Entertainment Community Fund
An American charitable organization that provides financial, health, housing, employment, and social-service support to performing-arts and entertainment professionals.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Entertainment Community Fund is a United States charitable organization serving people who work in the performing arts and broader entertainment industries. It was established in New York in 1882 as the Actors Fund of America, at a time when performers and theatre workers commonly faced irregular employment, limited access to medical care, and inadequate support during illness, disability, retirement, or death. The organization was formed through the efforts of theatre figures including Albert Marshman Palmer, Harrison Grey Fiske, J. Lester Wallack, Daniel Frohman, and Theodore More. Its original purpose was to improve the physical and intellectual welfare of actors, but its role gradually expanded well beyond actors and theatre performers. The Fund provides direct assistance to professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio, and dance, as well as to many behind-the-scenes and technical workers. Its services include emergency financial aid, confidential social-work support, health-care and insurance counseling, housing assistance, employment and career-transition programs, and referrals to community resources. The organization states that it helps more than 17,000 people directly each year. Its work is particularly important for workers whose careers are freelance, project-based, or disrupted by injury, illness, economic downturns, or changes in the entertainment business. Fundraising has historically relied on benefit performances, donations, special events, and support from performers, theatres, unions, guilds, and allied charitable organizations. A major early fundraising event was the 1892 Actors Fund Fair at Madison Square Garden, which helped finance assistance for individuals and families, including burial support and accommodation in the Actors' Fund Home. Benefit performances remain associated with the organization and have frequently involved prominent Broadway and Hollywood figures. The organization also operates or supports housing and care facilities. The Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, provides skilled nursing and assisted living for retired members of the entertainment community. The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence in New York provides supportive housing and on-site services for selected low-income groups, including older people, working professionals, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Palm View in West Hollywood, California, was developed as housing for low-income residents living with HIV/AIDS through a collaboration involving the Fund and housing partners. Its employment and training work includes the Actors Fund Work Program, which became part of the organization's broader service structure in 1997. The program helps entertainment professionals identify side work, develop transferable skills, and pursue new careers when their original occupation is interrupted or no longer sustainable. Other services include creative-writing programming for older and disabled performers, funeral and burial assistance, and access to grave sites and headstones for people in need. In 2015, the organization announced a merger with Career Transition for Dancers, strengthening its services for dancers and other professionals facing career changes. In 2017, it opened the Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York in partnership with Mount Sinai, expanding access to medical care for people working in entertainment. In May 2022, it adopted the name Entertainment Community Fund to reflect the breadth of the community it serves. The organization continues to operate as a national nonprofit with offices and programs centered on major American entertainment hubs, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
History
The Entertainment Community Fund originated in New York on June 8, 1882, as the Actors Fund of America. Its creation was driven by concerns about the precarious conditions faced by actors and theatre workers, including unemployment, illness, disability, and the absence of reliable arrangements for retirement or burial. Harrison Grey Fiske, an editor of the New York Dramatic Mirror and a former New York University student, helped bring attention to these problems. Albert Marshman Palmer was the principal founder, while the first organizational meeting took place in the theatre of J. Lester Wallack. The first officers included Wallack as president, Palmer as vice president, Daniel Frohman as secretary, and Theodore More as treasurer. The organization's early governing language described a mission to benefit the physical and intellectual welfare of actors. In practice, its assistance soon extended to families and to people connected with the wider theatre profession. Fundraising benefit performances became a central source of support, with theatres and prominent performers contributing proceeds from special events. The 1892 Actors Fund Fair at Madison Square Garden was a particularly important fundraising effort. The proceeds helped the organization support individuals and families, provide accommodation through the Actors' Fund Home, and establish burial resources. Funeral assistance remained a continuing part of the Fund's mission. It purchased a burial plot at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn in 1886 and another at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, in 1904. These sites ultimately became the final resting place of more than 2,000 entertainment-industry members, while the organization continued to help eligible people with funeral expenses and burial arrangements. Over the twentieth century, the Fund developed from a relief organization focused mainly on actors into a broad social-service institution for entertainment professionals. Its programs came to include financial assistance, social work, health guidance, housing, employment support, and services for older and disabled people. Louise Heims Beck chaired the governing board from 1960 to 1978. The organization also developed relationships with unions, guilds, and affiliated relief groups serving performers, musicians, dancers, and other entertainment workers. The late twentieth century brought additional emphasis on housing and career transition. The Actors Fund Work Program was incorporated into the organization's full service structure in 1997, helping professionals find supplemental employment and prepare for new careers. The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence, originally opened as the Aurora in 1996, was developed with the Related Companies to provide supportive housing and on-site social services. Palm View, a 40-unit residence in West Hollywood opened in 1998, was created for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS through a collaboration involving the Fund and housing organizations. The Fund's residential and care work also includes the Lillian Booth Actors Home, a six-acre facility in Englewood, New Jersey. The home provides skilled nursing and assisted living for retired entertainment professionals and is licensed by the relevant health authorities and eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The Fund subsidizes care for residents who qualify under its mission. In the twenty-first century, the organization continued expanding beyond its historic actor-centered identity. President and CEO Joseph P. Benincasa received a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre award in 2014 for his service to the theatrical community. The announced 2015 merger with Career Transition for Dancers strengthened support for dancers and people whose entertainment careers require transition. In 2017, the Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts opened in New York through a partnership with Mount Sinai. In May 2022, the organization changed its name to Entertainment Community Fund. The new name reflected its service to professionals across film, television, theatre, music, opera, radio, dance, and behind-the-scenes production. In 2023, Annette Bening became chair of the board of trustees. The Fund remains an active U.S. nonprofit providing direct assistance and long-term social infrastructure for the entertainment community.
