Nutcracker Outreach Student Sponsorship

What is a Student Sponsorship?

Southern California Ballet’s Student Sponsorship program allows students from selected socioeconomically and institutionally disadvantaged schools to attend SCB’s The Nutcracker Field Trip Shows free of charge!

SCB has committed to covering the cost of 150 students already, and we hope that you and your generous one-time donation can increase the total number of students to whom we can offer this program, allowing us to reach more students who would otherwise have no access to the performing arts.

Sponsor a Student

Apply for Sponsorship

More About Sponsorship

How much does it cost to sponsor a student?

The cost to sponsor one student is only $8, but we welcome you to sponsor as many students as you can—for instance, a $160 sponsorship donation allows 20 students to attend The Nutcracker.

What the student you sponsor receives:

Free transportation to and from the event with their class
Free ticket to the show
5 curriculum-based lesson plans with activities in science, engineering, history, music, and english
A unique opportunity to experience a professional ballet completely free of charge

Does my donation go directly to the sponsored student?

100% of your donations go to funding the student. Each $8 covers the combined cost of their ticket and the cost of the bus ride to and from the theater.

If we surpass our final goal for fundraising this year, all donations will directly benefit an additional school chosen at the discretion of Southern California Ballet.

Which schools do we sponsor?

In our inaugural year, we have chosen one elementary school, one special education school, and one high school to sponsor based on very specific criteria. Each of these three schools hold Title 1 status, and significantly above the state averages for:

% of socioeconomically disadvantaged students
% of students with disabilities
% of students suffering from homelessness
% of students with Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM)
% of students of color
% of English Language Learners

Each school is also within or near the San Diego Promise Zone. (Learn more about SD Promise Zone here)

Do you know a school we should sponsor in the future?

If you’d like to nominate a school for our 2023 Sponsor a Student program, please email outreach@southerncaliforniaballet.org with the subject line “2023 Nutcracker Outreach School Sponsorship Nomination - [School Name]” with a 2-3 sentence description explaining why this school should be sponsored next year.

Please keep in mind that schools considered for future sponsorship will be evaluated against the criteria mentioned above. While there are many schools in San Diego County that need increased access to performing arts programs, we are only able to help a limited number of groups at a time and must choose prudently.