PLATINUM2023

Arts Bus Inc

The Arts Bus - now in its 2nd decade of empowering children to find joy & authentic self-expression through art!

aka Arts Bus, The Arts Bus   |   Randolph, VT   |  http://artsbusvt.org/

Mission

Empowering children to find joy and authentic self-expression through the arts. The Arts Bus is a traveling pop-up theater, music & dance stage, ceramic/paint/textile studio, library & creative safe space. Its creation responded to the challenge parents in rural towns face attempting to transport children to educational and cultural activities at distant sites by bringing the visual, performing and literary arts to kids where they live. The impact from its work is 1) consistent integration of & improvement in the quality art programming provided to children; 2) emphasizing public commitment to the priority of art; 3) affirming the value of the region’s many excellent artists and cultural institutions as EncourageMentors and resources; and (4) connecting art to the heart & hands.

Ruling year info

2013

Executive Director

Ms. Guinevere "Ms. Genny" Albert

Main address

c/o Kimball Library 67 N. Main Street

Randolph, VT 05060 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Arts Bus Project

EIN

45-4078211

NTEE code info

Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose (A20)

Arts Education/Schools (A25)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2020 and 2019.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

After a decade of service, the Arts Bus mission of “empowering joy & authentic self-expression through the arts” finds Vermont’s beloved green bus at the crossroads of limited public art education resources and ever-increasing costs of raising children. The programs are based on acceptance of two systemic facts: 1)there will FOREVER be children at-risk and under-exposed to art; and 2) quality art education will ALWAYS be limited in school budgets. Therefore, the Arts Bus has a unique opportunity at libraries, camps, schools & after-school programs, to capture the ‘after’ time to achieve quality art-education and our mission. The Arts Bus is a traveling pop-up theater, music & dance stage, ceramic/paint/textile studio, library and creative safe space. Its creation responded to the challenge parents in rural towns face attempting to transport children to educational and cultural activities at distant sites by bringing the visual, performing and literary arts to kids where they live.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Ever After Kids - Quality art education to at-risk youth perpetually in after care programs

Targeting the after-care programs (after hours, after school, after work, after spring), The Arts Bus provides youth (ages 5-12) with activities andclasses in visual arts (painting, collage, paper arts, mask-making), music (African Drumming, singing, traditional music), movement, yoga, theater arts, crafts (ceramics, fabric arts), storytelling and writing, and a wide range of learning projects (e.g. studying and creating Egyptian obelisks, prehistoric cave art, and Chinese calligraphy).

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Provide +1000 art/craft kits to kids in Central Vermont with basic art supplies in response to the sudden school/store closures resulting from COVID19 Stay-at-Home mandates. Basic Kits include art & construction paper, watercolor paints, crayons, scissors, liquid glue, glue stick, jumbo & small plain and colored craft sticks, multi-colored pipecleaners & puffballs, and googly eyes!

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Families

Through the "Peace by Piece" program, Arts Bus will sponsor community collage art led by local artists in
12-15 community projects throughout Central Vermont to be created in pieces & assembled together for on-line, remote and (finally) collective in-person viewing & celebration!

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Families

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Total number of free admissions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, Families, At-risk youth

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Free admissions equates to the number of children directly served by The Arts Bus each year.

Total number of audience members

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Families

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

"Audience members" include all people impacted by The Arts Bus, including children, families, event attendees; but excludes Social Media, Television, Print Ads in estimates.

Number of teachers recruited

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Artists and performers, Adolescents, Adults, Multiracial people

Related Program

Ever After Kids - Quality art education to at-risk youth perpetually in after care programs

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Art Educators with skills & expertise in ALL mediums assist The Arts Bus in providing quality art education in drama, paint, clay, puppets, mosaics & more. We pay artists to travel & teach with us!

Number of lessons taught

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Seniors, Parents

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

In 2022, we had our biggest year ever, roaring back at full speed with stops year round in After School, Summer Camps, Public Events, Libaries & Celebrations!

