Campaign for the Future

Campaign for the Future

Celebrating Naomi Goldberg Haas’s legacy and investing in DVP’s next chapter.

Dances for a Variable Population is launching a $400,000 campaign to support a dynamic leadership transition and ensure DVP’s impact continues to grow over the next three years.

  • Campaign Overview

  • Why Now?

  • A Letter from Naomi

  • Our Story

  • Vision of the Future

  • Ways to Give

  • Giving Levels

  • Timeline

  • Impact & Reach

Campaign Overview

Dances for a Variable Population is launching the Campaign for the Future to honor the legacy of Founding Artistic Director Naomi Goldberg Haas and to invest in DVP’s next chapter of artistic leadership.

Over the next three years, this $400,000 campaign will support:

  • A thoughtful leadership transition as Naomi moves into the role of Artistic Director Emerita

  • The hiring and onboarding of a new Artistic Director

  • Expanded board development and staff capacity

  • The creation of an Artistic Innovation Fund

This campaign ensures that DVP remains strong, sustainable, and artistically vibrant for years to come.

Give to the Campaign

Why Now:

  • After more than two decades of visionary leadership, Naomi Goldberg Haas is transitioning into the role of Artistic Director Emerita. This moment represents both a celebration of her extraordinary impact and an opportunity to strengthen DVP for the future.

    Leadership transitions are defining moments for nonprofit organizations. With thoughtful planning and community investment, they can serve as catalysts for growth, innovation, and renewed impact.

    The Campaign for the Future ensures that DVP’s next chapter is built on stability, artistic excellence, and expanded reach across New York City.

A Letter from Naomi Goldberg Haas

  • Dear Friends and Supporters,

    After twenty life-altering years with Dances For A Variable Population, I have decided it is time to transition from Artistic Director to an Emeritus position and begin a search for a new artistic leader for our company.This was not an easy decision to make, but my current circumstances have convinced me that it is the right thing to do. As many of you may know, I have been struggling with Fahrs Syndrome, a rare degenerative disease that attacks the basal ganglia of the brain as possibly developed from longtime lupus erythematosus, which I have successfully managed since 1985. This is the part of the nervous-system that controls one’s movement and speech, the two essential things I need to dance and teach.

    When I was first diagnosed with this syndrome, about ten or so years ago, the doctors looked at the x-rays of my brain and marveled at the fact that I was still able to walk. I, of course, attribute this to the work we do at DVP which helps keep our bodies, minds, and spirits alive and vibrant. But Fahrs is a patient nemesis, it is in it for the long game, and it has spent the past decade ever-so-slowly eroding my ability to move and communicate. It has finally reached a point where it feels like time for me to re-think my leadership of this company which has meant so much to me.

    I founded Dances for a Variable Population with a dream to bring people together through movement. In my own search for mindfulness in movement I had found community and activated my own self expression, and I was determined to share this with others. I found my calling teaching older adults whose wisdom, commitment, and creativity inspired me daily.

    I have witnessed dance transforming lives at all ages, and it has transformed mine. I could not be more proud of what we have built together, it has been a community of people from across NYC that has sustained this organization growing together, dancing together. I know that this mission will continue to flourish and I am very excited to see it grow.

    I’m grateful for everyone’s belief in me and my work and for the ongoing support of DVP, and I know we can continue to do it in community and I cannot thank you enough.

    With love and gratitude,

    Naomi Goldberg Haas

Our Story

Founded in 2005, Dances for a Variable Population was built on a simple but powerful belief: dance is for every body.

Through the signature Movement Speaks® program and public performances across New York City parks and cultural institutions, DVP has created spaces where older adults and professional artists move, create, and perform together.

From neighborhood parks to major institutions, DVP has demonstrated that dance fosters health, connection, creativity, and joy across generations.

  • Support the recruitment and onboarding of a new Artistic Director while honoring Naomi’s legacy.

  • Build organizational strength through expert guidance, expanded board leadership, equitable staff compensation, and specialized training that supports the mental and physical well-being of our teaching artists.

  • Establish a dedicated fund to support new creative projects, community partnerships, and artistic experimentation.

Vision for the Future

The Campaign for the Future supports three core priorities:

Together, these investments will ensure DVP’s continued leadership in creative aging and community-based dance.

Support the Campaign

Ways to Give

Support the Campaign for the Future through:

  • One-time gifts

  • Multi-year pledges

  • Donor-advised funds

  • Corporate sponsorships

  • Legacy or planned gifts

Donors may choose to direct their support toward a specific campaign priority or allow their gift to provide flexible impact where it is needed most.

  • Includes 20 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

  • Includes 16 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

  • Establish a dedicated fund to support new creative projects, community partnerships, and artistic experimentation.

  • Includes 6 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

  • Includes 4 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

  • Includes 2 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

  • Includes 1 tickets to the Legacy In Motion Celebration

Campaign Giving Levels

Recognition opportunities and naming opportunities are available for select levels.

Transition Timeline

This structured transition ensures continuity while allowing for new artistic vision.

Impact & Reach

DVP serves thousands of older adults annually through Movement Speaks® classes and public performances.

Invest in DVP’s Future

Your support ensures that dance continues to transform lives across New York City for generations to come.

Give Today
Download the Full Case Statement

“I am very lucky to participate in your classes.  I feel very special. I come out of each class Smiling from the Inside Out! I ALWAYS feel loved, cared for, and supported by each and every teaching artist”

— Roberta, Student