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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGrant Request - Caldera - Arts Mentoring1 O Economic Development Fund Discretionary Grant Program Organization: Caldera Organization Description: This organization provides a long-term mentoring program through the arts to underserved children. This organization engages students beginning in the sixth grade and continuing until the student is in college. The program offers mentoring to 90 students in four Deschutes County middle schools in communities identified as economically distressed by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. In addition, secondary outreach to more than 4,000 students in these school communities are provided through performances, exhibits and workshops in the schools. Project Name: Arts Mentoring Project Description: These grant funds will be used in support of the arts mentoring program. The activities included in this program are based on Oregon's arts education standards. The activities include weekly mentoring in both arts and life skills, workshops with professional artists, special community events and projects, and a summer arts and nature camp experience at the organization's Blue Lake Arts Center near Sisters. Project Period: July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 Amount of Request: $2,000 (Total program cost = $180,435) Previous Grants: • Sep. 2004: $2,000 Arts Discovery -Sisters M.S. ($2,000 DeWolf) • Sep. 2005: $2,000 Arts Discovery -Sisters M.S. ($2,000 DeWolf) • Sep. 2006: $1,000 Arts Discovery -Sisters M.S. ($500 Luke, $500 Clarno) to A Q -< Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 -Fax (541) 385-3202 -www.deschutes.org DESCHUTES COUNTY DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION Direct Application to: Commissioner Tammy Baney Commissioner Alan Unger Commissioner Dennis R. Luke X All Three Commissioners Date: September 1, 2010 Project Name: Year-round Arts Mentoring Project Beginning Date: July 1, 2010 Project End Date: June 30, 2010 Amount of Request: $2,000 Date Funds Needed: 12/31/2010 Applicant/Organization: Caldera Tax ID #: 94-3235649 Address: 224 NW 13th Avenue, Suite 304 City & Zip: Portland, OR 97209 Contact Name: Matt Hansink Telephone: 503-937-7510 Fax: 503-937-8510 Alternate Phone: 503-937-7594 Email: matt.hansink@wk.com On a separate sheet, please briefly answer the following questions: 1. Describe the applicant organization, including its purpose, leadership structure, and activities. 2. Describe the proposed project or activity. 3. Provide a timeline for completing the proposed project or activity. 4. Explain how the proposed project or activity will impact the community's economic health. 5. Identify the specific communities or groups that will benefit. 6. Itemize anticipated expenditures*. Describe how grant funds will be used and include the source and amounts of matching funds or in-kind contributions, if any. If the grant will support an ongoing activity, explain how it will be funded in the future. Year-round Arts Mentoing Proposal to the Deschutes County Discretional Grant Program L,I CALDERA 1. Describe the applicant organization, including its purpose, leadership structure, and activities. Caldera's mission is to be a catalyst for transformation through innovative art and environmental programming. Caldera believes that creativity is an innate quality in all individuals, transcending age, gender, race, and culture. Caldera's overarching mission is to work toward unleashing that creativity for the common good. Toward that end, Caldera provides long-term mentoring through the arts to underserved children. The organization reaches out to disadvantaged sixth -graders and stays engaged with them into college, through weekly mentoring, workshops with professional artists, a variety of special events, and a life -changing arts and nature camp experience at its Blue Lake facility outside of Sisters. Caldera provides focused, ongoing mentoring to 90 students in four Deschutes County middle schools with secondary outreach to more than 4,000 students within those school communities. This outreach takes the form of school -wide events, including performances, exhibits, and workshops for students and teachers alike. The communities Caldera serves in Deschutes County are designated by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department as "economically distressed." Caldera partners with schools with the highest percentage of free/reduced lunch and/or with little or no arts education. The teachers and school counselors, in cooperation with Caldera educators and mentors, identify the students judged to be at -risk and underserved, therefore most likely to benefit from Caldera's programs. 2. Describe the proposed project or activity. Caldera's arts learning activities are based on Oregon's arts education standards, and follow a research -based, age-appropriate progression of activities (beginning with experimentation with many disciplines during middle -school years, specializing in one discipline during high school, the opportunity for apprenticeship with a professional artist during the junior/senior years of high school, and life -skill support for transition to college or employment). A broad summary of activities includes: 1) weekly mentoring in both arts and life skills, 2) workshops with professional artists, 3) a variety of special community events and projects, and 4) a life -changing summer arts and nature camp experience at our Blue Lake Arts Center near Sisters. 