ST AUGUSTINE ART ASSOCIATION

The St. Augustine Art Association was founded in 1924 to create an outlet for artists of all genres and skill levels to share ideas and to exhibit work. The organization's mission is dedicated to promoting artistic excellence to artists of all ability levels through exhibitions, education & outreach, and to preserving our rich artistic heritage, fostering a creative & accessible environment & guiding the advancement of art in partnership with the community.

We chart our impact in the following ways: 1) Participation: by the number of entries into our exhibitions, workshops, art camps, programs, concerts, lectures, and other events; 2) Yearly donations; 3) Volunteers hours; 4) Membership.

We are continually reinventing ourselves to be relevant in the world today, especially in terms of technology. We reevaluate and update our programs. We partner with businesses and other nonprofits to our mutual benefit. We seek grants to help with updating technology, programs & building maintenance.

VOLUNTEERS: We are able to call on, train and coordinate a large number of volunteers and do so on a regular basis for over 1,000 volunteer hours per year: 1) Monthly Shows--chairs, receivers, installers, hospitality, entertainment, gallery docents; 2) An Annual Outdoor Fine Art Festival Festival Exhibition & Fundraiser--Show managers, field managers, volunteer manager, gate greeters, booth sitters, soda/water booth, beer/wine booth, hospitality, artist breakfast, membership, entertainment, advertising, grant writer, others; 3) Patron Previews & Awards party planning; 4) Monthly First Friday Art Walk openings with Artist Award Announcements

OFFICE STAFF: The STAAA employs 2-talented & experienced full time staff: an Executive Director and Administrative Assistant who manage: 1) Day-to-day operations; 2) Nine themed, competitive exhibitions for our membership of over 400; Special Exhibitions; an Annual City-wide Plein Air Paint Out for both local & out-of-the area artists in partnership with businesses & other organizations; Online entries for the Annual Festival of Art ; 3) Routine Building maintenance; 4) Communications including email, constant contact updates & newsletters, applications, mail; 5) Bill paying; 6) Grant writing; 7) Computer/data input; 8) Volunteer coordination; 9) and many additional responsibilities.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The current STAAA BOD is made up of members who are both working and retired, include a variety of ages, professional backgrounds and skills, and are active in the community. Their first & most important job is the fiduciary health of the STAAA which they take seriously.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY BOARD: Makes recommendation to the BOD concerning: Planned Giving; Investment and financial strategies

We are currently working on updating Membership opportunities and are constantly improving our communication with our membership in addition to finding ways to offer them new opportunities.

We are attracting new Sponsors who provide Artist Award money for our Monthly juried and 2-non-juried Member exhibitions, in addition to sponsor opportunities for our Annual Outdoor Festival of Art exhibition.

We continue to build community Partnerships with other non-profits and businesses: The City of St. Augustine; the St. Johns County Historic Chamber of Commerce; Flagler College Intern program; The Community Foundation of N.E. FL for grant support; the St. Johns County Schools District for yearly all-county High School & Middle School exhibits; the FL School for the Deaf & the Blind with a yearly touchable art exhibit & the installation of a "Braille Trail" of signage for Historical monuments in St. Augustine; The Lightner Museum.