- 2023
Annette Bening elected board chair
[1]Annette Bening was elected chair of the board of trustees.
- 2022
Organization renamed Entertainment Community Fund
[1]The name changed to reflect service to the full entertainment and performing-arts workforce.
- 2017
Samuel J. Friedman Health Center opens
[1]The Fund opened a health center in partnership with Mount Sinai in New York.
- 2015
Merger with Career Transition for Dancers announced
[1]The organization announced a merger intended to strengthen career-transition services for dancers and related professionals.
- 1998
Palm View opens in West Hollywood
[1]A 40-unit supportive-housing complex opened for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.
- 1997
Actors Fund Work Program incorporated
[1]The employment and career-transition program became part of the Fund's full service structure.
- 1996
Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence opens
[1]The supportive-housing project opened as the Aurora and later took the name Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence.
- 1904
Second burial plot purchased
[1]A second plot was purchased at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.
- 1892
Actors Fund Fair held at Madison Square Garden
[1]A major benefit fair raised money for assistance, housing, and burial-related support.
- 1886
First burial plot purchased
[1]The Fund purchased its first cemetery plot at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn.
Products and positioning
A sector-specific social-service and charitable organization for the U.S. entertainment community, combining emergency relief with health, housing, career, elder-care, and long-term support.
Direct aid
Emergency financial assistance
Short-term assistance for entertainment and performing-arts professionals facing financial hardship caused by unemployment, illness, disability, or other crises.
Employment and career services · 1997
Actors Fund Work Program
A career-support program helping entertainment professionals find supplemental work, assess transferable skills, and pursue new employment or career paths.
Elder care
Lillian Booth Actors Home
A skilled nursing and assisted-living facility in Englewood, New Jersey, for retired members of the entertainment community. The Fund subsidizes care for eligible residents.
Health care · 2017
Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts
A New York medical facility established with Mount Sinai to provide health care for people working in entertainment and the performing arts.
Supportive housing · 1996
Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence
A New York supportive-housing residence offering homes and on-site social services for selected low-income groups, including seniors, working professionals, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Supportive housing · 1998
Palm View
A 40-unit West Hollywood housing project for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS, developed through collaboration with housing organizations and other partners.
End-of-life assistance · 1886
Funeral and burial assistance
Assistance with funeral costs, burial arrangements, grave sites, and headstones for eligible entertainment professionals in need.
Marketing campaigns
- 1892Actors Fund Fair
United States
A large benefit event held at Madison Square Garden raised funds for relief, housing, and burial support for entertainment professionals and their families.
Outcome. The proceeds enabled the Fund to expand direct assistance and related services.
- Benefit performances
United States
The Fund has long used benefit performances and pledged theatre proceeds as a way for performers, theatres, and supporters to finance its charitable work.
Outcome. Benefit events became a continuing fundraising mechanism associated with the organization.
Brand decisions
2022
Rename the organization Entertainment Community FundStrategyBackground
The historic Actors Fund name emphasized actors even though the organization served professionals across many entertainment disciplines and production roles.
Action taken
The organization adopted the name Entertainment Community Fund.
Aftermath
The new name presented the organization as serving the wider entertainment and performing-arts workforce.
2017
Open a performing-arts health centerProduct launchBackground
Entertainment workers require accessible health care and insurance guidance, particularly in a freelance and project-based labor market.
Action taken
The Fund opened the Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with Mount Sinai.
Aftermath
The organization added a dedicated medical-care facility to its health and social-service platform.
2015
Merge with Career Transition for DancersM&ABackground
Dancers and other entertainment professionals often need specialized assistance when performance careers are interrupted or end.
Action taken
The organization announced a merger with Career Transition for Dancers.
Aftermath
The combination broadened the Fund's career-transition and support capabilities.
Recent events
- 2023
Annette Bening elected chair of the board[1]
Leadership change
Annette Bening was elected chair of the Entertainment Community Fund's board of trustees.
- 2022
Actors Fund adopts the name Entertainment Community Fund[1]
Leadership change
The organization changed its name to emphasize that its programs serve performers, creative workers, technicians, and other professionals across entertainment rather than actors alone.
- 2017
Samuel J. Friedman Health Center opens in New York[1]
Product launch
The Fund opened a performing-arts health center in partnership with Mount Sinai to provide medical care for people working in entertainment.
- 2015
Actors Fund announces merger with Career Transition for Dancers[1]
M&A
The organization announced that it would merge with Career Transition for Dancers, broadening support for dancers and other entertainment professionals navigating career changes.
Sources2 sources
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