TO CREATE A CULTURAL PLATFORM WHERE EVERY PERSON CAN JOIN AN ARTISTIC FAMILY AND CONNECT, SERVE AND PERFORM TO ADVANCE THE ARTS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA.

To allow everyone in Central Florida to connect, serve, and perform, we create a safe place where ALL artists are celebrated, the arts are affordable and accessible – and no one is left behind.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: #1. Identify and secure a permanent venue for our weekly recurring rehearsals, administration, and educational programming.

Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).

Goal Two: #2. Expand performance schedules to accommodate multiple weeks/weekends of performances

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Three: #3. Broaden our production staffing and capacity.

Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).

Describe an investment in leadership

CFCArts has made concerted strategic choices to strengthen leadership development within our organization. In Fall of 2022, we launched our Member Ambassadors Program, the creation of an annual cohort of 13 active members chosen to serve as representatives of each of our program areas. Ambassadors will appear at live events, through social media 'takeovers' and interview opportunities. Each ambassador will serve for a term of one year and participate in media training, receive professional headshots and gain valuable networking and community engagement experience. During the ambassador term program fees will be waived. Adult program members nominated and voted for ambassadors, while youth program ambassadors were selected by the program director.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

• Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Central to the core values of CFCArts is our commitment to external mobilization and community collaboration! Annually, we send our members to serve other community organizations through performances- including fundraisers for fellow non-profits. We send representatives of our organization to our State Legislators to advocate for the health benefits of the arts on Arts Advocacy Day each March. We also work collaboratively each spring with 33 other arts organizations to fundraise towards a collective goal of over six million dollars. We currently have partnerships with University of Central Florida, and nine other Central Florida based non-profits in an Arts & Health Collective that helps connect underserved populations with opportunities to heal and express themselves through the arts. Members of our School of the Arts and Health recently spoke at UCF MedPACt’s Global Health Conference and have regular speaking engagements in a similar capacity.

As a non-profit that connects over 30,000 Central Floridians annually, with a core staff of 22, we have a deep understanding of the importance of adapting our organization to meet our community’s needs. A great example of this adaptability came last summer, when our Production and Creative team was staging a choir spectacular with our Men’s Ensemble, titled “Come Fly With Me” featuring the songs of Sinatra. On the day of the load-in, it was revealed that a large swath of our performers had contracted the novel Coronavirus, and the performance had to be cancelled. The performers, and their audiences of family and friends were disappointed, but most critically, our organization was unable to find another venue that had availability within the year to re-stage the show at a later date. Instead of tossing off the show as a lost cause, we adapted the show to be a collaborative effort with our Big Band program, and created a joint performance titled “The Boys Are Back” that was a complete re-imagining of both of these programs performances. This proved to be an incredible success, with it being one of our top-selling Big Band performances of the year, and offered our choir a different opportunity to collaborate with another program area within our organization. Adaptability is at the core of everything we do here at CFCArts. Whether it is continuing the virtual performance offerings created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, or adapting an entire show to accommodate for unforeseen circumstances, we pride ourselves on meeting the moment at every opportunity.