Every Broadway career starts somewhere: a school musical, a first trip to see a show, a teacher who said yes. A group of Broadway nonprofits works to make those first experiences possible for more young people, especially students who couldn't otherwise afford them. Here's a guide to the major theatre education nonprofits and youth programs connected to Broadway.
The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, better known as the Jimmy Awards, bring the best high school performers from regional competitions across the country to New York. The finalists spend a week training with Broadway professionals before performing in a live awards show. The program was founded in 2009 and is presented by The Broadway League Foundation.
This year's 17th annual Jimmy Awards will take place Monday, June 22, 2026, at the Minskoff Theatre, with 116 nominees from 58 regional programs. Around 150,000 students take part in the regional competitions that feed into the national event.
Also run by The Broadway League Foundation, Broadway Bridges works with New York City Public Schools and the United Federation of Teachers to help every NYC public high school student see a Broadway show. Since it began in 2017, more than 160,000 students and chaperones have attended through the program. This spring alone, it offered more than 12,000 tickets across 20 shows. You can read more about the League's role in our explainer on The Broadway League.
TDF, best known for the TKTS booth in Times Square, has run education programs since 1995. They introduce students to live theatre, with pre- and post-show lessons that help them understand what they're seeing. TDF also runs accessibility programs, including autism-friendly performances.
The American Theatre Wing, which founded the Tony Awards, runs several programs for young people and early-career artists. They include the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, which provides classroom resource grants, training scholarships and university scholarships to underserved students; SpringboardNYC, a program for young artists starting careers in New York; and the Theatre Intern Network.
Founded in 1982, Inside Broadway is an arts education nonprofit that brings theatre into New York City public schools. Its programs include Build a Musical, which helps students create and perform their own shows, and Creating the Magic, which takes students backstage at a Broadway theatre. The organization says it reaches more than 100,000 students a year.
Broadway's nonprofit theatre companies, Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theater and Second Stage, all run their own education programs, from student matinees to teaching-artist residencies in schools. See our guide to nonprofit theatres on Broadway for more on these companies.
Broadway for Democracy works with young people too, from a different angle. Many of today's theatre students will be first-time voters soon. We use Broadway's stories and artists to help young people see why their voice matters and how to use it, without ever telling anyone how to vote. Support our work here.
For the full list of organizations, see our guide to Broadway charities and nonprofits. And if you're deciding where to give, our guide on how to choose a Broadway charity walks through what to check.
The Jimmy Awards, officially the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, are a national competition for high school musical theatre performers. They're presented by The Broadway League Foundation each June in New York.
New York City public high school students can attend through Broadway Bridges. TDF also offers student programs and discount memberships.
Inside Broadway, TDF and the education departments of Broadway's nonprofit theatre companies all run programs in New York City schools.
Yes. Through the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, the Wing offers training and university scholarships to students from underserved communities.
