Support the work
Keep a story from disappearing. Put a performer in front of an audience. Hand a kid their first puppet.
There is more than one way to keep ventriloquism alive.
Give. Share something with the Archive. Host a program. Sponsor books and puppets. Even one name written on the back of an old photograph can matter.
Your gift should do something you can picture
It might rescue a rare program before a house is cleared. It might put a professional ventriloquist in front of children who have never seen the art live. It might send every child home with a book, a peeper puppet, and the beginning of a character.
Choose the work that matters most to you, or give where the need is greatest.
- Preserve the record. Help find, scan, identify, source, connect, and publish historical material through the free public Archive.
- Sponsor a pop‑up event. Bring the history and craft of ventriloquism into a library, school, festival, convention, or community space.
- Sponsor a live performance. Put professional ventriloquism in front of an audience at no cost to the people attending.
- Sponsor a Read, Laugh & Learn Adventure. Help children see a live show, receive a book and peeper puppet, create a character, and perform a first show of their own.
- Support youth grants. Help pay for lessons, equipment, entry fees, training, and travel for young people with uncommon talent.
- Give where it is needed most. Unrestricted support allows the Institute to respond when rare material appears, a program opportunity opens, or a practical need cannot wait for its own campaign.
Ventriloquism Institute, Inc. is a Florida nonprofit corporation, tax‑exempt under section 501(c)(3). EIN 46‑5471215. No director is paid for board service. Contributions are tax‑deductible to the extent allowed by law.
What can a gift do?
- $17 can help send one child through a Read, Laugh & Learn Adventure. The live show, a book that belongs to them, a peeper puppet, and a first show of their own.
- $250 can help rescue one collection. A box of programs, photographs, and letters, collected, scanned, identified, sourced, and published in the Archive.
- $1,000 can help produce one free public performance. A working ventriloquist, the travel to get there, and an audience that pays nothing to attend.
- $2,500 can help mount a pop‑up history exhibition. Reproduction prints, display, transporting figures, and a live demonstration to go with them.
At sponsorship scale, the Adventure becomes a school, a district, or a community:
$10,000
500 to 600 children
Community Literacy Sponsor. Books for every participating student, the Adventure itself, classroom literacy and creativity resources, and recognition in program materials.
$25,000
1,500 children
Creativity Sponsor. Books distributed to participating classrooms, multiple Adventure programs, creative learning materials for teachers, and recognition in program materials and at events.
$50,000
3,000 children
Leadership Sponsor. Books for every participating student across events, expanded literacy and creativity programming, Adventure events across multiple schools, and prominent recognition at all events.
$100,000
6,000 children
Signature Impact Sponsor. Large‑scale literacy and creativity programming, thousands of books placed into children’s hands, community‑wide events, and named sponsorship of events and programs.
The most valuable thing you have may be a name written on the back of a photograph
Every year, unique material is lost because the person clearing a house does not know what it is.
You can help prevent that without giving up ownership.
We are looking for:
- Programs and playbills
- Photographs of performers, figures, workshops, and events
- Correspondence involving performers or figure makers
- Trade magazines and club newsletters
- Catalogs, advertisements, and price lists
- Audio, film, and video recordings in any format
- Figures and the stories attached to them
- Firsthand memories, corrections, and identifications
You can donate an original, lend it for scanning, send a digital copy, or invite us to photograph it. A good scan with good information may preserve nearly everything the Archive needs.
We credit contributors unless they ask us not to.
Bring something to your community they have probably never seen before
Host a live performance, pop‑up history experience, educational demonstration, or Read, Laugh & Learn Adventure.
Tell us who the audience is, where you are, and what you want them to experience. We will help match the right program to the room.
Know a young person we should hear about?
If you know a young person with unusual talent and one practical obstacle standing in the way, tell us about the specific need.
It might be a lesson, instrument, piece of equipment, entry fee, training opportunity, or trip that could help the work continue.
Practical details
By check. Make checks payable to Ventriloquism Institute, Inc.
Tax status. Ventriloquism Institute, Inc. is a Florida not‑for‑profit corporation, tax‑exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 46‑5471215. Contributions are tax‑deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Contact. For programs, sponsorships, Archive material, youth support, or questions about the Institute: [email protected]