Grant Proposal

For ApsaraStudios

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Need 4

Description 8

Evaluation Plan 9

Sustainability Plan 10

Budget 11

Organization Information 13

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Executive Summary

Apsara Studios mission is to promote technical innovation, social and environmental consciousness, and self-awareness in children by encouraging the natural and artistic abilities of the youth of Prince George’s County. The organization has recognized and is prepared to address the need/problem of the following issues: low graduation rate from high school in Prince George’s County, the higher crime rate in the County, and money, space and equipment. In addition, the organization is ready to address academic factors that are related to the downfall of children 18 and under. The causes facing young children in Prince George’s County are academic factors, interruptions in education, inadequate access to quality education, outside-of-school supports, lack of multiple path careerways, high youth unemployment, and missing motivation.

What will take place are the promotion of technical innovation, consciousness of social and environmental, and the self-awareness of children. Children that are younger than 18 and are lower-income will benefit from the program. Also, the organization will reside in South Prince George’s County, MD. The organization’s goals are to establish innovate and artistic programs to the children 18 and younger in South Prince George’s County, MD and to seek building space that is 100% sustainable, LEED certified.

In the evaluation plan, the organization will engage in surveys through morale to the students, character building, and evaluation through creativity of children. In the sustainability plan, Aspara Studios will operate as long as possible; however, future resources will be needed to keep it going.

The specific grant amount the organization requesting is $100,000 in year 1 and more in year 2 and beyond.

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Need

The need for Apsara Studios is money, space, and equipment (donations). The organization has 6 individuals employed in different capacity. Children that are 18 years and younger that reside in Prince George’s County (South County) and coming from low-income families are in need. The problems they have are low graduation rate from high school which keeps them from getting higher education and high-paying jobs. Also, a higher crime rate plays an important role in that which they are not being able to get out of the cycle. The reason these issues exist, for a lot has to do with race. The organization will serve all races (African-American, Hispanic, etc). In addition, families have not been able to afford school or daycare. As a result, children lack the education and knowledge to start businesses.

What will occur if the needs are met is to have children that will feel like they’re not out of control. Bringing innovation and artistic will make them excited about education; in other words, they can go to college. What and how will it be different is that there isn’t an organization in Prince George’s County that is doing arts and innovation for the children. The organization wants to build space that is 100% sustainable, build a building that is a net-zero, state of art (LEED certified). It is a learning tool that the children will become initiative within themselves. The evidence of the problem is the statistics of school dropouts and joblessness in the low-income bracket. In the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Connecting Youth to Opportunity: Creating College and Career Ready Young People in Prince George’s County report, there are approximately 7,000 young people between the ages of 16-24 with no high school diploma or job. These disconnected youth are part of a community facing increased high school dropout rates and low high school graduation rates. Once students leave high school, they are unemployed or underemployed, not enrolled in postsecondary institutions, or are enrolled but do not complete a postsecondary degree. As a result, employers cannot find skilled workers to fill necessary positions (3). The causes are as follows:

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Academic Factors

Students perform poorly on mandatory assessments in core subjects like reading, math, science, and social studies. In addition, a significant amount of students deemed “proficient” or “above” on these assessments struggle with basic skills deficiencies in reading, writing, math, and digital literacy. In the 2009/2010 academic year, 1,718 Maryland high school graduates enrolled at PGCC (Prince George’s Community College). Based on low scores on the ACCUPLACER placement test, 84.5% of these students were required to enroll in developmental education courses. The high need for remediation has an impact on persistence, as many students never make it through the developmental pipeline for reasons of time, cost, and morale. Therefore, academic “success” meaning graduation is not consistently aligned with college and career readiness.

Interruptions In Education

Students suffer academically due to interruptions in their education, including:

Exclusionary discipline – In-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, and expulsion are all punishments aimed at removing students from the academic environment. Sometimes these discipline referrals escalate to juvenile arrests, leading to what some call the “school-to-prison pipeline.” The Maryland State Board of Education has recently adopted new regulations designed to keep students in school and continue on track towards graduation while strengthening school safety. Local school systems are being required to adopt policies that reduce long-term out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, and use such actions only when a student engages in extreme disruptive behavior or poses a threat to themselves and others.

Student Mobility – Students entering and/or exiting a school or school system for various reasons (i.e., family move, homelessness, health, etc.) often lose valuable records and data about their academic performance in the process. They must frequently repeat courses at a new school or district, which prevents them from receiving the full benefits of their education. During the 2001-2012 school year, 2% of Prince George’s

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County Public School students were homeless. This represents just over 2,500 students.

