Jacksonville's Cathedral Arts Project is taking its arts education mission national, with almost $4 million in new funding.
The $3.95 million includes new federal and state grants to train 70 educators across the country and reach 7,000 more students — 4,200 nationwide and 2,900 more in Northeast Florida.
"What began with 10 students in Duval County has grown through the extraordinary commitment of a community that believes every child deserves access to the arts," said the Rev. Kimberly Hyatt, president and CEO. "Seeing what Jacksonville helped build now recognized and supported at the state and national levels reflects growing confidence in the power of arts education to unlock the potential of every child."
The $2.55 million U.S. Department
of Education grant is the largest government grant in the nonprofit's history and its first direct federal education award. That money and a $991,758 one-year state appropriation through the Florida Department of Education will fund the expansion, with more teachers "incorporating CAP’s arts-integrated teaching practices into their own classrooms," the nonprofit said.
New philanthropic funding includes $100,000 from the the Hearst Foundations to support Cathedral Arts' Emerging Artists Programs and $50,000 from the Find Your Light Foundation for professional development and program infrastructure. Another $260,000 came from a national foundation, which did not want to be publicly identified, to "strengthen … long-term transformational philanthropy and public awareness efforts," the nonprofit said.
The new funding builds on Cathedral Arts' $26 million REIMAGINE campaign, launched last year, to expand the Teaching Artist Fellowship model and support student exhibitions and performances. "The historic campaign reflects years of support from individuals, businesses and foundations locally and nationally, helping lay the groundwork for CAP’s continued growth and expanded reach," the nonprofit said.
"REIMAGINE challenged us to think bigger about what is possible through arts education," Mark LaBorde, chairman of the campaign cabinet, said. "We believe investing in arts education is an investment in the future of our community. To see that momentum now build through unprecedented support from government and philanthropy at both the state and national levels shows that the ambition behind REIMAGINE was only the beginning."
The expansion will train general education teachers, special education professionals school administrators, homeschool and microschool educators and teaching artists. The training will be largely virtual, but in person where possible, throughout the three-year grant period. In the second year, educators will come together at a local conference to share "best practices."
Also part of the plan is the development of a digital curriculum database, including lesson plans, instructional videos and examples of student work. The database will give "educators across the country resources to bring arts integration into their learning environments," the nonprofit said.
Founded in 1993 by a small group of people from St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville, Cathedral Arts provides afterschool classes in dance, media arts, music, theater and visual arts as well as therapeutic programs for children and young adults in Northeast Florida. For more information go to capkids.org.
Beth Reese Cravey has been a reporter for The Florida Times-Union for 45 years, currently specializing in nonprofits and health. She can be reached at bcravey@jacksonville.com.more information.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Cathedral Arts takes mission nationwide with nearly $4M in new funds
