Alamo Drafthouse Announces $2 Million Relief Fund For Furloughed Staff

As you may have heard, Alamo Drafthouse theaters all over the country have had to close due to the pandemic that is currently keeping all of us stuck at home. Unfortunately, this means almost the entire Alamo Drafthouse staff has been put into furlough. It's a bad situation but there is an opportunity to help, the details of which are below:

**For Immediate Release**
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION RELIEF FUND FOR FURLOUGHED STAFF MEMBERS 

Austin, TX --- March 19, 2020 --- Earlier today, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema announced an emergency relief fund for its furloughed corporate-owned venue and headquarters staff. Furloughed team members who work for corporate-owned theaters will receive a supplemental two weeks’ worth of pay, and their health coverage will be covered through the end of April. Earlier this week, on Monday, Alamo Drafthouse and all but one of their franchise operations announced the closure of forty theaters and the furlough of virtually all theater staff members. On Wednesday, founder and CEO Tim League informed corporate staff members that approximately 80% of staff would be furloughed, with a very small core remaining. 

Recognizing that many staff members may have critical short-term needs, founders Tim and Karrie League directed that a new relief fund be created in partnership with the Emergency Assistance Foundation, and seeded with $2 million dollars from their Alamo Community Fund. The Alamo Family Fund’s donations portal is now live at https://emergencyassistancefdn.org/alamo-family-fund. Studio partners, suppliers, and any other organizations interested in making larger donations may also reach out to [email protected]. Applications for the furloughed company-owned staff members in need are expected to be opened up next week.

“We’re doing everything we can to help get our teams through the furlough period while making certain there will be a stable company to return to,” says Tim League, Alamo Drafthouse CEO. “The Coronavirus pandemic is an existential threat to all cinema, but particularly independent and arthouse theaters. That’s why I’m asking for our friends and partners in the film and hospitality industries – if you believe companies like ours are vital to the welfare and strength of your businesses, please help us keep our people safe, strong, and ready to get back to work.”

Alamo Drafthouse’s Family Fund has already received inquiries from partners in the film, beverage, and hospitality industries. All donations to the fund will go to staff members in the company-owned locations. Roughly half of Alamo Drafthouse’s 41 locations are Alamo Drafthouse-owned and operated, including all theaters in Austin, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kansas City, Raleigh, New Braunfels, and San Antonio. The remaining locations are managed in their respective areas by franchise ownership groups and are relying on their own resources to handle the closures.

Also on Monday, Alamo Drafthouse paused the memberships and monthly billing of all active Season Pass subscriptions, our subscription service for unlimited movies, and will resume memberships once theaters re-open. Following the lead of generous subscribers’ feedback, current Season Pass members may un-pause their account at any time (an opt-in process), and new members may sign up at any time. When they are billed, 100% of their subscription fees will be donated to the Alamo Family Fund, and as soon as the theaters re-open, they’ll be able to freely use their accounts to see unlimited movies once again.