COOL CULTURE INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Citywide Cultural Access Program
Provides 50,000 families in 450 Early Childhood Centers and Title 1 Department of Education schools with a Cool Culture Family Pass that offers families a year of unlimited, free admission for up to five people to our 90 New York City cultural institution partners.
Cool Culture offers our education partners Professional Development workshops and a wide variety of resources focused on family involvement through the arts, in addition to producing family events and multilingual educational materials for all 50,000 families.
Our events draw as many as 2,600 parents and children to a single co-created museum event, and annually, parents and children walk through the doors of our partner cultural institutions 185,000 times at no cost
We Are All Curators
Our new multi-year initiative, We Are All Curators, aims to leverage art and culture to counter dominant narratives and beliefs surrounding African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American (ALAANA) families and families from low-income households. We Are All Curators will facilitate families’, educators’, and communities’ use of art and culture to build community, share their stories, challenge dominant narratives, and ultimately achieve social change.
The Initiative uses curation as a theme in both the traditional and broadest sense, from curation of objects in a museum or home, to families’ organization of experiences for their children and other loved ones, to choices about what we wear and eat to demystify curatorial practice and expand perceptions of who creates and exhibits art.
Intensive Community Collaborations
These programs bring art to communities including Harlem, Chinatown, Corona, Queens and Bedford Stuyvesant/Crown Heights in Brooklyn, building relationships between families, educators, and museum professionals who work together to develop tailored programming for children and families. Key to the success of the Intensive program is the Family Leaders component, which leverages adult caregivers’ leadership capacity. Family Leaders, as graduates of an 8-part training series, provide peer-to-peer outreach and support throughout the duration of the program.
Laboratory for New Audiences
Creates and implements a series of seminars that guide the next generation of museum professionals in developing participatory programming. Participants also build skills in soliciting feedback from historically marginalized families about their exhibitions and programming, and in advocating for change in their institutions. Click here to learn more about the Laboratory for New Audiences.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planHow we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
COOL CULTURE INC
Board of directorsas of 03/08/2023
Mr. Rob Krulak
Acme Projects, LLC
Edwina Meyers
NYC Children's Services
Dixie Ching
Google Education.com
Ahmed Yearwood
Y INTERACT
Samantha Gilbert
Ford Foundation
Jonathan Van Antwerpen
Henry Luce Foundation
Lynne Toye
New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund
Risa Meyer
Style Simple
Dr. Christopher John Godfrey
Pace University
Jared Cooper
LeagueApps
Cathy Elkies
Phillips Auction House
Risa Meyer
Style Simple
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/07/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.