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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTeen Trust-Grant Application-12.10.2007 } -/o -a/ . ;_ wa t H F.` center to, th'. .. V 15.25 in ,,tg!ars December 3, 2007 Teen Trust Sunni Swarbrick 425 Cedar Street-Suite S 10 PO Box 1176 Waterloo,IA 50704 Dear Sunni: Throughout the school year students across the Cedar Valley will venture into the community for a variety of cultural, recreational and educational experiences, and the new Phelps Youth Pavilion will be top on their list to visit this year. To ensure that all students have the opportunity to experience the wonder,discovery and learning that the Phelps Youth Pavilion has to offer, students visiting with their classroom will pay a discounted admission price of $1/student through the Experiencing the Phelps Youth Pavilion: Student Field Trips program. It is the Waterloo Center for the Arts' goal to offer the Pavilion experience to school field trip groups for $1/student to remove the financial barrier of the $5 full admission price and to more fully integrate and provide all kids, regardless of their socio-economic background, with the same cultural opportunities in our community. The Phelps Youth Pavilion, a new expansion to the Waterloo Center for the Arts, will offer curriculum-based education programs and exhibits that are directly related to the schools' benchmarks and standards, as well as the Six Pillars of Character — aligning with concepts that students are currently learning in the school setting. It will also provide the community accessibility and visibility to the arts, which will foster awareness and appreciation and create a stronger Cedar Valley. The Pavilion is a commitment to the Cedar Valley; it's impact on local business; it's quality of life; it's economic development; it's cultural impact; it's tourism; it's education;it's community inclusiveness;and best of all,it's youth support. To create a more inclusive community with its interactive cultural experiences, the Waterloo Center for the Arts respectfully requests a $2,000 investment from Teen Trust to fund the Experiencing the Phelps Youth Pavilion: Student Field Trips program for 500 Cedar Valley students. As you review the enclosed proposal, please feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like any additional information about this project, the Waterloo Center for the Arts, or the Phelps Youth Pavilion. Teen Trust's commitment to youth giving to youth in the community is remarkable, and we hope it sees this project as a noteworthy endeavor to bring affordable cultural experiences to life for the Cedar Valley community and beyond. warm re ards, ripn S annon Farlo D velopment/ arketing Director + The Phelps Mouth Pavilion...where Art launches a world of wonder, discovery, and learning. + uu i ,2(in> 1 r.en'l rust Grant Applicanon TA Tem 20(0)7 2OO8 Ten Trust 1-irtatst Grant App i©afl n "Our Teamwork Makes the Difference." *OPEN TO AGENCIES SERVING ALL AGES* We,the Teen Trust Board of Directors, are a diverse group of students from area high schools being advised by a qualified college student. We have been given$10,000 from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to allocate to 501 (c)3 agencies in Black Hawk County. Our application will be open to agencies serving all ages. Using a grant application system, site visits, and interviews, we work as a team to decide which organizations we wish to help through financial aid or volunteerism. Teen Trust provides us the opportunity to serve as trustees and young philanthropists in our community. If applicable to your project, please use the following in your application: >- The Black Hawk County Comprehensive Plan for Youth, developed by Cedar Valley's Promise The 40 Developmental Assets,created by the Search Institute of Minneapolis,MN Any questions or concerns can be directed to: Sunni Swarbrick, Teen Trust Student Director, (319)287-9106 DEADLINE: All grant applications must be postmarked by Dec. 15,2007 Please type or print legibly in ink Description of Organization: Name of Organization or Sponsoring Organization: Waterloo Center for the Arts Organization's Target Age Group: 1 -91 years old Address: 225 Commercial Street,Waterloo Contact Person/Program Coordinator: Shannon Farlow E-mail Address: shannon.farlow(a,waterloo-ia.org Web Site Address: www.waterloocenterforthearts.org Phone Number: 319-291-4490 Fax Number: 319-291-4270 Best Time to be Reached: Monday-Thursday 8:00-4:30pm Business Hours:Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-6:00pm;Sunday 1:00-5:00pm;Closed Mondays. Description of Project: Name of Project: Expaieidng the Phelps Youth Pavilion:Student Field Trips Dollar Amount Requested: $2,000 Total Project Budget: $3,400 Project's Target Age Group: 6- 12 years old Estimated Number of People Served: 500 Proposed Time Frame for Project: August 2008 thru May 2009 Program Hours: (If different than business hours): <same as above> s0)7-200s Teen Trust Cu-ant:,pplicanon Answer the following questions in numerical order to assist us in understanding your organization's need. Please use no smaller than 11 point font and do not exceed 6 pages double-spaced when answering the following questions. Organization's Background Information 1. What is your organization's mission statement? The Waterloo Center for the Arts' mission is to initiate and further awareness, appreciation and support of the arts by a diverse audience. 