Milwaukee’s Ko‑Thi Dance Company, a 57-year-old pillar of African and Caribbean performance and education, says it has hit an existential crossroads after federal grant cuts wiped out promised funding. The company has already pared back youth programs and told dancers that rehearsal pay will be delayed as leaders scramble to plug the hole. A renewed fundraising push is on, but board members caution that tickets and small-dollar gifts may not be enough to keep the lights on.
Numbers paint a stark gap
Leaders say the cuts include the loss of future National Endowment for the Arts-linked awards and other federal support that together have gutted an already modest operating budget. Ko‑Thi estimates it lost more than $95,000 in grants, had received roughly $65,000 before termination notices, and now faces a gap that would require about $200,000 a year for three to five years in sustaining gifts to stay afloat, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The organization now expects to operate on about two thirds of its planned revenue for the year, and it says box office receipts cover little more than the cost of putting shows onstage, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Fundraising and the company’s history
To bridge the shortfall, Ko‑Thi has relaunched its anniversary fundraiser as a “$57 for 57th” campaign and is collecting both recurring and one-time gifts through an online drive. The group, founded in 1969, also highlights its education work - including school residencies and the Ton Ko‑Thi children’s ensemble - as the heart of its mission, with local coverage noting a decades-long record of reaching students across Milwaukee. Details on the campaign and its running tally are available on the fundraiser page and in local reporting by OnMilwaukee.
Financial pain has hit rehearsals and youth programs
Artists on Ko‑Thi’s small payroll have been told that rehearsal pay may be delayed or may not come at all while leadership hunts for emergency support, and a managing director hired with grant funds has already departed. Imani Huley, director of the Ton Ko‑Thi children’s ensemble, has cut after-school math and reading tutoring, arts and crafts, and some teaching-artist positions because of the tightened budget. Company leaders say performance revenue barely covers the cost of putting on a show, and that their education pipeline - the work that took the troupe into hundreds of schools - is in jeopardy without a reliable stream of funding, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It's part of a broader funding shake-up
Ko‑Thi’s struggle mirrors a national re-examination of NEA awards that has left dozens of dance and arts grants under review and some promised money in limbo since early 2025. National reporting has detailed how changes to the ArtsHERE and Grants for Arts Projects programs put smaller organizations, particularly those with annual budgets under about $300,000, in heightened jeopardy, as outlined by Dance Magazine.
Shows still appear on calendars even as the company posts cancellations
Ko‑Thi’s concert page now notes that the June and August Ngoma series have been postponed “until further notice” and labels the series “CANCELLED.” At the same time, the Waukesha Civic Theatre, which had booked NGOMA II for June 28, still lists performances at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. with multiple ticket price tiers. That mismatch has venues and audiences trying to sort out what is actually happening on show day, so would-be attendees are being urged to double-check both the company’s notice and the theater’s box office for the latest details. For Ko‑Thi’s cancellation notice, see the company’s concert page; for the theater listing, see the Waukesha Civic Theatre schedule.
Community scramble and next steps
Board members and staff are now leaning hard on local supporters and institutional funders, collecting donations at community events and mapping out outreach to philanthropic and corporate partners. Ko‑Thi leaders plan to be at Juneteenth and other summer gatherings to raise money and awareness while they try to stitch together a multi-year plan that can sustain programming, according to local reporting by Urban Milwaukee.
How to follow the campaign
The troupe is urging community backing while it simultaneously pursues institutional partners and corporate philanthropy. Its online fundraiser lists progress toward a short-term goal and offers options for monthly support. Whether Ko‑Thi can keep paying for rehearsal time, rebuild school residencies, and maintain touring plans will depend on a mix of emergency gifts and longer-term donors stepping up in the months ahead.
