Awakening Minds Art looks to the future

FINDLAY — Awakening Minds Art (AMA) is taking steps to make sure the 501c3 nonprofit organization last years into the future. AMA - which is dedicated to providing therapeutic and educational visual art programs to all ages and abilities — has announced the launch of "The Forever Fund" — a newly established endowment at the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation. "An endowment is like a piggy bank that never stops giving," said Emily Sullivan, AMA executive director and instructor. "This fund will grow year after year, helping us provide confidence-building, sensory-friendly, and skill-developing art programs to individuals of all ages and abilities, no matter what the future brings." This summer, AMA is rallying community support to build a lasting financial foundation through its 2025 Summer Campaign for the fund. With a benchmark goal of $10,000, this initiative will ensure AMA's mission lives on forever, supporting inclusive one-on-one and group programming for generations to come, she said. "Awakening Minds Art has been providing programming to our community for over a decade. We are thrilled to be housing The Forever Fund at the Community Foundation. Like most of our funds, this fund will help ensure their mission and programming lasts forever," said Brian Treece, president and CEO. The organization was started in 2009 by Sarah Crisp, who worked out of her car and went to nursing homes and schools to provide therapeutic art and art classes. Growth took the organization to two different studios, each bigger than the previous, until AMA finally landed at 317 S. Main St. A major capital campaign was held to raise funds to renovate the site and build it to meet the agency's needs. The studio opened in 2019. But when the pandemic struck the area, the facility was forced to close its doors due to lack of income for several months as most of the groups served — including nursing homes, schools and the special needs population — were deemed high-risk for COVID-19. The organization was able to bouncee back. Just over a year after closing, AMA relocated to share a space with The Sunshine Institute. Today. that space at 1640 Tiffin Ave. has become the agency's permanent home. Sullivan was voted into the executive director role in December of 2022. Growth and further sustainability followed in 2024. Instructors taught a full range of programs for all ages and abilities throughout Hancock, Wood, Putnam, Allen, and Seneca counties. "We saw a huge rise in programming from 2023 to 2024. And I can tell you that every month so far this year we have been above our budgeted goals for programs," she said. Sullivan said it feels good to be a place where they can finally look forward. "Over the past few years, we've been able to save some money. And so we are at the point now where we felt comfortable putting some money aside for the very longterm success of the organization," Sullivan said. "This is more than an emergency fund. Its more than rainy day savings. This money, any endowment as it grows over the years, will secure the funds we need to operate so it's really a blessing to our future." She said AMA recently opened an agency endowment with the community fund and they plan on slowly endowing that with $10,000 by the end of the year. The Community Foundation opened a sister account that is open to the public to donate to, she noted. "That's the fund we're requesting donations for and hoping that eventually also gets fully endowed at the $10,000 level," she said. "It only allows you to take that annual percentage out so it's ensuring that there's protection there." "We're always regrowing because of the past," she added. "And right now with this endowment we are focused entirely on the now and the present and the future." Community members are invited to be among the first founding donors of The Forever Fund. Donations of $25 or more will be honored with unique recognitions. Top tier donors, dubbed Masterpiece Makers, will receive prominent placement on a permanent recognition plaque at AMA's headquarters. "We really want everyone to be able to be part of this organization because we already believe that's happening in the community. So we're asking for the support of that same community that we paint with and that we do artwork with to come and help us to be around a really, really long time," said Sullivan. "As an organization, I feel really fortunate we're in place that we can look that far ahead and secure this place for generations to come." Sullivan said fundraising efforts this year will emphasize support for one-on-one programming, a key initiative for AMA during its inception in 2009. Supporters can give at: www.community-foundation.com/funds/awakening-minds-art-fund and through the AMA webpage under "Fundraisers & Events." Checks can also be mailed to the foundation at 101 W. Sandusky St., Suite 207, Findlay, Ohio 45840, and including "Awakening Minds Art" on the memo line.