There is a contest for the best student submissions and the ones who win get their plays produced on a local stage. Many of the schools involved are in poor, urban areas. The challenge is to get kids to be more enthusiastic about their educations, to see that the result could be something really great, like becoming a professional playwright and having something you create performed and read by many people. PYPF has testimonies on record of kids who were on the brink of dropping out who instead became re-involved in their education through the help of this program. They really have to court big investors.
Big investors are important because that is where the money comes from.
Without the money, there are no programs and no salaries. Relations with investors are important because their financial support and reputations to make other investors interested in helping you. And investors want to know that you are doing good things with their money and that you respect their help and support. But I also gained more experience and a real sense about what direction I wanted to head in with my career. They were good on the phone, on getting down to business.