The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s capital campaign was a well-choreographed project that breathed new life into the organization’s fundraising plan

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

But when Alvin Ailey founded his dance school in 1969 (the dance group itself began in the ‘50s), he started it under the premise that “dance came from the people and should always be given back to people,” Rink says. To that end, the organization has a strong social and community-education component that includes scholarships for underprivileged aspiring dancers, summer camps for at-risk youths and community outreach programs. While these are all things that Ailey has been doing since its inception, they also help combat any sense that it — and arts organization as a whole — are frivolous or somehow less-deserving causes.