Total dollars paid to artists

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Artists and performers, Indigenous peoples, Multiracial people, Adolescents, Adults

Related Program

Ever After Kids - Quality art education to at-risk youth perpetually in after care programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

The Arts Bus pays Art-Educators & Artists because we value their expertise and skills. In 2022, we worked with musicians, sound technicians, studio lab engineers, fabric & jewelry art eds.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The impact of the Arts Bus Project seeks from its work is (1) consistent integration of & improvement in the quality art programming provided to children of Central Vermont; (2) emphasizing public commitment to the life priority of art; (3) affirming the value of the region’s many excellent artists and cultural institutions as EncourageMentors and resources; and (4) connecting art to the heart & hands of generations of children.

Each year, we evaluate and reset our short- and long-term strategic goals to meet the needs of the communities we serve. In 2021, we made over 90 stops, conducted 143 classes in 35 mediums, served 2,425 children directly and indirectly impacted over 50,000 people in the State of Vermont by a single-employee nonprofit with $103,000 in Gross Revenues. This might be a small organization, but we are efficient & mighty. Our 2022 program includes stops at after- & in-school programs, camps and public-access locations with the following goals:

• Provide 100+ opportunities for children to receive quality art-education in a safe environment for NO CHARGE to the family beyond the payments they make for after care, summer camp, or event charges. Achieve over 1,500 direct art education interactions with young blooming artists in a variety of settings, year-round.

• Foster and achieve 10 connections of community participation. This spans from working with volunteers & crafting communities to make kits “ready-for-assembly” to having the kids’ creations make debuts in theatres, on stages, over the radio and in galleries throughout their towns & public facilities.

• Positively influencing, mentoring, and nurturing Central Vermont’s at-risk youth by providing art education and literacy, skills/techniques laddering, progressive development & composition – with the aim to create the spark of joy that leads to voluntary participation, voice, choice, self-reliance, pride in outcomes.

Our Long-Term Goals are (Years 3+):
• Show demonstrable art education, skills/techniques laddering, progressive development and composition in Central Vermont’s youth in routinized stops.

• Provide progressive andragogic and pedagogic learning, evidenced in art product of children over time and quantitative/qualitative data collection methods (interviews, observation, surveys, feedback loops).

• Achieve mission fulfillment through subjective feedback, photos, verbal, and written documentation of empowering joy and authentic self-expression through the arts.

• Consistently deliver 100+ bus stops for the Central Vermont's young artists to explore their creative talents, take home quality supplies & be empowered through access to learning, materials & tools.

• From all of the above, a measurable decrease in at-risk children in Central Vermont with indicators of increased artistic abilities, expression, and outlets. This would also be measured in parental and youth resiliency, social connections, and cognitive, social & emotional competence of children.

The Arts Bus best practices are formed through experience, feedback, research, process- & self-improvement. And, they are aligned with CSSP’s identified Protective & Promotive Factors, as the “Everyday Actions” that build both are what we do!

Protective: Our programs are in safe, friendly spaces with familiar, knowledgeable art-educators & EncourageMentors; provide consistent child development, reliable in all times, including times of need; specifically address social & emotional competence-building through the practice of art and empowerment of authentic self-expression.

Promotive: By providing art/craft lessons, programs, kits & educators, we are intent on mentoring in the arts – written, visual, performance, edible, S.T.E.A.M., textile, mixed-medium – for all children. Each stop has 8-30 children for whom we customize age-appropriate lesson plans, foster creativity, guide to authentic self-expression, and learn from to allow for progressive social, emotional & knowledge development.

Compelling recent research is always instrumental in our program framework, including Univ of New Hampshire’s, 2017 “Understanding Early Childhood Education Needs & Opportunities in the Upper Valley” White Paper, “Working Families’ Access to Early Childhood Education”, Carsey Research Brief #137, CSSP’s research & publications, help-for-helpers workshops, program formation participation & evaluation from stakeholders.

Rolling for 12 years, The Arts Bus is Board-governed with a 1-2 member staff, 8-12 independent art educators & demonstrable success at grant management. Our business model is predicated principally on grant funding, demanding the rigors of delivery of service, accurate accounting & reporting, and financial stewardship. We have both repeat & increasing annual grantors that attest to our success, and the bus was a beneficiary of the 2021’s Summer Matters Grant including measuring up to the task of fiduciary details of Federal/State Agency funding. The Arts Bus uses third party accounting services for all its finances. The Arts Bus was the recepient of the 2021 Lynne von Trapp Award for Exemplary Leadership in a Prevention Program for Children, administered by the Vermont's Childrens Trust Foundation.

