A CENTER FOR YOUTH ENTERPRISE

 

 

Capital Campaign

Capital Campaign Statement

In Kansas City’s urban core, students increasingly are leaving high school without joining the workforce or pursuing higher education.  More and more, members of this generation in crisis are disappearing into society’s margins.

ArtsTech exists to keep our young people in the mainstream, bettering the lives of underserved urban youth through the development of marketable artistic and technical skills.

History

For more than three decades, ArtsTech operated as Pan-Educational Institute (PEI) from a small office in Independence, Missouri.  Throughout its history, PEI provided wide-ranging services to youth and educators, often in partnership with government and other non-profit organizations, and almost always outside the public eye.  At the dawn of the 21st century, with new leadership in place, PEI began an evolutionary process that resulted in a new clarity of vision and mission. 

It de-emphasized and eliminated programs that provided small returns and worked to build programs with the most potential to benefit Kansas City’s youth.  As part of its evolution, PEI dramatically increased its involvement in arts and technology education.  Spurred by data showing that youth involved in hands-on arts programs are far less likely to become entangled in the juvenile justice system, PEI committed to putting such programs at the heart of its work.

PEI’s evolution culminated in 2007 when the organization changed its name to ArtsTech to more succinctly and forcefully convey its mission and bought its current home at 1522 Holmes in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, a building that has allowed ArtsTech to exponentially increase its ability to serve the young people at the core of its mission.

The Center

The greatest physical asset in ArtsTech’s future plans is its headquarters, a 31,000 square-foot building in the Crossroads Arts District, which provides capabilities unique among the region’s youth arts organizations.  In addition to ArtsTech’s administrative offices, the building’s first floor houses some of the most comprehensive facilities of their kind for a non-profit organization, including fully functional studios for the creation of Ceramics, Photography, Computer/Graphic Design, Murals, and Silk Screening. 

Though new to ArtsTech, the building was constructed in 1930.  Formerly owned by a sign-making/printing company, it is in the process of being transformed from an industrial facility to one that welcomes the public and enables ArtsTech’s students to have a comprehensive arts education experience.  The second floor has undergone only partial renovations to date, but holds unlimited potential, with gallery space dedicated to art showings and other public uses, and office space available for lease to other non-profit arts organizations.

Representative Programs

Metropolitan Youth Arts & Technology for Students – MyARTS

A collaboration with Jackson County, Missouri’s COMBAT (Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax), MyARTS makes the fullest use of ArtsTech’s downtown facilities.

Students, ages 15-19, who are referred through schools, churches and other community resources, are introduced to MyARTS through a 72-hour unpaid apprenticeship, during which they receive training in basic entrepreneurial skills, like marketing and accounting.  Then, the students – who are required to maintain good standing in school – begin part-time paid positions in ArtsTech’s studios, producing work for sale, including pieces commissioned by clients.

Under the supervision of professional artists and mentors (who, like the youth, are paid through COMBAT’s grant), the students develop and hone marketable skills.  Youth in the Mural Studio draw and paint, and their work has been featured in a permanent installation at the College Basketball Experience and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.  Students in the Ceramics Studio produce fine pottery and mosaics; a mosaic they installed at ArtsTech’s headquarters has been appraised at $20,000.  In the Graphic Design studio, students create with technology, using computers to produce newsletters, brochures and other materials for their clients (i.e., Jackson County Family Court, Cabana Tan, ReStart, Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization).  Students in the Photography studio master both digital and traditional formats and develop their own work in ArtsTech’s darkroom.  And the Silk Screen Studio is bustling with young people creating t-shirts, posters and high-quality greeting cards for sale, including orders commissioned by clients like the University of Kansas Medical Center, Barack Obama presidential campaign, Kauffman Scholars, and DeLaSalle Education Center. MyARTS served 59 youth last year.  Initial results are very impressive with 15 of the 17 high school seniors going on to college; another apprentice is working fulltime.

Sentenced to the Arts

Another collaboration with COMBAT, Sentenced to the Arts, tackles one of the community’s most difficult problems by helping to turn around the lives of youth who have been adjudicated in the juvenile justice system.

Since 1999, Sentenced to the Arts has annually served 700+ adjudicated youth, placing them in structured, professional arts environments where they can learn and practice skills while modeling positive behaviors.  Under the supervision of professional artists, students are permitted to positively and therapeutically express themselves through a wide range of visual and performing arts – painting, filmmaking, poetry, music and dance, among others.  In the past nine years, the program has undergone four independent studies that prove its effectiveness.  An evaluation by the University of Central Missouri revealed that participants make great strides in self-esteem, self-discipline, communication skills, learning and studying, anger management, emotional maturity, and attitude.  The same study showed a remarkable impact on recidivism, with court referrals down by 75 percent, and a positive effect on academic achievement, with participants’ GPAs increasing, on average, by a full letter grade. .

