Our fourth year of existence has been a rollercoaster of success, growing pains and great pride.  Our programs are increasing, our partnerships are forming, and our community is growing. We are thankful to continue to be supported by The Springboard Foundation for the next four years. Their services continue to mentor us and help lead our organization through capacity building, board development and recruitment, and organizational development. We are also honored to be supported by The Illinois Arts Council, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) this year. 

​

We are big dreamers over here at Downstage Arts, and if you've been with us since the beginning you know that we not only dream big, but achieve big. We believe in a future where we are all healthy, where there is equity and justice, and where performing arts education puts the student, as a whole human being, first. That's how we do everything at Downstage Arts. We won't stop building programs until we can create that future in the arts. 

​

This year we’ve:

• Enrolled SEVENTEEN teens (our biggest class to date) in our flagship program, The Teen Cohort, where we mentor seniors in their college and theatre conservatory application process - all the way through decision day. 

• Placed 100% of our graduates in one of their top five schools.

• Held a Back-to-School event where we gave away over 100 backpacks with school supplies, food and gifts to families in our community. 

• We’ve hired five artists to teach and lead our programs.

• We’ve brought in seven guest artists to talk to our students about colleges.

• We gave two hundred hours of free private voice, piano, guitar, and acting lessons to students. 

• We've taught 5 free classes to kids in our community. 

Typically, these types of programs cost families $20,000 per year. 

Our programs are free. 

Our staff members are paid. 

And we are so excited about the futures of our organization and the arts industry.

​

But that future can’t exist without you.​

Providing this work for free takes the support of generous donors. We hope you will donate or pledge today so that we can keep providing this support to young artists and expand our offerings. Even if you donate just $5, we are so thankful for your support and trust.

We hope you will join our current donors, The Springboard Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, DCASE and The National Endowment for the Arts in helping us build this future.