The Arts Bus programs are formed, supported & evaluated based upon evidence-based practices because the mission arose from addressing youth’s social-emotional, physical, mental health & academic needs. Each year, our strategic plan is built an ADDIE Logic Model that starts with a mission to “empower children to find joy & authentic self-expression thru the arts” and based on context & conditions observed in the field; assessment of our assets, inputs & resources; creating activities that reflect the subjective needs of the youth, families & towns we serve; determining our Outputs with strategic and tactical goals of #'s of classes, camps, kids, families, retention of our services, and their quality assessments; then modifying our program to repeat, improve and grow.

The most innovative and impactful approach The Arts Bus employs to overcome barriers is offering our services free of charge no matter where we travel. We are deeply invested in continuing to improve our programs themselves with more mediums & art educators in a broader service area, but in all of our years of operations, we’ve found that offering an open door to FREE art enrichment is our most impactful approach.

The other most effective approach we make is to stick to our mission. Because The Arts Bus is seeking to EMPOWER rather than assess a process or product, our effectiveness is based upon a combination of the enrichment process & artwork product with the most important outcome being the enthusiasm we see in the youth and equipping them with an abundance of materials to continue their creative journey. We tailor our programs to engage at each learning level, whether early motor skills with K-2, STEAM projects beginning in 3-4th grade, or highly developed fine-motor, progressive skills teaching to 10-12 year olds with built-in creatives stretch challenges. We plan for resiliency each year by engaging in annual strategic planning & budgeting, partnership collaborations, and working together with the children, families, towns & institutions we serve.

In the midst of 2008, The Arts Bus was an idea formed by a group of Central Vermonters in response to the need for children to have consistent & meaningful exposure to the arts. The group shared a conviction that learning through & living with the arts should not be peripheral, but basic in the educating process, of high quality & wide variety. They agreed that proximity to the arts accelerated healthy development during early childhood & served people through every subsequent stage of life, profoundly affecting human function and fulfillment. The Arts Bus debuted May 8, 2010 at the Fiddlehead Festival in Randolph, VT, and since that day-- with consistent support from grantors, family trusts & foundations, township appropriations & program clients--the bus has directly connected the joy of art to children over 17,100 times!

Now in its second decade of rolling through the green hills of Central Vermont, The Arts Bus is a fixture of quality art education, facilitating children to explore their own innate creativity, irrespective of economic means or geographic proximity to an arts center. We write grants, find sponsors, use creativity, and problem-solve to consistently achieve our mission and deliver fresh annual programming. There is no charge to climb aboard The Arts Bus, and there never will be. By providing a mobile art education service, The Arts Bus is driven to provide a creative resource right where our communities need it most. With the momentum built over the past two years, we’ve successfully charged into new territories – providing afterschool art enrichment in 5 school districts, 10-12 afterschool sites, 7-9 summer camp programs in new locations, delivering 500+ art kits and activities at public events 10-15 times/year.

With increased demand has come higher costs and a pivot point for the bus to shore up its resources & infrastructure, so we are seeking multi-year funding from grantors with whom we have longer-term relationships and new donors. While we have always had the pedal-to-the-metal on funding to match need, our goal is to permanently have expanded capacity & programs in 2023 with two people, one bus, and one year-round fuel-efficient van, plus move our inventory storage to a location adjacent to the bus. We are starting a capital raise for an electric/hybrid van to carry our work into the future plus add to our capacity, and are delighted to already have a positive indication from a substantial grantor to kick-off the funding.

With those resources, it is our plan to be a permanent vehicle for Vermont’s children & young people in year-round, routinized art enrichment programming to empower thousands more creative minds in years to come.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • 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 modify educational practices to best suit the children we serve.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Feedback sometimes is too subjective.

Financials

Arts Bus Inc
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Arts Bus Inc

Board of directors
as of 01/31/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ms. Bethany Silloway

Gifford Medical Center

Term: 2018 - 2023

Joan Feierabend

Retired Art Educator

Courtney Branstetter Bowen

Public LIbrary, Youth Services Librarian

Martha Mathers

Retired former Dean of Students, Norwich University, local resident

Kirstie Bailey

Parent, supporter, Secretary of the Board

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/4/2022

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/22/2021

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • 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.