SAG-AFTRA Foundation

The emergency assistance program serves as a crucial lifeline, providing help to eligible members and their families who are facing unexpected or extreme hardship, assisting them with emergency expenses. We offer:emergency financial assistance for basic costs of living, such as housing, medical bills, groceries, and utilities.short-term supportive case management services with our qualified, in-house social workers. Services include needs assessment, crisis intervention, education, and counseling.connections and referrals to additional services to help meet basic needs, further financial support, healthcare, and disability support.disaster relief fund: provides urgent financial support to sag-aftra members and their families affected by natural disasters. The scholarship programs: provides opportunities for sag-aftra members and their dependents for study at accredited institutions of higher education, to pursue related professions within theentertainment industry, or change their career paths.the john l. dales standard scholarship is awarded to eligible sag-aftra members and their dependents for study at accredited institutions of higher education. The john l. dales transitional scholarship is awarded to eligible sag-aftra members to pursue related professions within the entertainment industry or change their career paths.the george heller memorial scholarship is awarded to eligible sag-aftra members and their dependents for study at accredited institutions of higher education.ken orsatti scholarship fund provides one scholarship annually to a sag-aftra employee who is pursuing a college or graduate degree.

In august 2024, the foundation opened the doors to its new facility in los angeles "the meryl streep center for performing Artists". The facility is dedicated to supporting a wide array of entirely free educational and career-building programs designed to help sag-aftra members advance their careers and refine their skills. It includes a 100-seat screening room, voiceover labs, on-camera labs and class rooms. In addition, the center houses the foundation's emergency financial assistance programs and offices.the foundation continues to have offices and educational facilities located at 1900 broadway in new york as well as the robin williams center, a 125-seat screening room located at 247 w 54th street, new york.

Performers programs: in order to prepare a dynamic talent pool for success in the evolving entertainment media environment, the foundation offers the performers programs, a broad educational roster with subjects ranging from audition technique and self-marketing to panel discussions with accomplished Actors and moderated talks with respected directors. These programs encourage performing Artists to take charge of their careers, refine their craft, learn new skills, and establish lifelong habits of self-motivated professional development. Over the course of the last year the foundation continued to scale up in-person performers programs in house as well as continuing to offer virtual programs to the sag-aftra community. The foundation also add new recorded educational content to the foundation's website video gallery and youtube channel, to help ensure that members who are unable to attend in person have access to this programming. The business: the business provides participating members with an enhanced understanding of entertainment's financial and operational mechanics, as well as current trends and conditions across the industry. Attendees learn practical strategies for social media self-marketing, pre-audition preparation, and money management in large format seminars and highly interactive small group sessions. Participants are provided with tools to help them begin to think not only as Artists, but also as small business owners, understanding the various markets and the buyers within those markets, and putting in place long-term career plans.conversations: conversations programs present film and Television screenings accompanied by moderated discussions with cast members, as well as career conversations with leading Actors who have made lasting artistic and professional contributions to the industry. Conversations programming is curated with a focus on projects and associated casts generating both consumer attention and critical honors, offering attendees the opportunity to learn from fellow performing Artists who are working in current or recent productions. Guest speakers explore the process and profession of acting and drill down into the personal experiences and artistic influences that have shaped their careers. These insights provide both new and established performers in the audience with an expanded understanding of fresh methods for approaching material, both in auditions and while working on set.casting access: offering critical insight into the casting process, providing members with cold reading experience in an interactive class setting. Participants receive feedback from respected industry casting professionals they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to meet and learn from.voiceover lab: this programming is designed to prepare members for careers in the voiceover arts. Vo lab programming provides members with instruction, constructive feedback, and advice on career development strategies from respected industry professionals in interactive classes that explore performance technique in multiple voiceover subsets -- including voicing commercials, voice-to-picture promo work, audiobook narration, and animation and video game voice acting. The foundation continues to provide both in-person and virtual programming. On-camera: members have the opportunity to rehearse in front of the camera in our la and ny on-camera labs, which offer quiet, dedicated spaces with industry standard lighting and equipment. Staffed by trained engineers, the on-camera labs are currently providing both in-person and remote one-on-one sessions in which our engineers serve as readers or help members troubleshoot tech-related issues they may be having while self-recording their own auditions. Due to the demand for this program, los angeles expanded the on-camera lab and now offers two labs for in-person sessions daily, as well as additional availability for sessions in the evening and weekends. New york will follow course with a second lab opening in 2025. Additionally, the foundation has produced a collection of tech tips videos with relevant information for self-recording auditions, such as pointers for lighting, backdrops, and camera and sound technique. These videos are published in our website video gallery and on our youtube channel.computer lab: due to changes in personnel, the computer lab was temporarily closed and the foundation chose to take this opportunity to reassess the needs and re-imagine the computer lab to reflect the changing needs of members. We anticipate offering computer lab programs in fy2025.

Literacy initiatives storyline online children's literacy program the foundation commits our outward-facing activities to promoting early reading development with storyline online, our children's literacy program. Storyline online is a free online video library designed to build reading capacity at the k through 4 level, featuring acclaimed Actors who volunteer their time to read children's books aloud alongside imaginatively produced illustrations. Supplemental activity guides developed by a credentialed elementary educator and aligned with english language arts (ela) common core standards accompany every video for use in the classroom, in hospitals, and at home. Storyline online has proven to be an invaluable resource for teachers, parents, and caregivers, and, thanks to its ever-growing popularity, the total for lifetime video views has reached over 900m. The program is a three-time emmy nominee (2018, 2023 and 2024). It was named #1 best educational youtube channel for kids by parents magazine in 2021. Storyline online has also been recognized by the american Federation of school librarians, and it is endorsed by the american Federation of teachers and the american library association.