Salt Academy and Performing Arts CO

We have the following primary goals:
1) equip youth with quality performing arts instruction
2) provide a place where kids can feel free to be themselves, supported and accepted
3) create opportunities for students to serve their community
4) give access to performing arts education regardless of financial means
5) entertain our community through the performing arts
6) open our facilities to support other community efforts

1) equip youth with quality performing arts instruction
Quality instruction comes from quality staff. Our teachers have a proven track record of hands-on instruction and are all experts at their chosen discipline. From background checks to phone interviews with previous employers, we make certain our students are receiving the best level of training. We are also developing our own program and curriculum for our current teachers to become certified performing arts instructors. We intend to offer this to outside organizations wishing to hire/train performing arts certified instructors.

2) provide a place where kids can feel free to be themselves, supported and accepted
"Providing a place" has both literal and figurative translations. As of March 2019, we have three locations within a few blocks of each other where we teach and perform. Our strategy ultimately is to have a single location where all of our programs can be accessed and fulfilled. We are in the beginning phases of a capital campaign to raise the funds necessary for this very large undertaking. Providing a place also means establishing a culture within our organization that promotes self-worth, acceptance and encouragement while challenging students to be their own best version of themselves. This message and expectation is delivered on a regular basis.

3) create opportunities for students to serve their community
We are closely connected with several organizations within the City of Gresham including senior care homes, churches, non-profits supporting families and 3rd world outreach. We actively seek opportunities to serve these organizations, from performing for fundraisers to Christmas caroling for senior centers.

4) give access to performing arts education regardless of financial means
We have a needs-based scholarship program to provide partial or full tuition assistance to students with limited means. We are continually fundraising to help cover the cost of these scholarships which represents a need of approximately $21,000 per year.

5) entertain our community through the performing arts
Our theatre department creates several productions throughout the year that are open to the public. The productions are primarily written and directed by our artistic director and drama instructors. Some performances consist solely of student cast members and others are open to public auditions. Though we do rely on ticket revenue to help support our programs, we also do many performances at no cost. These are typically community-wide events where several organizations come together to provide great local entertainment. Our talent is often sought out for these events.

6) open our facilities to support other community efforts
We offer our facilities, often at no charge, to other organizations to hold meetings, classes or events that directly benefit the populations they serve. We believe improving the quality of life for those around us is a group effort.

Our capabilities consist largely of hard work fueled by our mission, and community support.
Meeting our goals requires (but is certainly not limited to) the following:
An easily accessible physical location to teach our programs and hold performances. Dedicated leadership that are fully vested in our mission and will do whatever it takes to see it accomplished. Qualified instructors who know their material, know their students and understand the bigger picture of working with our organization. Community support, both directly and indirectly. Direct support includes attending our shows, enrolling their children, giving financially and volunteering. Indirect support includes promoting our organization through word of mouth, social media, etc., sharing knowledge with us in their field of expertise as applicable, suggesting networking partners and alliance formations with like-minded organizations.

Our mission is made possible by the combined efforts of those internal and external to our organization.

We have celebrated many milestones since our inception in 2007. Here are just a few:

- celebrated our 12th anniversary in business in 2013
- grew from an initial student body of 7 kids to over 230 students today
- grew from an initial 5 class offerings to over 50 class offerings today
- created at least 10 full-length all original theatrical productions
- transitioned from LLC to a non-profit company in 2016
- grew from 3 teachers initially to 14 teachers today
- we regularly perform for community events in our city
- we are seeing students who began with us as young children, now graduating high school and staying on to teach with us
- to better serve our parents, we began offering dancewear for purchase in 2017
- our annual Christmas recital reached a record number of over 750 attendees in 2018
- we collected over $2000 for other local charities in 2018
- we have provided tuition scholarships to My Father's House, Family of Friends Mentoring, and Boys and Girls Club
- we offer use of our facility to kids and adults with disabilities free of charge through a partnership with Pediatric Therapy Services of Gresham

What's next?
We face a very large challenge of obtaining our own space. We currently lease three different buildings in our area which is immensely expensive. We are embarking on a capital campaign to purchase and renovate a building that will facilitate all of our programs in one location, not three. Obtaining our own building will give us the freedom and flexibility to grow our program and have an even greater impact on the population we serve - and beyond.