William Penn Foundation Awards $300,000 Grant to ArtSmart
December 12, 2024, Philadelphia, PA — The William Penn Foundation recently awarded a $300,000 grant to ArtSmart for ArtSmart Music Mentorship Programs in Greater Philadelphia. This grant will significantly enhance ArtSmart’s mission of delivering high-quality arts education to middle and high school students across Greater Philadelphia, increasing its programs by 40% in the region.
The grant will support ArtSmart’s efforts to mentor under-resourced students through weekly one-to-one music mentorship (private voice and piano lessons) and vocal theater sessions (small-group lessons). The program aims to foster both artistic growth and personal development, ensuring that students not only acquire technical skills in the arts but also gain the social-emotional and critical thinking abilities necessary for their success in education and life.
ArtSmart has been a cornerstone of arts education since its first year of operation in Philadelphia in 2017. Since then, ArtSmart has delivered over 10,000 music mentorship sessions to nearly 350 Greater Philadelphia youth. ArtSmart first began providing services to students at Franklin Learning Center in The School District of Philadelphia and has since provided programs to Chester Charter Scholars Academy, Frankford High School, Northeast High School, South Philadelphia High School, Teen Voices of the City Ensemble (T-Voce), and South Philadelphia High School. This historic gift from the William Penn Foundation marks a significant milestone in the organization’s growth, enabling it to reach more students and make a deeper impact in the community. The funding will allow ArtSmart to expand its programming in Greater Philadelphia by eight new studios across existing program partners and introduce programs at Olney High School, West Philadelphia High School, and Muñoz-Marín Elementary School.
About the William Penn Foundation
The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all. Learn more at www.williampennfoundation.org.
The William Penn Foundation’s Arts and Culture Grant provides access to high-quality, hands-on arts education programs that are designed to actively engage and benefit school-aged young people. The Foundation believes that arts education allows young people in elementary and high school to connect to their own creativity, to stretch their imaginations, and to express their personalities. It also develops social-emotional and critical thinking skills and helps youth build connections to others and the world around them. Thoughtfully designed and delivered arts education can act as a safe space for that learning, allowing young people to share personal stories, process conflict and trauma, and develop interpersonal and cultural awareness. These opportunities can also help high school students gain skills they will need in post-secondary education and the workplace.
The Foundation’s vision is for youth across Philadelphia to develop creativity, social-emotional skills, and critical thinking abilities, empowering them to lead full, active, and civically engaged lives. By investing in arts education, the Foundation aims to give young people the tools to connect with their creativity, express themselves, and build connections with others and the world around them. These programs also prepare high school students for post-secondary education and the workforce by providing valuable skills in a safe and supportive environment.
About ArtSmart
ArtSmart transforms the lives of youth in under-resourced communities across the U.S. through tuition-free music lessons and mentorship by paid, professional artists. Its music mentorship framework is designed to provide youth a pathway to academic, economic, and emotional stability by harnessing the proven cognitive and social-emotional benefits of these opportunities. ArtSmart empowers its students to succeed in all facets of life by equipping them with the tools and meaningful relationships critical to their creative, personal, and educational growth.
Through weekly one-to-one and small group sessions over a school year, ArtSmart students receive instruction and mentorship from professional musicians. Using an evidence-based curriculum, ArtSmart teaching artists, titled the Maria Manetti Shrem Mentors, work with their students to set goals, learn music, develop a healthy self-esteem and ultimately, chart a course for the rest of their lives.
Committed to measuring its impact, in 2023 ArtSmart concluded a two-year longitudinal study in partnership with the WCG Institutional Review Board. The study showed a causal link between ArtSmart participation and increased plans to attend college, having a meaningful connection with an adult, and having an adult to talk to when stressed or having problems.
Key findings showed the ArtSmart programs achieved their intended impact and had a transformative effect on student outcomes beyond learning music. One of the most positive correlations from the study is around interest to attend school: ArtSmart students are 3.6 times more excited to go to school on their lesson days than on an average school day. When students are excited to come to class, they are more likely to be engaged in their learning. Not only does this encourage participation and critical thinking, it also creates a more positive learning environment.
Learn more at www.artsmart.org.