Liveconnections Org

“The president, executive director, and finance committee thoroughly review the form 990. After this process, a complete copy of the 990 is provided to each board member prior to filing.”

“The conflict of interest policy is monitored by the president and executive director on an on-going basis.”

“Organizing documents and financial and policy statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW In a typical year, we serve approximately 150,000 people through free & ticketed concerts, education programs, private events and culinary offerings. To date, our free music education programs have served 55,000+ participants, with a focus on Philadelphia public school students and individuals with disabilities. While our doors were closed due to COVID-19, we continued to live out our mission. We successfully raised funds for capital improvements to the venue, with a focus on accessibility and welcoming. We collaborated on new artist commissions. We pivoted to virtual education programming. And we engaged in advocacy to protect the vibrant ecosystem of independent venues across the U.S., providing leadership both regionally and nationally with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and Philadelphia Independent Venues Organizing Together (PIVOT). SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES During the past year, we worked to accomplish the following mission-driven goals. 1) Adapt our content and innovate new programs to continue to engage audiences and inspire learning 2) Support local and emerging artists in the Philadelphia region through paid opportunities 3) Connect with audiences and supporters through culinary offerings 4) Generate new music-making content, placing young people in creative collaboration with teaching artists LIVE MUSIC AND CULINARY EXPERIENCES This year, we commissioned new work from local and national artists. We launched a virtual WCL House Concert series. Over the course of the year, we presented 32 acts, all with Philadelphia ties, on our YouTube channel. To continue to provide culinary offerings for our supporters, Executive Chef Rob Cottman launched a WCL curbside culinary pop-up series, accompanied by our own curated themed playlists to pair with the themed food events. In 2020, we commissioned "Revivals of Blackness." This multi-disciplinary project celebrates Black artistry and activism, highlighting the work of four Philadelphia-based artists, Lela Aisha Jones, Alex Shaw, Luke Carlos O'Reilly and Aiden Un. "Revivals of Blackness" premiered in June 2021, featuring multiple artist round-table discussions and encore performances during the week of Juneteenth. In total, this multimedia commission reached 1,500+ participants. "Revivals of Blackness" also included artist-led residencies with two new public school partners, Richard Allen Prep Middle School and the William W. Bodine High School for International Affairs. The residencies focused on themes of Blackness in America and music as tool for healing. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS We offered 4 in-depth residency programs in partnership with Philadelphia public school partners, serving 200+ participants through collaborative music-making programs. We successfully delivered the second year of, "Mighty Songs for the Moment," a songwriting collaboration with Philly non-profit MightyWriters. We completed the 5th year of our songwriting and album-making residency with Philadelphia public high school Hill-Freedman World Academy, co-producing the album, "Love & Healing." In 2019, we began our partnership with Carnegie Hall to deliver the acclaimed "Lullaby Project" in Philadelphia, pairing WCL teaching artists with new parents and caregivers to write songs for their infants. In July 2020, we launched the program virtually over Zoom. A team of artists worked with 20+ parents and caregivers to create and record original lullabies over 7-week sessions. All our residencies provide multiple opportunities for participants to share their work with wider audiences through livestream release parties, virtual student performances, and lyric videos, totaling 2,000+ views online. ADVOCACY During COVID-19, WCL took the national stage when our Founder & President Hal Real co-founded the National Independent Venue Association, instrumental in creating the #SaveOurStages movement that led to the $16.5 Billion legislation for shuttered venues, performing arts centers,”

“Prior period of -12,400 was made to get FY 2020 net assets to match the report amount.”

“$692,521 has been added to adjust net assets to reflect forgiveness that was not reflected on page 9 of form 990.”