Computer Repair and Redistribution and other services

One of ArtsTech’s longest-running programs, Computer Repair and Redistribution (a collaboration with the National Cristina Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing computers to people in need), helps to bridge the digital divide.  ArtsTech takes computers donated from the likes of Sprint Corporation, Kinko’s, Bank Midwest and Ferrelgas, repairs and refurbishes them, and sells them at cost or gives them to people with disabilities and other needs, to schools, and to other non-profit organizations in the United States and worldwide.  Some have gone to schools in Africa.  On average, it takes five donated computers to make two working refurbished models, and ArtsTech delivers about 650 computers a year to its clients, though demand currently far exceeds supply.  The program is staffed by high school-age students who work part-time and earn valuable technical and professional experience in a structured environment.  In fact, the two full-time, adult ArtsTech employees who direct Computer Repair and Redistribution are graduates of the program. Other program graduates have gone on to the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, UCLA, and the renowned Full Sail Graphic Design University in Florida.

In addition to repair and redistribution services, ArtsTech’s technical staff provides networking services for organizations, including Niles Home for Children and UCLA Charter School, maintenance agreements, and computer repair and troubleshooting training for both youth and adult learners.  It is also teaching Web site development to members of Boys and Girls Clubs in Kansas and Missouri.  And recently, ArtsTech signed a partnership agreement with One Economy, a non-profit group that provides Internet connectivity to low-income urban core families, churches, and organizations.

Flash 20/12 –N– Your Super Grill and Global AXIS

These two collaborations with Storytellers, Inc., a local non-profit arts organization, demonstrate ArtsTech’s power to reach beyond its walls and deep into the Kansas City community to benefit youth.  Created through a grant from the REACH Healthcare Foundation and continuing through the generosity of the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Flash 20/12 –N- Your Super Grill is a multimedia project built around a specially created comic book that teaches the importance of good oral hygiene, explains the dangers of popular fads like tongue piercing and metallic/jeweled teeth applications, and gets young people to visit dentists.  The multimedia materials were created by Storytellers’ professional artists and young artists hired from the MyARTS program and students from the Kansas City, Missouri, School District.

ArtsTech’s professional staff takes the program into community schools and presents it at assemblies.  In the 2007-08 school year, the program was presented in 20 schools to 4,000 students in grades 4 through 8.  In 2007 alone, 363 students who might otherwise have foregone dental care received it through the program.  At each school, students complete assessments to determine their need to see a dentist.  They are asked if they have ever been to a dentist, when they last had their teeth examined, and if they use a “grill.”  Based on the results, and with school nurses’ input, students are selected to see a dentist and are transported to the McCoy Elementary School dental clinic sponsored by the Samuel Rodgers Health Center.

Ultimately, Flash 20/12 will be a self-sustaining program, as ArtsTech and Storytellers teach schools how to present the program themselves.  Then, these organizations will turn to identifying other community needs that can be addressed by their unique blend of vision, art and technology.

Global AXIS is a multifaceted educational tool created in consultation with local teachers and used in urban middle school classrooms on both sides of the state line.  Global AXIS is a curriculum in a box (with lesson plans for teachers and supplies for students) that uses pop culture to engage students in meaningful study.  Created through a three-year grant from the United States Department of Education, Global AXIS uses interactive software to teach American history through hip-hop music.  It includes a unit on media literacy that helps students decipher the hundreds of thousands of advertisements they encounter in their lives.  And a program called Vivid Verbiage uses wordplay and art-based exercises to help students become more effective and persuasive writers.  In the program’s first year, students who participated in the arts and education curriculum along with the hip-hop class showed improved math and reading grades and had fewer instances of classroom disruption.  Students in the hip-hop group showed particularly remarkable progress.  Though they started with lower first quarter reading and math grades than their peers, by the end of the school year they had the highest reading and math grades and the highest overall GPA. Over the past three years, Global AXIS has served more than 1,600 children.

Capital Needs

Fittingly, when ArtsTech bought its headquarters in 2007, the building was a raw canvas.  Formerly owned by a sign-making/printing company, the building had some amenities ideal for ArtsTech’s students, but it was better suited for industry than for arts education and business.

ArtsTech’s staff, students and volunteers have worked to transform the building into a vibrant space for creativity, but the structure still bursts with untapped potential.  With certain well-considered improvements, ArtsTech’s headquarters could better serve its young artists and generate revenue streams that would allow ArtsTech to do even more of the work at the heart of its mission.