2. When was your organization established in Black Hawk County? In 1947, art exhibits began in the Recreation and Arts facility in Waterloo and the first Arts Coordinator was hired to direct the Art Department. 3. How has your organization affected the citizens of Black Hawk County both currently and in the past? The Waterloo Center for the Arts is a municipal, non-profit organization governed by the City of Waterloo's Cultural and Arts Commission. Since 1947, the Center has been accomplishing its mission through collection, preservation, exhibition, education, support of area artists and outreach programming. The Center's newest addition, the Phelps Youth Pavilion, will also launch a world of interactive wonder, discovery and learning for children and their families in Black Hawk County and beyond. The Waterloo Center for the Arts offers a full range of programs to the community including exhibits, educational/interpretive programs for all ages,care and display of a significant permanent art collection, special events, a gift shop, cafe', and an active volunteer program. The Waterloo Center for the Arts strives to support local, state and Midwest artists, and to collaborate with area schools and cultural and community organizations make a more inclusive Cedar Valley community. In addition to offering a variety of programming for preschool through senior adults, the Center is home to The Waterloo Community Playhouse, Black Hawk Children's Theatre, Metropolitan Chorale, Municipal Band, NAMI Club, Senior Citizens Club, Senior Singers, and 36 community organizations and hobby groups that meet at the Center on a regular basis. 2007-2008 Teen Trust Grant Application Project's Background Information 1. When was your project established in Black Hawk County? The Phelps Youth Pavilion is an expansion to the Waterloo Center for the Arts and will open in Spring 2008; however, its predecessor, the Junior Art Gallery, has been operating since 1968; and the idea of the expanded Phelps Youth Pavilion has been on the drawing board since 1996. This 39,000 square-foot addition will move the nationally recognized Junior Art Gallery out of the Center's basement, double its size and create a more secure, accessible exhibit area for the thousands of school children who visit each year. The new Phelps Youth Pavilion will include three Junior Art Galleries that will offer unique hands-on activities for exploring art — from simple drawing to high-tech adventures; a new Digital Arts Lab will merge art, creativity and technology; a new Ceramics Studio will provide a larger, better designed space for popular clay programs; and increased storage for the Center's growing permanent art collection will be added, while improved receiving and preparation areas will allow the Center to secure loans of high quality art from other museums across the nation. 2. What goals do you hope to achieve? During the 2007-2008 school year, students across the Cedar Valley will venture into the community for a variety of cultural, recreational and educational experiences, and the new Phelps Youth Pavilion at the Waterloo Center for the Arts will be top on their list to visit. To ensure that all students have the opportunity to experience the wonder, discovery and learning that the Phelps Youth Pavilion has to offer, students visiting with their classroom will pay a discounted admission price of$1/student. This discounted price will remove the financial barrier of the $5 full admission price and to more fully integrate and provide all kids, regardless of their socio-economic background, with the same cultural opportunities in our community. To create a more inclusive community with its interactive cultural experiences, the Waterloo Center for the Arts is requesting Teen Trust's support of this project at the $2,000 level. This funding will underwrite $4 of the $5 Youth Pavilion admission cost per person for 500 local students. To give students a sense of responsibility and appreciation of their Pavilion experience, the students/classrooms will always be responsible for paying $1/student for their Phelps Youth Pavilion field trip experience. 3 Of s • 2007-2008 Teen Trust Grant Application During their two-hour field experience at the Youth Pavilion, students will tour Junior Art Galleries I, II, and III, where they will engage in multi-disciplinary hands-on exhibits in a two-level, self-directed environment that will encourage the exploration of art, culture and creative learning. Some of the exhibits they will explore include: Grant's Farm, featuring a one-room schoolhouse with an animated teacher and a magic chalkboard, where they will learn draw chickens the way famous Iowan artist Grant Wood did, transform their personal artwork into a 2-D composition, and hop on a tractor and virtually drive through a Grant Wood painting; the Puppet Playhouse, giving kids the opportunity to design puppets, and develop storylines, scripts and performance techniques; the Construction Zone, showing kids how to explore art and the architectural concepts of symmetrical/asymmetrical balance, structural design, form and function; and Art Across Cultures, focusing on cultural diversity of the family life, language, art, ethnic foods, traditions and celebrations of five different countries. The Phelps Youth Pavilion is a place where the young and young at heart can embrace and interact with the culturally diverse community they live in, while also learning about the cultural differences around the world. Exposure to these opportunities will truly make the Cedar Valley a more inclusive and accepting community. 