

Griffin Studio is Australia’s most successful program for providing artists with pathways to the mainstage. Through a year-long residency with the company, the program establishes clear career pathways for directors, writers and dramaturgs; an invaluable experience for artists to come together to hone their craft, gain vital experience inside a company and develop new work.

Our Studio Donors follow the development of artists and their work over the course of their residency and beyond. Since its inception in 2011, the Studio program has engaged 41 artists and has led to 19 professional productions and former Studio Artists have worked at every major theatre in Australia, demonstrating the important contribution of our Studio donors.

Visit the Griffin Studio page for more information and to see our current artists.

How to donate
Supporters of this program will get to personally know our small annual cohort of artists and are asked to make an annual commitment of $5,000. To find out more please contact Head of Development Jake Shavikin on (02) 8960 7799 or [email protected].

Griffin Studio Workshop

A play is a very different beast to a novel, a poem, or a piece of journalism. These forms of writing are bound to the page, but a play is written to be spoken out-loud. Therefore, the only way a playwright can tell if their play is working or not is by testing it out with its key ingredients: a script, some actors, and an audience.

This is where Griffin Studio Workshop comes in—as an important extension of our beloved Griffin Studio. 

A creative laboratory for the development of new plays, Studio Workshop ensures that plays meet audiences in their best possible form. Behind every great play, like Sex Magick, Jailbaby, and Golden Blood 黄金血液, are years of drafting, reading aloud, re-drafting, ad infinitum. Great Australian plays don’t just appear—they’re nurtured—and we can’t do it without the support of our Griffin Studio Workshop donors.

How to donate
If your passion is new writing and new work, you can directly support Griffin’s artistic pipeline by making a donation of $1,000 or more to Griffin Studio Workshop. 

You’ll get a sneak peek into exciting new plays well before they premiere—with invitations to play readings, and exclusive creative insights from the directors, playwrights, and performers. Donate online, or contact Relationships Manager Ell Katte on (02) 9332 1052 or [email protected] to discuss Griffin Studio Workshop further.

Griffin Women's Initiative

The Griffin Women’s Initiative was formed in 2019 to support the recruitment of a part-time female identifying Associate Artistic Director for a period of three years. This role was designed to support the creation of viable pathways for female creatives to develop the skills, confidence and professional relationships necessary to achieve a substantial career in artistic leadership.

In 2020, Griffin proudly appointed Tessa Leong as its inaugural Associate Artistic Director. During her time in the role, Tessa helped shape the artistic vision of the company and directed two smash-hit mainstage productions, all whilst battling the particularities of recent years. At the end of 2022, we were proud to see Tessa appointed the Artistic Director of Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP).

Now in 2023, this position plays an integral role in the functioning of our arts organisation and we are so grateful to the donors who make this role possible. We are thrilled to appoint director, writer and dramaturg, Andrea James as the second Associate Artistic Director of Griffin Theatre Company. In the coming years, we hope to grow the scope of the program and we need your support to achieve this. As part of the initiative, donors are invited to special events throughout the year to connect with Andrea and learn about the exciting work being planned.

How to donate
Members donate a minimum of $1,500 annually for three years. If you’d like to learn more, or join the Griffin Women’s Initiative, please get in contact with our Relationships Manager, Ell Katte, at [email protected].

Give a Gift In Your Will

Griffin was built on the passion, generosity and vision of past generations and with your support we will continue to bring new Australian writing to the stage for many decades to come. By remembering Griffin Theatre Company in your will, you can help future audiences enjoy new Australian stories as you do today. 

Leaving a gift of any size in your will is a significant decision that will make a lasting impact long into the future. Learn more about our bequests program

If you would like more information or want to talk confidentially about what Griffin means to you, please get in touch with Head of Development Jake Shavikin on (02) 8960 7799 or [email protected].

Before making a bequest to Griffin you should consult with your legal and financial advisors.

Workplace Giving

Workplace Giving is a simple and efficient way to make regular, tax-deductible donations direct from your salary to Griffin Theatre Company.

How to donate
Speak to your employer to see if your organisation participates in Workplace Giving. If so, your employer can arrange on your behalf through payroll to make a donation to Griffin from your salary. Some companies may also match employee donations, thereby increasing the overall value of your contribution.

For more information please contact Relationships Manager Ell Katte on (02) 9332 1052 or [email protected].