Impact Report
Makings Waves in the Community
Art as Mentorship provides three areas of support for young artists: job skills, life skills, and mental health. Our programs teach them self-confidence, discipline and entrepreneurial skills, which help them create their own vision for a successful life.
A Message from Our Founder
In my family, when hard times hit, we say “aquí no se gana, pero se goza.” It’s a way to make light of the challenges we’re facing. And like so many immigrants who came before us, after we have a little laugh about it, we get to work doing what we can to make things better for ourselves and our community.
The same is true for our team. As professional musicians, we’re no strangers to hard work, and community is everything. So together we weathered the storm that 2020 brought, laughed a little along the way, and kept doing what we’ve set out to do since 2011 — lift up the voices of historically underrepresented youth.
I’m proud to share the results of our work (three big new projects!) and to say that for Art as Mentorship, along with the hardest parts, 2020 was a year of growth. Now, as we find ourselves in an active youth mental health crisis, Art as Mentorship is beginning a second stage fundraising campaign so that we can continue to grow our impact.
I guess what we are saying is we need you. Would you join us in meeting this need for our youth?
All the best,
Enrique Chi
Diversity
Diversity makes us stronger. We are intentional about working with nationally-renowned industry professionals that reflect our young artists’ racial, cultural, and gender identities. Working directly with a diverse group of industry professionals gives our students special access to knowledge held only by those who’ve had success in the music industry.
We care deeply about our students’ physical and mental well-being. Working to make the Art as Mentorship community caring, inclusive and empathetic to all is a top priority of our organization.
By the Community, for the Community
Art as Mentorship prides itself on being built BY the community and FOR the community. Our team members are from the tight-knit music community in Kansas City, and help historically underrepresented people raise their voices within and without our organization. Our staff, advisors and board are change makers in our community.
Since the first music camp nine years ago, our programs have been FREE of charge for young artists and we aim to keep it that way.
As a nonprofit 501(c)(3), we are entirely funded by individual donors and fellow organizations looking to support our cause. Art as Mentorship has broad support from our community ranging from local businesses/foundations including: The Kauffman Foundation, Kemper Foundation, and ArtsKC, to local and national music fans simply looking to do good.
By the Numbers
2020 Numbers
Consider Donating Today
Help us empower young artists of all backgrounds, through music, to write their own success stories.