Our students LOVED the play. It was a great opportunity for them to be exposed to Shakespeare in a very engaging environment, and they loved traveling to Nashville. We would NOT have been able to attend without the grant funds we secured from the TN Arts Commission and Nashville Shakes.
-- Rutherford County Teacher, 2015

It's here! The Big Payback starts TODAY, May 5th, at 12 a.m. and continues until 12 p.m.!

>> Click here to donate to the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. <<

The Big Payback is a community-wide, online giving day, hosted by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Think of The Big Payback as a 24-hour citywide competition in which there are no losers. 

For us at the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, The Big Payback is an opportunity to raise much-needed funds, $3,000 to be exact, to support our educational outreach programming including our annual High School Shakespeare Festival. The Second Annual High School Shakespeare Festival, held April 18th, 2015, included Pope John Paul II High School, Nashville School of the Arts, Hillsboro High School, Pearl Cohn High School, and Maplewood High School, and was funded in part by the 2014 Big Payback. Coordinated by the Nashville Shakes, students and teachers from these area high schools came together for a full day of theater workshops and Shakespeare performances, all for free! 

Here's how to get involved:

1. We are asking our friends and supporters to remember to donate to us on May 5th, 2015, between the hours of 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. Whether you give $10, $25, or $1000, any amount you can give will help us reach our goal!
   
   
2. Help spread the word about The Big Payback! Copy and past the below messages to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and share the news with friends:
   
   Facebook
   Help support The Nashville Shakepseare Festival in its goal to raise $3,000 for educational outreach programming next year! Donate May 5 between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. at https://thebigpayback.org//#npo/the-nashville-shakespeare-festival #BigPayback
   
   Twitter
   The #BigPayback is here! Give to @nashvilleshakes TODAY and help bring Shakespeare to Middle Tennessee schools! https://thebigpayback.org//#npo/the-nashville-shakespeare-festival

>> Click here to donate to the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. <<

Thank you for your support of The Nashville Shakespeare Festival during The Big Payback. We'll see you online!