Hello philanthropy lovers, we have exciting news to share!
We have been working for the past few months learning the strategic process and we finally got to put some of the knowledge we’ve gained to work. We had 5 proposals to review, five different organizations that replied to our RFP! The discussion to narrow the options down to three was a difficult one. We really had to take a deeper look into what we expected out of our grant money, our target audience and key cause.
The NWTC Artisan Center in corroboration with the Green Bay Aging and Disability Resources Center was one of our grant proposal finalists! We visited the NWTC Artisan Center on April 17th, 2017. We felt very comfortable as soon as we entered their facility and got to see the many different art mediums offered. If the organizations in collaboration receive the grant from our class, they plan to implement a curriculum at the St Norbert's College that incorporates communication between students and home-bound older members of the community. The course will teach students on how to effectively communicate and break down social stigmas related to aging. The result of the “Maymester” course would be creation of an art piece that tells the older adults’ stories in an innovative way that would spark conversation about authentic arts and true communication throughout the community.
The ARTGarage was one of our three finalists! We visited their location on April 19th, 2017. What a great set of buildings they have to offer some awesome opportunities to the Green Bay area! I think that all of us were very happy to be welcomed in with such enthusiasm. The mission of the ARTGarage is as follows: to encourage an appreciation for and participation in the visual, performing and literary arts. We believe that the ARTGarage has a lot of opportunity to help our community develop in a positive and artistic way, which their proposal showcased. We were also very excited to learn more about this local nonprofit during our site visit. There is a lot of space to offer programs for a wide variety of skill sets, ages, and art mediums to be utilized for expression.
Curative Connections of Green Bay was also a finalist! Our class visited their location on April 24, 2017. We were extremely impressed with their large facility and friendly staff. After a quick tour, we were able to sit down with the program directors to hear more about how the $10,000 grant would benefit them. We learned that Curative Connections has been providing service to seniors for the past 50 years. Mostly focusing on people who have disabilities that are affecting their ability to live as independently as they would like to live. They especially focus on people with dementia and the families and caregivers that are part of their lives. If they were to receive the grant they would put the money towards an activity specialist position who would focus on bringing more art into their multiple programs. It would also give them the opportunity to buy art supplies and hire artists to teach classes. We were also excited to hear that they would be connecting with local schools, so students could build relationships with the older adults in their programs.