The Gallery at ArtsTech.  One of the most notable features of ArtsTech’s new home is the second floor 8,000-square-feet Gallery at ArtsTech, a versatile space ideal for art shows, performances and meetings, and also for revenue-generating events like wedding receptions.  The Gallery allows ArtsTech’s students to showcase their work and provides ArtsTech the opportunity to generate income that will allow the organization to expand and improve its programs and provide greater long-term financial stability.

 

The Gallery is already serving ArtsTech’s students well, hosting art showings, performing arts events, and the Sentenced to the Arts annual culminating event, where nearly 500 people from the community have seen the fruits of the adjudicated youth’s efforts. Over 2,200 patrons attended art showings at our gallery in the last fiscal year. It has also proved to be a revenue source by hosting several wedding receptions and other private events.  The Gallery will be even more useful to ArtsTech’s students and will generate greater revenue (through higher rents and more availability) with the following improvements.

• HVAC.  Substandard heating makes using The Gallery difficult during the depths of winter, and the lack of air conditioning makes it stifling during the height of summer.  A new HVAC system will allow ArtsTech’s students to make greater use of the space, and it also will allow ArtsTech to generate considerably greater revenue by renting the space in the summer, when the demand for wedding reception space is highest.
• Floors.  The Gallery’s wood floors have been neglected for years, and they need to be resurfaced to make the space welcoming to visitors and attractive to rental customers.
• Windows.  The Gallery’s windows are remnants of a previous era, and they need to be replaced to maximize aesthetic appeal and energy efficiency. 
• Prep Kitchen.  To make the fullest use of The Gallery as a destination for meetings and events, ArtsTech needs to construct a prep kitchen to facilitate catering and food preparation.
• Restrooms.  The restrooms on the second floor are outside the Gallery space and are of insufficient size to comfortably accommodate large gatherings.  Larger restrooms located inside the Gallery will be more convenient for guests and will allow ArtsTech to provide a better experience to its visitors.
• Lighting.  The Gallery’s old warehouse-style lighting is antiquated and needs updating to fully showcase ArtsTech students’ work and to make the space attractive to rental customers.
• Portable Partitions.  Part of The Gallery’s versatility rests in its vast open space.  Much of its potential rests in the ability to divide that space in various ways for art installations, performances, meetings and special events.  To achieve that end, ArtsTech needs to invest in portable partitions that will allow it to transform The Gallery to meet its students’ and clients’ needs.
• Architect.  In order to transform The Gallery and other parts of the building in the best, most appealing and most efficient way possible, ArtsTech needs to retain an architect to plan and oversee the project.

 

Executive Art Studios.  One goal for ArtsTech’s new headquarters is to become a hub for Kansas City’s non-profit arts community, using proximity to generate synergy.  Part of that goal was realized when Storytellers, Inc. became the first tenant in the second-floor space that will be transformed into Executive Art Studios.  Together, as previously described, ArtsTech and Storytellers have created programs with direct and demonstrable benefits to Kansas City’s youth.  But even more synergies will be created – and more revenue will flow to ArtsTech – when additional second-floor space is built out for lease to other non-profit organizations.  ArtsTech plans to renovate the Storytellers’ space and create three more 750 square-foot Executive Art Studio offices by subdividing the space and installing new flooring and lighting.

Lobby.  ArtsTech’s lobby and first floor reflect the building’s industrial past – old, cold, open and not very welcoming.  ArtsTech plans to renovate the space to make it more useful and more consistent with the vibrancy of the Crossroads Arts District and Kansas City’s revitalized downtown.  These plans include the following:

• Office Space.  ArtsTech’s administrative offices, located on the first floor, are insufficient to meet the organization’s growing needs.  To better accommodate its staff, ArtsTech needs to carve at least one more office out of the spacious lobby area.
• Paint.  When guests enter ArtsTech’s antiquated lobby, they are greeted by the dull, drab colors of yesteryear.  The space needs to be livened up with a coat (or two) of paint.
• Carpet.  Like the walls, the lobby’s floors reflect years of industrial wear and tear.  To put the best face on the facility, the space needs new carpet.
• Front Entry Rebuild.  Currently, visitors to The Gallery at ArtsTech must traverse the lobby to access the second floor.   This is less than ideal for guests and ArtsTech, especially for after-hours events.  To create a better experience, ArtsTech plans to rebuild the entry and open up the stairwell to give guests a better first impression and to allow direct access to The Gallery.
• Electronic Security.  The safety of ArtsTech’s students, staff and guests is our highest priority.  And though there have been few (if any) security issues to date, the reality is that ArtsTech’s headquarters is in an urban area, which brings some inherent risk.  To best manage that risk, ArtsTech will install an electronic security system.
• Fire Safety Upgrade.  American Fire and Sprinkler Corporation has recommended that ArtsTech change sprinkler heads and have its system linked to the fire department. While the current sprinkler system functions properly, these upgrades would ensure the integrity of the systems for years to come.
• Safety Light Replacement.  ArtsTech’s electrician has recommended that the current safety lights be replaced with new systems to meet existing codes. 
• ArtsTech Store.  ArtsTech’s students are in the business of creating works for sale, ranging from t-shirts and greeting cards to paintings and ceramics.  ArtsTech intends to construct a permanent place for the sale of these items in its lobby.

