DAS Theatre (formerly called: DasArts) is the international Master course at the Academy of Theatre and Dance, of the Amsterdam University of the Arts. The purpose of the DasArts Trust Fund is to provide financial support for DAS Theatre students. Its objective is formulated more broadly in its statutes, but in practice this is the only purpose the foundation will engage in; we focus on the urgent problems. By raising funds and collecting donations, the foundation aims to build its capital. This will allow us to give financial support, where possible, to students who themselves do not have the resources to pay for their studies and cannot find any external funding. For students from outside Europe, the costs are constantly increasing.

This small-scale fund helps us retain the influx of international students, which is one of the distinguishing features of this master programme.

Donor campaign: After the 30st anniversary reunion of DasArts / DAS Theatre in November 2024, the connections with alumni and former employees have been activated again. It seems to be a good moment to try a new donor campaign in 2026 among a pool of people who are or have been closely involved in DasArts / DAS Theatre: alumni, ex-mentors, former staff, etc. 

Fees for lectures, etc.: In consultation with the people involved, money that DAS Theatre staff receive from third parties for activities that actually form part of their work (e.g. fees for talks on the programme) will go into the fund. 

Donations related to feedback workshops: Alumni (and staff) give workshops around the world on the Feedback method that has been developed by DasArts and that is still in use at DAS Theatre. For each workshop the organizers pay the moderator of the workshop but are also asked to donate an amount to the Trust Fund in return for being able to practice the method afterwards.This has always been an important way to collect donations for the fund in the past 12 years. But it seems that the feedback method is already known at many places and therefore requests for feedback workshops have been reduced.

Donations from audiences at public presentations:DAS Theatre has two public presentations a year (master presentations in March, and summer presentations in June). The audience can visit the presentations for free, and often food is provided for free as well (because of the long programme with presentations). During the presentations the audience is asked repeatedly to donate to the Trust Fund as a favour in return for the free food and tickets. The audience can donate via a QR code, that’s available during these presentations.

The members of the board do not receive any remuneration for their work. Virtually all the money that comes in is used to provide DAS Theatre students with financial support.

Students of DAS Theatre can apply for a donation from Trust Fund DasArts, by providing a clear insight in someone’s financial situation (income and costs). And it must show which other steps the applicant has already taken to cover their financial needs (income earned by working, loan, other funds, etc.).

In general, the Trust Fund gives priority to (in order of importance):

• Non-EEA students who must pay the institutional fee (which is significantly higher than the statutory fee), and don’t have hardly any financial support.
• 2nd year students, to make it possible for them to finish their studies in cases of severe financial difficulty.
• Unexpected expenses (for example unexpected medical costs).

It is a way of closing the ever-widening gap between EEA and non-EEA students; Dutch legislation burdens the students from outside Europe with additional costs. Apart from this there are also various limited administrative expenses: bank charges, chamber of commerce fees, etc.