Movie theaters—and the broader cinema industry— experienced never-before-seen challenges in recent years from product supply to employee recruitment and retention to ever-changing ways to connect to our audiences. We are experiencing these shifts at a moment where we are all focused on rebuilding our audiences. During the pandemic, NATO provided critical work in addressing urgent needs. The Cinema Foundation’s mission was forged from this collective experience. It will harness these experiences to work to support and impact the health of the cinema sector both in the short term and for years to come as we expand our activities. The Cinema Foundation will build on NATO’s mission and relationships and expand NATO’s impact in ways that will help individual employees and companies as well as the industry as a whole. We are the Foundation of a great industry.

In order to be immediately impactful, we need the support of the industry. We are asking all recipients of Shuttered Venue Operators Grants for a donation equal to just 1% of their total award amount to the Foundation. We are also asking other stakeholders for meaningful support. This initial fundraising will allow the Foundation to build needed programs and key relationships at the outset and make an immediate impact as we emerge from the pandemic.