 

Exterior and Parking Lot.  Like its interior, the exterior of ArtsTech’s headquarters is showing its age and industrial heritage.  Improvements are necessary to preserve the building and to present the best possible face to the public in a safe environment.

• Tuckpointing.  ArtsTech’s building is constructed of brick, which has fallen into disrepair in places.  To shore up the problems and create more aesthetic appeal, a significant amount of tuckpointing work is necessary.
• Signage.  With its unexceptional exterior, ArtsTech needs a significant upgrade in outside signage to build equity in its name and to better enable visitors to find the facility.
• Lighting.  Additional exterior lighting is needed all around the building to improve security and discourage vandalism.
• Windows.  The windows on the north and west sides of the building are security hazards and do not meet current codes.  They need to be replaced with energy-efficient two-pane windows.
• Fire Escape.  A new enclosed outside fire escape will be built to meet existing fire codes.
• Parking Lot.  With forty-four spots of dedicated parking, ArtsTech’s parking lot is an asset to the organization.  And with its proximity to the Sprint Center and other attractions, it has the potential to be an even greater asset when used as paid parking for public events.  To fully realize this potential, the lot will need to be resurfaced and striped, and lighting must be installed for greater security.

 

Basement.  Like most industrial buildings of its vintage, the basement at ArtsTech’s headquarters needs some work.  Poor drainage from the roof has caused water damage to the basement and the west wall. Proper guttering has been installed and a sump pump helps to manage the problem, but the damage is in need of repair.

Building Mortgage.  ArtsTech had outgrown its longtime home in Independence, Missouri, when it discovered the 1522 Holmes property, which perfectly fit the organization’s needs.  Though the $1.15 million price presented a challenge, ArtsTech recognized that it could not pass up a chance to acquire a facility:

• In the heart of the population we serve;
• Surrounded by professional artists in the thriving Crossroads Arts District;
• Already equipped with amenities like a darkroom, ventilation hoods, and gallery space ideal for a youth arts organization; and
• In an emerging area with rapidly escalating property values, thus helping to secure ArtsTech’s future.

 

With such obvious potential, with time of the essence, and with the support of an anchor partner in COMBAT, ArtsTech secured $1.1 million in financing through Bank Midwest and the non-profit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and bought the building in 2007.  Recent valuations have shown this to be a prudent investment.  An appraisal in 2007 valued the property at $1.3 million for its current use, and up to $3.5 million for commercial development, and a July 2008 property assessment based on recent nearby sales put the property’s value at $1.9 million.  Rents paid by ArtsTech’s tenants (like COMBAT and Storytellers, Inc.) and revenues from special events support ArtsTech’s monthly mortgage payments.  But the faster ArtsTech can pay down its debt, the better it can serve Kansas City’s urban youth.  To that end, ArtsTech has secured $250,000 in Missouri Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits that it may transfer, dollar-for-dollar, to those who contribute funds toward its mortgage.  In all, ArtsTech hopes to raise $550,000 to apply to this debt.

Naming Opportunities.  Given the scope of ArtsTech’s programs and the size of its home, opportunities exist for funders to be recognized through the naming of programs or physical space.  ArtsTech’s professional staff and board of directors would be pleased to discuss options with any potential funders.

ArtsTech will conduct a $1.75 million capital campaign, with $1.2 million needed to renovate the center and pay for associated costs and $550,000 to cut the building mortgage in half.  Upon successful completion of the campaign, ArtsTech will be positioned to be self-sustaining, serve more youth through existing and expanded programming, and have an appreciating asset for the community to use.

 

Contributions

Gifts can be given toward our Capital Campaign, Operations, or Programs.

Contributions can be made by check or credit card. We accept Master Card, Visa, and Discover.
Please make checks payable to ArtsTech.

For credit card and/or NAP Tax Credits, please contact, Dave Sullivan at (816) 461-0201, ext. 310

Click here for 3-year pledge form

Thank you for your generous tax-deductible contribution!