Culture for One Inc.

TO INSPIRE NEW YORK CITYS CHILDREN LIVING IN FOSTER CARE BY PROVIDING CULTURAL EXPERIENCES AND EXPOSURE TO A BROADER WORLD. THROUGH THESE ARTS OPPORTUNITIES WE ARE IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR THESE MOST VULNERABLE YOUTH, AND FOR SOME, CHANGING THEIR TRAJECTORIES FOREVER.

Culture For One transforms the lives of New York City children in foster care through the power of the arts. Our Cultural Excursions, Arts Scholarships, and Arts Workshops Programs inspire creativity, create community, and introduce vulnerable young people to broader possibilities for their future. We are the only non-profit in NYC devoted solely to ensuring that youth in foster care have access to the arts. We fill a critical gap in child welfare services: while the arts are known to promote healthy growth at every developmental stage, opportunities to engage in the arts are rarely available to youth in foster care. Our programs introduce the youth to the wonders and magic of the arts, from music, dance, and painting to fashion, writing, and theater. Culture For One programs deliver sources of motivation that young people need to thrive, not just survive.

Goal One: Needs for our services are increasing; the number of partner foster care agencies has grown and current partners are requesting additional services due to the positive outcomes they see.

Goal Two: We are increasing our programming for families in preventive care. This is in accordance with a redirection of NYC social services organizations to help keep birth families intact.

Goal Three: We are expanding our corporate outreach (e.g., Spotify) to provide opportunities for the youth we serve and to make more people aware of the needs of youth in care.

CFO is a member of YouthInc, a network of youth-centered non-profits that offers guidance and support in many areas, including Board development, fundraising, outreach, and creating community. CFO is on the YouthInc Governance Committee which offers our Executive Board practical guidance in building leadership capacity, developing accountability and best leadership practices, and succession planning.

After 10 years in service, we now have many older youth in our programs, with needs specific to their circumstances. Between the ages of 18 and 21, with some exceptions, youth in foster care become ineligible for the government assistance they had been receiving. With little or no support, they are tasked with finding housing, medical care, and a way to continue their education or launch a career. In response, we have adapted our 3 arts programs, with a focus on readying youth aging out of care for independent adulthood; into the workforce or secondary education. For example, we arrange visits, workshops, and internships with industries in the NYC area to expose the youth to careers that might interest them, learn about job skills needed, and form connections with people in that industry. Examples are Spotify, Bergdorf Goodman, and Hauser & Wirth Gallery. We have also been successful in working with youth on portfolio development needed for college applications.