3. How will the requested money specifically be applied? The requested funds from Teen Trust will be used to remove the financial barrier for 500 local students to experience the Phelps Youth Pavilion. With Teen Trust's assistance, students from varying socio-economic backgrounds will be provided an interactive, hands-on experience that will spark their imagination, foster creative thinking, build self-confidence, and reduce high-risk behavior. The $4/student subsidy from Teen Trust will allow the Waterloo Center for the Arts to maintain its high quality exhibits and continually develop amazing cultural and educational experiences at the Phelps Youth Pavilion for 500 students. This funding opportunity will be offered to local elementary and middle school classrooms. Participation will be on a first-come,first-served basis, but the opportunity will be presented and available to all local schools, so as many students as possible will have the opportunity to experience the Phelps Youth Pavilion,regardless of any financial constraints. 4 ofS . 9007-2006 Teen Trust Grant Application 4. Do you receive donations or grants from any other source(s) for this project? Please list from whom or where you receive the donation/2rants and how much you receive. Target has committed $1,500 towards offering $1/student field trip experiences for an additional .375 students, and the R.J. McElroy Trust has committed $12,600/year for the next three years to provide transportation of school groups planning a trip to the Phelps Youth Pavilion. Additionally, as an extension to this project, Courier Communications has committed monthly in-kind advertising services so the Waterloo Center for the Arts can offer $1/person admission once a month to the community at-large. 5. Why is there a financial need for this project? There are so many classrooms in the Cedar Valley whose students simply cannot afford the price tag of $5/person to visit the Phelps Youth Pavilion. This barrier, coupled with the limited field trip budgets for schools, creates the financial need for this project. The $1/student admission price for those visiting with their classroom on a field trip experience will give students a sense of responsibility and appreciation for their Pavilion experience, while still removing the bulk of the financial constraints. The interactive exhibit areas will spark students' imagination, foster creative thinking, build self-confidence, and reduce high- risk behavior—worthwhile and amazing results for their$1 investment. 6. If a similar project has been done in the past,what were the results? N/A 7. What issues does your project address on the macro level? Not only will this project give 500 local students the opportunity to experience a world of wonder, discovery and learning at the Phelps Youth Pavilion, the entire Cedar Valley community will benefit from their experience in creative thinking and learning to appreciate the diversity in art, culture, and each other. The Phelps Youth Pavilion will really make art come alive for area children. The Phelps Youth Pavilion will be a place where students will play to learn and teachers/parents will learn to play. Both will walk away with a better understanding and appreciation for the arts, meaningful critical thinking skills, and a diverse sensory stimulation experience. Additionally, The Phelps Youth Pavilion offers curriculum- based education programs and exhibits that are directly related to the schools' benchmarks and standards, as well as the Six Pillars of Character — aligning with these concepts that 5of8 200'-200a Teen Trust Grant Application students are currently learning in the school setting. The Pavilion will also provide the community accessibility and visibility to the arts,which will foster awareness and appreciation and create a stronger Cedar Valley. The Phelps Youth Pavilion is a commitment to the Cedar Valley; it's impact on local business; it's quality of life; it's economic development; it's cultural impact;it's tourism;it's education;and best of all,it's youth support. 8. In one sentence, tell us why your organization is the most deserving. The Phelps Youth Pavilion at the Waterloo Center for the Arts is a place like nothing you've ever seen or imagined, and Teen Trust's funding will give 500 local students from varying socio-economic backgrounds an amazing opportunity to create their own interactive world of world of wonder,discovery and learning. Additional Information 1. How is your organization willing to evaluate the progress of this project? The Waterloo Center for the Arts engages in a formal, evaluative review processes on an ongoing basis because the active learning that the Phelps Youth Pavilion creates does not end with the museum visit. Internally, program statistics are maintained and reports are regularly reported to the Cultural and Arts Commission. Additionally, programs and exhibit areas are monitored and reviewed by staff and various standing committees (Education Committee, Cultural and Arts Commission, Marketing Committee, Development Committee). A variety of evaluative tools, such as pre and post packets provided to teachers and face-to-face testimonial surveys, are employed to collect feedback data from program participants,which is tabulated and analyzed on an annual and semi-annual basis, with the results then used as quantitative measures to determine if program and exhibit objectives have been successfully met and to assist in the development of future exhibit plans. This process will be especially critical in the early stages of the Phelps Youth Pavilion as new programs, exhibits and facilities must be intensely evaluated and modified as necessary. 