Late Start – Families do not enroll their children in early childhood programs until the mandatory age of enrollment, which is five years of age. A late start in education means that students are more likely to spend the rest of their academic careers performing below grade-level in reading and math, and at a higher risk for developmental and behavioral difficulties.

Young Parents – Teenage mothers and fathers find the dual task of raising a child and completing their own education overwhelming. Many times these young parents put their education on hold or drop out of school altogether to care for their child and look for employment.

Inadequate Access to Quality Education

Students across Prince George’s County do not receive a consistent quality education from one school to the next. Inconsistent program offerings, varying staff structures, and different facilities are all factors that can contribute to uneven student performance results.

Outside-Of-School Supports

Even when students are successful academically, they often lack supports outside of school to offset factors that affect other areas of their life, like poverty, language barriers, abuse and neglect, or other difficult circumstances. Also referred to as wrap around services, outside-of-school supports are services or programs that provide continuity of educational services between the classroom and home. There are programs that exist; however, their reach to students in the county is limited.

Lack of Multiple Career Pathways

There is a missing link between school and career. Education exists in a “vacuum” and students view the skills they learn in school as separate from the skills they will need and use in their careers. Additionally, students are not aware of their professional opportunities beyond school because businesses have historically played a small to non-existent part of the educational process. Some pathways

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exist for students to explore career options, like dual enrollment programs, career academics, summer youth employment, and employment programs, but these opportunities are currently too limited for the needs of the students in Prince George’s County.

High Youth Unemployment

The highest unemployment rate in the County is at 27.1% among youth age 21 and under: a daunting statistic for young people who must enter a labor market that has tightened over recent years and must compete with older, more skilled workers even for entry-level jobs.

Missing Motivation

Many students in Prince George’s County are the first in their family to attend college. Some are the first in their family to graduate from high school. To accomplish this in no small task; to achieve the next goal requires motivation, planning and guidance. According to a 2001 study by the National Center for Educational Statistic, only 54% of students whose parents had completed high school continued on to college. Of students whose parents did not have a high school diploma, only 36% of students continued on to college (4-5).

The problem linked to the organization is the fact that the owner, Angel Brown, always have infinity for kids. She does a lot such as teaches dance, becomes a scout leader, and the like. Also, she listens to children; in other words, she lets them talk and encourage them. For kids can be heard by listening and understanding. Moreover, she is sensitive to what’s going on out there. She found a need that is unmet in the county and she has the passion to do something about it.

Description

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In keeping arts and innovation in school, those critical things will eventually help the individual be successful in life. What is talented in each individual will be determined by Apsara Studios. The evidence to support the claim: There’s an organization in DC that published their statistics and it’s called Sitar Arts Center.

The following goals are to:

1. Establish innovation and artistic education programs to the children 18 and younger that are concentrated in South Prince George’s County, MD.

2. Seek building space that is 100% sustainable, net-zero, state of the art (LEED Certified).

The main objective is to put Prince George’s County on the map for employment opportunities. The center will increase employment and decrease crime. Most importantly, it helps the economy of Prince George’s County by establishing job growth for the residents and future opportunities. The core values are: advocacy of children, advancement of community, and to be an avenue for arts. The method is to have 21st century learning skill classes in the following: Creative and Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Initiative and Accountability. These classes will be done by the following methods.

Implement 70% or better student proficiency in the 4 targeted skills. Students must take 3 or more classes a week. Hire summer interns from colleges in MD and DC that eventually will

improve growth of 80% in skills (Punctuality, Communication, Follow Through, Initiative, Independence, and Flexibility).

Establish 100% parent involvement in school readiness (Easily Childhood Arts Classes, Ways of Engaging with their Children through play, reading, music and song movement, and space exploration) in the South Prince George’s County.

Hire 100 volunteer and partner teachers to share their time and artistic expertise to the children and youth (Private Instrument Lessons and Group Classes.

Establish the following programs in the following.

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1. Arts Afterschool (Creative Writing, Dance, Digital Arts, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts).

2. Summer at Apsara Studios (Camp Apsara Studios, Summer Musical, and Teen Arts Intensive).

3. Teens at Apsara Studios (S.E.A.L. Program, Teen Classes, and Teen Internships and Community Service)

4. Early Childhood Arts5. Gallery Series (Applying for a Solo Show)6. Performance Series.

The outcome will be a well-balanced, well-functional, and very successful organization in South Prince George’s County that the children can be a part of to grow, learn, and develop.

