Weather 
Theater audiences and the companies of 54 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring shows turned applause into action and passion into purpose, fueling a spring record $7,135,088 raised through Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ iconic #RedBuckets.
Topping this spring’s fundraising leaderboard was Broadway’s Just in Time with a staggering $932,461.
Just in Time danced its way to the top spot with passionate fundraising and a legacy of showstopping auctions, as Jonathan Groff kicked off the now–crowd-favorite tradition of auctioning his bow tie, with Matthew Morrison and Jeremy Jordan carrying it forward.
The fundraising total surpassed last spring’s then-record-setting $6.8 million.
“The companies behind each of these 54 shows and theatergoers joined forces to turn a moment in a lobby into meaningful, lifesaving support,” Danny Whitman, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, said. “At a time when budgets are being slashed and so many are navigating rising costs and uncertain access to care, this compassion and generosity ensure people across the country can count on meals, medication and critical health services when they need them most.”
The donations support Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program, providing nourishing meals, lifesaving medication and vital health care for people in need in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, while also sustaining a critical safety net of services for those in entertainment and the performing arts.
The top fundraisers in the Spring Fundraising Competition, which ran from March 13 through April 26, 2026, were:
Top Fundraisers
Broadway Musicals
- Just in Time – $932,461
- Chess – $350,152
- Maybe Happy Ending – $268,579
- Hadestown – $210,752
Broadway Plays
- Every Brilliant Thing – $408,180
- Oh, Mary! – $173,133
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – $150,408
- Dog Day Afternoon – $147,171
Off-Broadway
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – $137,753
- Heathers – $99,985
- Little Shop of Horrors – $99,006
National Tours
- The Phantom of the Opera – $289,195
- Beauty and the Beast – $271,079
- The Sound of Music – $249,670
- The Outsiders – $225,385
- Spamalot – $200,045
Broadway shows that participated in appeals were & Juliet, Aladdin, Becky Shaw, The Book of Mormon, Buena Vista Social Club, Chess, Chicago, Death Becomes Her, Dog Day Afternoon, Every Brilliant Thing, Fear of 13, The Great Gatsby, Hadestown, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Just in Time, The Lion King, Maybe Happy Ending, MJ, Oh, Mary!, Operation Mincemeat, The Outsiders, Ragtime, Six, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) and Wicked, as well as Off-Broadway’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Heathers, Little Shop of Horrors and The Play That Goes Wrong.
Additionally, the national tours of & Juliet, A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical, Beauty and the Beast, The Great Gatsby, Hamilton – Angelica, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hell’s Kitchen, Kimberly Akimbo, Les Misérables, The Lion King – Rafiki, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Notebook, The Outsiders, The Phantom of the Opera, Shucked, Six – Boleyn, Some Like it Hot, The Sound of Music, Spamalot, Suffs, Wicked – Munchkinland and The Wiz joined in the spring fundraising effort.
In exchange for a donation, audiences at many shows received autographed posters, Playbills and other unique memorabilia, along with one-of-a-kind experiences. Offerings ranged from a stage-used book prop signed by Simu Liuat Oh, Mary! to a meet-and-greet with Nicholas Christopher, Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit, the powerhouse trio of Chess, and even the T-shirt worn by film and TV star Jon Bernthal at Dog Day Afternoon.
Since the spring fundraising efforts began in 1988, they have raised $114 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Donations raised through the in-theater fundraising will be put into immediate action. Broadway Cares is the single largest supporter of the safety net of programs at the Entertainment Community Fund, helping everyone in entertainment and the performing arts. Through its National Grants Program, Broadway Cares supports more than 450 organizations nationwide, providing nutritious meals, health care and hope for those in need. In times of crisis, Broadway Cares also awards one-time humanitarian grants to deliver emergency aid across the U.S. and around the world.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, the HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative. Broadway Cares provides annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance. At times of crisis, Broadway Cares also awards one-time humanitarian grants to provide emergency aid across the US and around the world.
