Hope Creates

“All members of the board are provided with a draft of the form 990 for approval prior to filing.”

“In 2018 the executive committee and financial committee reviewed industry standards to determine starting pay for the executive director, this was used to make a recommendation to the board of directors, who voted in approval. In subsequent years, the board of directors has reviewed salaries as part of the annual budget, taking into consideration cost of living adjustments and the financial health of the organization to approve an appropriate increase in salary.”

“Governing documents are made available to the public upon written request.”

“During the january 24, 2023 board meeting hope creates approved and placed into effect a document retention & destruction policy, as well as a whistle blower policy.”

“We added a new cce sub-program february 2022: make your m.a.r.c. Is an nine-week program with the purpose of elevating the creative, relational, and healing arts experiences for at risk youth, in order to reduce their likelihood of s.u.d. And death from addiction/alcoholism. Make your m.a.r.c. Enables youth to think beyond themselves, participate fully in community, and to engage in the exchange of constructive ideas of peers, professional art and music instructors, volunteers, and others around them. This program provides youth with constructive occupation of their time, the joy of belonging to a group of peers also engaged in productive activities, the earned highs from creating and performing, the power of teamwork, and the possibility of making positive life choices to transform their quality of life. Through the make your m.a.r.c. Program, participants learn: m music: youth learn to play guitar, drum, and sing. We give them their guitar and their drum at the end of the program so that they can continue to make music and use music as an outlet for stress and anxiety. A art: youth learn to paint, draw, create artwork, and paint their guitar with their unique artwork. We give them their art supplies at the end of the program so that they can continue to make art and use art as an outlet for stress and anxiety. R recovery: as part of the program, outside role models/speakers share their lived experience. Through their storytelling they openly discussing how they have broken away from family and/or peer behaviors of addiction, chose the counter-cultural behavior of recovery, moved from anger to a sense of peace, and broke the cycle of generational substance abuse and poverty. These relatable stories create an opportunity for youth to better understand their shared human experience, the impact of the pandemic of addiction at this moment in history. Youth realize that they are not alone in making mistakes and how these positive community role models have overcome their unmanageable lives through recovery and arts/creativity. Youth will be assisted in writing their own artist statement and will share these with the audience at the concert/exhibition that they deliver the last week of the program. C connection: through art and music youth connect with themselves, their inner feelings, and are able to express themselves constructively. Youth engage in ensemble music training and performance, learning teamwork and connecting with their peer students. Many have been isolated during covid and are only now reacclimating to peer interactions. They also connect with the role models and adults as they work together to build to the capstone concert/exhibition in the eighth week of the program. The youth additionally connect with their family, friends, and the general public as they perform their concert and present their artworks, changing impressions of their capabilities and ability to create value. Link to our video on make your m.a.r.c.: https://www.hopecreates.org/marc make your m.a.r.c.'s purpose is supported by 5 goals which include: goal 1: at the end of each 8-week cohort, 70% of youth participants will increase general participation in the creative/expressive activities goal 2: at the end of each 8-week cohort, 75% of youth participants will increase their connection with peers goal 3: at the end of each 8-week cohort, 70% of youth participants will improve their self-regulation during instruction time goal 4: at the end of each 8-week cohort, 80% of youth participants will acquire/improve technical creative skills goal 5: at the end of each 8-week cohort, 70% of youth participants will increase sense of self-worth, self-acceptance, and self-compassion the creative process has a restorative dimension as they reconnect with themselves, their family, and their community. The parents, family, and friends can see their child developing skills and behaviors that they can be proud of, changing past patterns of perception of their youth”

“Other professional services: program service expenses 14,703. Management and general expenses 1,675. Fundraising expenses 4,733. Total expenses 21,111.”