Evaluation Plan

The questions will Apsara Studios evaluation activities seek to answer is are the statistics changing for the graduation of high school students, for the decrease in crime and increase in either employment or continuing education. For example, to engage in surveys through:

Morale of students Character building of children Engage in evaluation through creativity of children

In the specific evaluation plans and time frames, there will be an annual report that goes out to donors. Parents will get quarterly report on their children’s programs. The kinds of data that will be collected are surveys to the children on how the feel about their participation in the programs. Instructors will do a survey on how the skills are increasing. In addition, there will be a guardian survey on the child’s home and school life and those areas that are improving. All of those will be bi-annually. The strategies and instruments are electronic survey and city data (crime rates and graduation rates). The comparison is city data (need to engage with what’s current vs. the time that statistics are taken. Change with times and access are taken to compare with other similar programs.

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The construction of the sample is everyone will take the survey, not the sample. The procedures will be used to determine whether the program was implemented as planned are the business plan and definite statistics that are changing. If statistics is seen in the area that’s change, there will be tangible evidence. Office staff will conduct the evaluation; whereas, donors and parents (guardians) will receive the results. It is nice to have the community that will get a newsletter explaining our impact.

Sustainability Plan

Apsara Studios will continue to operate the organization as long as possible; therefore, they will never close. Hopefully, the students will come back to teach and to have someone to take over as executive director. The resources that are needed will be personnel, insurance, instruments, computers, building, art supplies, office supplies, software for the computer (internet), and green building materials. The sources of future financial resources that will use are community impact grant with the Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority and other grants such as Ford Foundation, Cafritz Foundation, etc. The internal plans for obtaining future funding are fundraising, community events, ticket recitals, showcases, business-to-business relationships, grant writers, and local governments.

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Budget

ExpensesSalaries (k)Executive Director $60,000(Office Manager 45,000Counselor 35,0002 Staffed Instructors 50,000Benefits (h)Provided Health Benefits 5,000Other Benefits 5,000Tangibles/IntangiblesRent 30,000 (i)Utilities 6,000 (j)Communications 6,000 (a)Insurance 5,400 (b)Equipment, Furniture, and Supplies 60,000 (c)Snacks 6,000 (d)Online and Print Marketing 6,000 (e)Legal Services 18,000 (f)

Total $337,400

RevenuesCommittedCrowdfunding $25,000Donor 25,000Gifts 10,000Grants 125,000Total $185,000

Committed In-Kind SupportLegal Services $6,000Total In-Kind 6,000Projected Revenue $376,000

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Net Income $ 39,000

Narrative

a. Internet/Phone/Faxb. Insurance (Life)c. Equipment/Furniture/Suppliesd. Snacks for the Students (beverage, food, etc)e. Online/Print Marketing (website, advertising, and after the first year, the

office manager takes responsibility for it)f. Legal Services (Trademark Name, 501(c)(3), and to have someone on

retainer (Pro Bono).g. Salaries for the executive director, office manager, counselor, and 2 staff

instructors.h. Health care benefits and other benefitsi. Rent Spacej. Water and Electric

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Organization Information and Conclusion

The mission of Aspara Studios is that it aims to promote technical innovation, social and environmental consciousness, and self-awareness in children by encouraging the youth of their natural, artistic abilities. For the Board of Directors, two individuals are committed to and so is the owner. There is a counselor, office manager, and two instructors that teach class that relates to the organization. The board is recruited by individuals that she knows and the level of participation is individuals that are there daily. The minimum of the meetings is monthly. In the activities that the staff engages, the office manager does intakes by registering students, doing schedules, and accepts donation. The job is to get donations and equipment, and to keep staffs that are running the studio on a daily basis. The counselor is to be an advocacy for children by counseling the children. For example, if the child can go to the counselor if they feel like they can’t talk to anybody. Both instructors teach dance; however, it will evolve into arts and other things.

The budget narrative has been decided, but it’s not very realistic. In Year 1, $100,000 is needed and a million dollars will grow in Year 2 and above. The assistance that Aspara Studios will provide is to recruit people that are going to run it on a daily basis. It will happen by getting the money and keeping it going. In the individuals that will serve in the organization, there will be 25 students in Year 1. In Year 5, there will be 100 students and 150 beyond Year 5. In addition, there will be a certain amount of paid staff, but the rest will be unpaid volunteers that teach arts, instruments, dance, photography, etc.

The special or unusual need that the children will face is the lack of family support. For instance, they are not talented (don’t feel like they’re good at something). The reason the children will rely on Aspara Studios is that there isn’t an outlet that arts deals with arts and get encouraged; in other words, no one is cheering them on saying, “what are you good at”? The numbers of the children who will be reached through programs in Year 1 are 25 people. The expertise of the staff is the owner has dance and acted and understands dance and theater. Also, she has an instructor named Maya who is a professional singer and artist.

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There are other individuals that play music; professionals that are needed but have to be committed. Finally, the green building will be used as a teaching tool.

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