Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
In our 13-14 year we:
-Employed and engaged 20 artists
-Served 1902 children and youth, and 3179 adults, totaling 5081 individuals of all ages and abilities
-Carried out 26 programs for adults, 42 school programs in schools (28 of which were in Minneapolis Public Schools, and 23 community programs and outreach events
-Expanded public performances and exhibits, that raised awareness of our organization and the creative contributions of individuals with disabilities
-Significantly increased communications (newsletters, social media) and touch points (performances, exhibits, panels) for donors and clients, directly resulting in increased individual donations ($28,000 to over $51,000)
-Attended and presented at multiple local and national conferences on arts, disability and learning
Current Goals
Our goals for the year fall under three long-term strategic goals:
1. We will work locally, while thinking and influencing nationally. In the next year, we will strengthen our advocacy and communication strategies, as well as pilot a Teaching Artist Training Institute to equip more artists and educators with our unique approach to teaching and access.
2. We will serve individuals with disabilities from birth to 95+. In the next year, we will further develop our programs for children birth to 3 with disabilities and their parents, as well as elderly individuals with disabilities, modeling arts integration at every stage of life.
3. We will create an organizational design and culture reflective of our work, beliefs, and values. In the next year, we will make a larger investment in our artists by expanding benefits and supports for them.
Community or Constituency Served
We provide programming for individuals from birth to 75+ with developmental, emotional, behavioral, and physical disabilities as well as those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and those with visual impairments. Because disability does not discriminate, our participants come from a wide range of socio economic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
Geographic Area Served
We are based out of Minneapolis, MN and the bulk of our programming is carried out within the Twin Cities metro area and surrounding suburbs. However, we do also carry out programs outside of the metro, and have conducted programming as far south as Mankato, MN and as far north as Brainerd, MN. We have an ongoing relationship with partners in Milwaukee, WI, where we carry out programs quarterly. In addition we have presented and taught programs at conferences nationwide.
