Tonic Grange
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Nourishing community, mind and body.
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Tonic Theater Company is developing a new model for how a nonprofit theater company operates, financially and socially. At its heart is the idea that benefitting people is the most profitable end to serve.
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Connecting with community in a meaningful way is directly proportional to the resources an organization can bring to bear. Tonic is exploring opportunities to solve both of those problems, while affording a small arts organization the opportunity to expand its reach to a global community.
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Tonic Theater Company is restructuring how it is funded, building in from the start a focus on serving and strengthening the community and helping its most vulnerable through its innovative Tonic Grange concept.
Currently in the planning phase, Tonic Grange is a modern farmer’s grange, housing Tonic Theater Company, which will stream theater performances to global audiences, an urban vertical farm, a day center, and other services under one roof. Produce grown on the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farm will be sold to local grocery stores and restaurants. The revenue from these sales and the theater’s streamed performances will fund the theater and other community services. Taken to its full potential, this hub could be financially self-sufficient and serve as proof of concept for a fundamental change in how nonprofit theaters are funded and serve their community. It’s an investment to nourish community mind and body. Other services and partnerships under consideration include:
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Feeding people in food deserts & the food insecure
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Day center to feed the homeless with food rescue (Refettorio a’ la Chef Massimo Bottura)
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Free daycare for working families
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Paid internships through partnerships with universities and colleges
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Workforce development
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Working with organizations and developers to build affordable housing
Tonic Grange will create secure jobs in the community. Consider; if Tonic Grange had been operational during the pandemic, it would’ve continued operations, generating revenue from produce sales to grocery stores. Staff would not have been laid off, and the financial chaos and uprooting that many families have experienced could have been avoided. Community services could also have continued. This stability and sustainability are invaluable to any community.
An independent Tonic Grange site is in the works. Until then, get free updates on
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