CREATIVE LEAPS:
Journal for the Arts in Leadership and Interdisciplinary Learning

Partnered Funding Proves Successful through Opportunities and Incentives Fund

As funding and commitment to arts education diminishes, fewer and fewer schools can afford the full cost of arts programming provided by outside organizations such as The Learning Arts. On average, The Learning Arts and its partner schools depend on the generosity of individuals, foundations, and corporations for more than 25% of its financial support. It is only through such partnered funding scenarios that some students may have hope of arts education in their classroom.

The Learning Arts passes along corporate, foundation, and private support to its partner schools through the Opportunities and Incentives Fund. This fund is designed especially for those schools and organizations whose resources cannot meet the full cost of our programming—a list growing longer by the day. The Fund provides opportunity for those schools and districts with limited resources as well as additional incentive for those who are either: 1) working with us for the first time; or 2) expanding their partnership with us. It is a funding formula that has proven mutually beneficial over the years both for The Learning Arts and for its many partner schools.

The Opportunities and Incentives Fund for the 2003-2004 school year is sponsored in part by the Stewart’s Foundation and generous gifts from individual donors. In past years, the Fund has been made possible through grants from individuals, corporations, and foundations such as the GE Fund, the Pfizer Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information on the Opportunities and Incentives Fund, and to find out if your school qualifies for funding, contact Learning Arts administrator Karyn Bovino at (845) 225-7508 or karyn @ learningarts org. For information on how to support the fund, contact Learning Arts President John Cimino at (845) 528-5908 or jcimino @ creativeleaps org.