3. Provide a timeline for completing the proposed project or activity. June 2010 Define project curriculum, assessment tasks, and rubrics. July 2010- Aug. 2010 8-10 day retreats at Caldera's Art Center at Blue Lake Sept. 2010 - June 2011 Core students study weekly with at Caldera's partner schools Oct. 2010 Week-long school -wide residencies at Caldera's partner schools Nov. 2010 & Apr. 2011 Core students reunite with artists for weekend design "intensives" Dec. 2010 Retreat for creative work and mid -project planning at Blue Lake Mar. 2011 School -wide workshops and at Caldera's partner schools June 2011 Public showcase in Bend and Redmond ,June 2011 Critique sessions, summative project assessment, and evaluation. Year-round Arts Mentoing Proposal to the Deschutes County Discretional Grant Program L,,,-/ CALDERA 4. Explain how the proposed project or activity will impact the community's economic health. While in the past we've had a wealth of anecdotal information to support the merit of our programs, with the completion of our new database we are able to produce the following recent statistics: 100% of Caldera's 8th graders transitioned to 9th grade. 85% of Caldera's 12th graders graduate or received a GED within 4 years. The other 15% are currently pursuing their GED equivalency diploma. Compare these graduation rates with our partnering school districts: 74% in Bend Public Schools; 44% in Redmond Public Schools; 71% in Jefferson County Public Schools. These statistics indicate that participation in Caldera is keeping kids in school who are otherwise, statistically, the least likely to reach graduation. Caldera students are now going on to Portland Community College, Marylhurst University, U. of Oregon, USC Film School, and Howard University. Most significantly, Caldera graduates are returning as volunteers or devoting themselves to teaching and mentoring others. 5. Identify the specific communities or groups that will benefit. Deschutes County Partner Schools: Elton Gregory Middle School, Redmond; Obsidian Middle School, Redmond; Pilot Butte Middle School, Bend; Terrebonne Community School, Terrebonne. While we do not select students based on ethnicity, our students identify as 43% African American, 34% White/Non-Hispanic, 12% Latino/Hispanic, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% Native American/Pacific Islander and 2% Slavic. Our students typically come from challenging life circumstances; 80% of our students are on the free or reduced lunch program and come from households supporting an average of five people on Tess than $30,000 per year. 6. Itemize anticipated expenditures*. Describe how grant funds will be used and include the source and amounts of matching funds or in-kind contributions, if any. If the grant will support an ongoing activity, explain how it will be funded in the future. Project budget attached. Caldera is a vibrant nonprofit organization with a competent and stable staff and an active and diverse board. We have been able to successfully raise funds for our programs through grants, events, special appeals, and through our annual Friends Campaign, which is matched by the Maybelle Clark MacDonald Fund. Since 2006, Caldera has received four significant grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (including support for this project). These high-profile endorsements have allowed us to steadily increase the artistic excellence of our programs, contributing to our long-term sustainability. Caldera's board is currently exploring increased earned revenue opportunities from the rental of our Arts Center in Sisters. Our capacity to serve Deschutes County youth and communities is expected to increase in the coming years. Caldera's board and staff are committed to providing sustained arts education services for at -risk kids well into the future. Caldera Year -Round Arts Mentoring Budget Deschutes County Portion REVENUE National Endowment for the Arts (committed) _ $25,000 537,500 Wieden Family Foundation (committed) _ Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund (committed) $11,000 Silver Family Foundation (committed) _ $12,500 James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation _ $12,500 Deschutes County Discretional Grant Program $2,000 Spirit Mountain Community Fund _ $12,500 The Bill Healy Foundation $5,000 $12,500 Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation (committed) Oregon Arts Commission (committed) $7,500 Hoover Family Foundation (committed) 53,0001 Herbert A. Templeton Foundation (committed) $5,000 Lamb Foundation $5,000 Marie Lamfrom Foundation Deschutes Children's Foundation (committed) _$7,500 $2,500 $19,435 Earned Income from Investments & Unrestricted Donations (committed) TOTAL REVENUE $180,4351 EXPENSES Education Personnel and Youth Arts Mentors: $63,105 Direct Costs: Travel $8,580, Direct Costs: Other expenses: Designer Fees and Costs $78,240 Direct Costs: Other expenses: Student & Performances Costs $30,510 TOTAL EXPENSES $180,435