2. Is the budget reasonable for the project and the projected time frame? Explain. The budget is reasonable and well defined to reach 500 Cedar Valley students within the projected timeframe of 2008-2009 school year. This will provide ample time for these classrooms to schedule their field trip experience within the school year and still take of s O`-!OOr Teen Trust<v uit_application advantage of the cost savings of utilizing these funds. The budget solely focuses on the direct costs of the project: admission and transportation, both of which are the determining factors for school tour group attendance to the Phelps Youth Pavilion. 3. Please include a statement about how your project addresses the Opportunity Works Strategic Plan. (Visit www.opportunityworksiowa.org for more information.) If your project affects youth. please also include a statement about how your project addresses the Cedar Valley's Promise Strategic Plan and the 40 Developmental Assets. (Information is available at the Community Foundation office,or visit the Foundation's Web site: www.cedarvalleyspromise.org). The Cedar Valley's Promise's "Promises" will be addressed by this project as it will connect youth to caring adults. The Center offers children a safe place with structured activities during non-school hours and provides and an opportunity for children to build ongoing relationships with caring adults who staff and volunteer at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. A safe place like the Center will also nurture young people's skills and interests, enrich their academic performance and give them opportunities to contribute to their community. The Center's docents (tour guides) and gallery gurus (gallery volunteers)will help visitors get the most out of their Phelps Youth Pavilion experience by listening to and engaging youth in the interactive,hands-on creativity they will create. The Phelps Youth Pavilion also aligns closely with the vision of the Opportunity Works' Strategic Plan, as it helps create the realization for people of all ages and backgrounds in the community that they all have the assets, support, and opportunity to be successful. An experience at the Pavilion shows visitors that the world of creativity is within everyone's reach, and it encourages them to think outside the box. Through each exhibit area in the Pavilion, visitors will SEE and EXPERIENCE how creativity can fuel their opportunities, and REALIZE that they can do anything. This project's goal of removing the financial barrier for these students to attend the Pavilion with their classroom speaks volumes to the missions of both the Cedar Valley's Promise and Opportunity Works. 4. How did you fmd out about Teen Trust and or the Teen Trust grant? We received an email from Carolynn Sween at the Community Foundation about this opportunity. 5. If you have previously received a Teen Trust grant, please describe how the funds were used. N/A ,,i 2007 _'OU 1,en"Trust<>rautt ation Important Information Be sure to include the following: ,WC A financial statement for the sponsoring„rir A detailed summary of the project budget including all projected sources of funding. XA copy of the organization's 501(c)3 determination letter. )(" Any additional information that would help the decision making process. Signature of organization or project chairperson: g CkJtA,',(,11 G�✓ Date: ci-o c nb t- Applications must be postmarked by Dec.15, 2007 Mail to: Teen Trust 425 Cedar Street- Suite 310 PO Box 1176 Waterloo, IA 50704 Teen Trust is a program of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. COMMUNITY FOUNDATION of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa For good.For ever. :;f. PROJECT BUDGET Experiencing The Youth Pavilion: Student Field Trips During the school year, students across the Cedar Valley venture into the community for a variety of cultural, recreational and educational experiences, and now, the new Phelps Youth Pavilion will be top on their list to visit. We are asking consideration of Teen Trust to remove the fmancial barrier for 500 elementary and middle school students to experience the Phelps Youth Pavilion on a classroom field trip. Below outlines the direct costs associated with this project. Total Project Expense Budget Total Teen Additional Project Trust Sources of Expense Request Funding Admission to the Phelps Youth Pavilion: $2,500 $2,000 $500 500 student experiences @$5/student The cost to experience the Phelps Youth Pavilion supports 500 Participating the continuous development of correlating educational student students will fund 1 programs that relate to the exhibits, the cost of ongoing experiences the remaining facility and exhibit maintenance and volunteer training. @$4/student $1/student to fulfill the$5/student admission cost. Transportation to the Phelps Youth Pavilion: $900 $0 $900 10 buses for 500 students @$90/bus The average cost to transport 2 classrooms(average of 50 The R.J.McElroy students)to and from the Phelps Youth Pavilion is$90 per Trust will be bus. This is a cost not covered by the schools' annual supporting this field trip budget. entire cost. J Total Project Bud et: $3,400 $2,000 $1,400 Total Teen" Additional Project Trust Sources of Expenses Request Funding • Phelps ti T7.1ev ! s uu ipavilion r i vt ,,----- * I rust "Our Teamwork Makes the Difference."