Then. Now. Next. Celebrating 20 Years - Art-Reach

NExt: Looking Ahead
With 20 years of challenges and opportunities under our belt, we have
achieved a level of maturity that will allow us to both broaden and deepen
opportunities for cultural participation. Art-Reach has successfully navigated
the often bumpy transition from founder to new leadership and is strongly
positioned to refine, improve and expand upon our mission and its impact.
In September 2005 the Board of
Directors approved a new strategic plan
designed to guide Art-Reach’s activities
over the next three years. The plan outlines
a wide range of objectives and goals to
expand our impact and enhance our mission.
This work will be pursued under three
overarching strategic themes: Service,
Awareness and Stability.
As we look ahead, we intend to:
» Continue fostering mutually beneficial
relationships between human services
agencies and arts and cultural organizations.
» Increase our visibility in the community.
» expand our programming, specifically
targeting schools in economically
disadvantaged areas of Philadelphia.
» expand the number of cultural
organizations with which we partner.
Much of the work of the new strategic plan
is well underway. We are partnering with
VSA arts of Pennsylvania/Amaryllis Theatre
Company to coordinate a regional culturalaccess
initiative called “Independence
Starts here” that will include Philadelphia’s
first disability-arts festival and a major
mural celebrating people with disabilities,
scheduled for fall 2007. In 2007 we will also
pilot a series of educational-enrichment
activities targeting Philadelphia public
schoolchildren. And we will complete the
third and final north Philadelphia workshop
program, which will combine artists from
Spiral Q Puppet Theatre and Philadelphia
Young Playwrights with young adults with
mental illness.
While many things have changed over the
years at Art-Reach, much remains the same.
As we reflect on past accomplishments and
look to the future, the organization remains
committed to the idea that the arts are an
essential element in individual quality of life
that should be accessible to everyone.
Here’s to the next 20 years!
Strategic PlaN themeS
2006-2009
Service
Art-Reach is primarily a
membership-based service
organization that facilitates access
to cultural opportunities for
underserved audiences and helps
arts organizations enhance their
community outreach. As such, we
are committed to quality service to
our member agencies, arts partners
and participating artists, and we
constantly seek to improve our
standards of service excellence.
Awareness
Our ability to provide quality
service to our constituents and
to implement effective programs
and services on their behalf is
directly linked to the level of
awareness we enjoy in the human
service and cultural communities
and the community at large. We
are committed to increasing our
awareness and broadening the
understanding of the multiple ways
we benefit the community through
cultural accessibility.
Stability
To be an effective organization we
must remain fiscally strong and
organizationally healthy. We are
committed to financial stability
and to providing a positive working
environment for staff, board
members and volunteers that
builds engagement and long-term
relationships.