Shared Services Welcome Community School of the Arts
This news is music to our ears!
The leadership of Community School of the Arts (CSA) identified the need for more robust financial and human resources services to build their capacity to raise funds, mitigate risk and serve students. After extensive due diligence, CSA’s Board voted to join CFSC Shared Services (SS) to share finance and HR services with eight other nonprofit organizations serving children and families.
This strategic restructuring allows the CSA staff and Board to reallocate internal resources to support grant research and writing, manage earned revenue programs, and explore alternate revenue sources. Most importantly, with the support of CFSC SS, CSA will be better equipped to fulfill its mission.
Mission and Vision
Since 1969, CSA has transformed lives and inspired community through outstanding and accessible arts education.
Arts education transforms the human spirit. By providing the most respected music and art programs in the region, CSA unleashes creativity and brings joy, confidence and a sense of accomplishment to its students and nurtures Charlotte’s future innovators, leaders and arts enthusiasts.
As it models equality and inclusion in arts education, CSA welcomes into its program every student – regardless of ability to pay – and educates the community about the necessity of encouraging and welcoming all children to pursue their artistic dreams. CSA leads the civic dialogue about the value of arts education by helping parents, educators and Charlotteans fully understand the benefits of participatory music and art instruction. In collaboration with nonprofits, schools, churches and fellow arts organizations, CSA raises awareness of the transformative power of arts education.
Outreach
CSA is the only organization in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region of its kind. Although cultural organizations and for-profit music shops teach classes or camps that may be similar to the School’s programs, CSA is the only one that combines music and art instruction in one purely educational nonprofit and offers widespread financial aid and outreach to make programs accessible to low-income children.
The School is a national leader in financial accessibility, awarding substantially more financial aid than peer organizations of similar size. It’s the only arts organization in the region that combines teaching excellence, extensive financial accessibility programs and mission to bring free art and music classes to underserved children where they live.
According to Americas for the Arts, arts education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child. It has been proven to help level the “learning field” across socioeconomic boundaries and have a measurable impact on at-risk youth in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy. Arts education helps students strengthen problem-solving skills, increase academic performance and develop a positive work ethic and pride in a job well done.
CSA offers outreach programs and an extensive financial aid program, reaching more than 1,000 budding artists.
- Through Orchestra in Schools (OIS), over 70 students each year in three low-income elementary schools receive loaner violins for the year and free violin instruction twice a week.
- OIS graduates participate in a free chamber ensemble with a number receiving free private music lessons.
- ArtsReach allows students to receive free music and visual arts classes in community centers and schools around Mecklenburg County.
- PNC Grow Up Great is a partnership CSA has developed with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library and Discovery Place to address the vocabulary gap in two Charlotte communities – Montclaire South and Grier Heights.
- Through an extensive financial aid program, over 80 students annually pay reduced tuition to participate in private lessons and group classes.
Devlin McNeil, CSA’s executive director, said, “Community School of the Arts is looking forward to realizing all the benefits of CFSC Shared Services and the impact that the collaboration will have, not only on internal efficiency and transparency, but most importantly, on our ability to provide music and arts education to low-income children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to reach their potential.”
