Can you hold US up?

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• Our Showcases are our only fundraiser. We find this to be a more fun, creative way to raise funds while highlighting our talented, hardworking students. 

• Xelias has been a 501(c)3 non-profit  business since 2005 and operating in the Northeast Arts District since 2001.

• We know that Xelias is an integral part of many of your lives. We believe in the strength of circus arts - we've seen it in the 19 years our doors have been open. We have witnessed the developed friendships, conquered fears, and the transformation circus brings to us all.  We will gather again to train, perform, and applaud each other as a circus community.

• Today, this means that we are asking for your generosity. As all of our performers know, we chant together before each Showcase: first “confidence, courage, and strength”, then “good luck to me, good luck to you, good luck to all of us”, and finally “I will hold you up”. Right now, we are asking our Xelias family to hold us up. 

Dear Xelias community, friends, and family,

    Coach Nicolas here. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe, practicing social distancing, and keeping well in body and spirit. I miss working with you all; I can’t wait for that day when we can meet at the Xelias studio again.

    I’m writing today to ask you to consider a donation to Xelias if you have it within your means. As you have probably already guessed, there will be no Spring showcase this year. You may also know that our showcases act as our primary fundraiser (via ticket sales, concessions, tips, and merchandise), and that they allow us to keep our doors open every year. So, we are asking you to contribute what your family might normally donate at a show, if you can.

    Our director and Xelias founder, Meg Emery, is still paying her staff, both salaried and hourly. I can’t overstate how important this has been to me and my whole household. We’ve experienced so many disruptions: in other income, in childcare/preschool, and in my partner’s college studies. While Meg is under no obligation to issue us paychecks during the pandemic, she has always prioritized paying her staff and making sure they are compensated for their work. The continuity of paychecks will allow us to stay stable until we can get back to the circus coaching work that we so dearly would like to do.

    Your contribution helps Xelias keep running, helps us resume when health policy and prudence allow us to do so, and helps us retain our staff in the meanwhile. I’m so very grateful that Meg has been able to keep me on the payroll, but I also know that she may not be able to pay me in the future. I want you to know that we are a small arts non-profit, and that not a cent of your donation is wasted- it goes directly into helping staff and their families keep their footing, to paying the rent and bills at our beloved studio, and will allow us to come back. But these are difficult times. So if you can donate a little, we thank you. If you can donate more, we thank you. If you cannot donate anything, still we thank you, for being a part of the Xelias family. From my family to yours, THANK YOU. 

 -Nicolas, Meaza, Akosia, Simone, and Malcolm

If you are looking for a different way to make a tax-deductible donation to Xelias, you can mail a check to 1121 NE Jackson St. #139, Minneapolis MN 55413.