Nonprofits throughout the Central Coast have been hard pressed to keep going—especially nonprofits tasked with providing arts programs. But somehow, they’ve managed to keep going, usually with the help of strong supporters and financial contributions.
The Santa Maria Philharmonic got a new lease on life from increased contributions after an aggressive fundraising push, as well as a generous benefactor.
Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation (OCAF) had its own support from increased membership, an innovative arts academy, which creates a financial win-win; and its annual gala. OCAF supporters came out in force dressed in their finest at the annual winter gala, enjoying an elegant evening while dropping some much-needed cash to support the arts on Feb. 24.
Because this year marked OCAF’s 10-year anniversary, the event’s honorees were the founding board members: Mark Biedinger, Jim Bray, Jan Brown, Pat Eggleton, Mike Gibson, Bob Hatch, Pat McDermott, Robin Portwood, Franziska Shepard, Alex Simas, Chris Slaughter, Victor Tognazzini, and Dr. Bill Tibbs.
As of press time, OCAF Executive Director Hannah Rubalcava was still tallying the total amount raised during the evening, but she said $15,000 came in from the live auction alone.
“The night went really well,” she said. “We are so pleased.”
About 160 people attended the gala—OCAF’s primary fundraising event. Rubalcava said the gala usually attracts between 160 and 200 people each year.
“We were happy with attendance,” she said. “Especially given the state of things, that was a good showing.”
OCAF began as a way to meet a condition tied to grant money received by the Orcutt School District: The district had to find a way to sustain whatever it started with the five-year state grants to fund arts programs. So with time nearly up, OCAF was born.
Now, a decade after its founding, OCAF has come a long way in helping the district continue providing arts programs for students. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than half a million dollars for schools, and Orcutt schools have been able to continue band enrichment programs and take trips to art venues like the Getty Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. An artist-in-residence program serves 116 kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms with art lessons and provides mini-grants to school staff to incorporate into lesson plans.
The foundation made possible such programs as band and chorus and the re-start of a string program halted some 35 years ago—all of this during a time when most schools are cutting arts funding.
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But it hasn’t been easy, and last year’s economy nearly marked the foundation’s demise. To survive, board members came up with a way to make art pay for the arts. OCAF started the Orcutt Arts Academy as more than just a day camp-style program; it presents a way for professionals to train students in the arts.
The program works two-fold; it helps OCAF raise funds through tuition collected and puts money back into the arts because it allows OCAF to hire and pay local artists to teach the programs.
The program got off to a fast start and has been picking up steam ever since.
With the successful program infusing new life into the nonprofit, OCAF earned another victory by way of a $5,000 grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation.
All of this comes at the heels of OCAF’s ASK campaign, which focuses on its membership program and has been successful in raising membership dollars from $1,600 to $11,000 in just one year.
With the gala over for this year, the board will focus on the Orcutt Arts Academy, which is developing into one of OCAF’s most important and successful endeavors. The foundation has kept the arts part of the curriculum, reaching thousands of students in the process—and through the Arts Academy and with the continued support of the Orcutt community, OCAF hopes to reach thousands more in its next 10 years.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone thinks children and art pair well. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2012.