About / Performing Arts Fort Worth

Performing Arts Fort Worth

Performing Arts Fort Worth, Inc. founded December 17, 1992, is the 501[c] [3] non-profit organization that oversees the day-to-day operations and management as well as long-term capital needs of the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall complex.

Bass Performance Hall Complex

Bass Performance Hall serves as the permanent home to four resident companies: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts. Each resident company operates independently from Performing Arts Fort Worth, has its own Board and staff, and manages its own programming and marketing efforts.

The Maddox-Muse center includes the Van Cliburn Recital Hall, McDavid Studio and various facilities that support an array of performances and special events as well as administrative offices for Performing Arts Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Performing Arts Fort Worth presents various forms of one night only programming and national Broadway touring productions under the Broadway at the Bass banner, as well as programming that currently includes Broadway Specials, Popular Entertainment and McDavid Studio Concert Series. In addition to ensuring the community has access to a wide-range of performing arts programming, net revenues from these series cover a significant portion of the annual operation costs of the facilities.

Performing Arts Fort Worth also presents the Children’s Education Program. The mission of the Children’s Education Program is to promulgate arts education. Bass Performance Hall is at the center of the program, serving as a “classroom” and offering a variety of performing arts education opportunities of superior quality and free of charge to all students and educators.

Since its founding in 1992, Performing Arts Fort Worth has paved the way for over 5,250,000 patrons including more than 1,600,000 students and teachers to enjoy acclaimed programming in a world-class venue.

PAFW Earns Fourth Consecutive 4-Star Rating From Charity Navigator

Performing Arts Fort Worth’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned the non-profit organization its fourth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology. These Accountability & Transparency metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.

“This is Charity Navigator’s highest possible rating and indicates that Performing Arts Fort Worth adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way,” according to Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator. “Attaining a 4-star rating verifies that Performing Arts Fort Worth exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its area of work. Only 20% of the charities Charity Navigator evaluates have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Performing Arts Fort Worth outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Performing Arts Fort Worth apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”

Performing Arts Fort Worth

One of Fort Worth’s premier not-for-profit arts organizations, Performing Arts Fort Worth is dedicated to bringing world-class entertainment to Bass Performance Hall, including award-winning Touring Broadway shows, stellar musical performances, hilarious comedy acts and family-friendly productions.

Performing Arts Fort Worth

PAFW Earns Fourth Consecutive 4-Star Rating From Charity Navigator

2022 Best Place for Working Parents

Performing Arts Fort Worth