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BloomBars: Help Us Bloom! Inspiring and Uniting the Community through the Performing Arts

Submitted to: The McGuire Family Fund Date: April 22, 2016

JMU students on behalf of the BloomBars organization 800 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Cover Letter This proposal is written to request funding support for “BloomBars”, a local nonprofit organization in central Washington D.C. that uses the arts to entertain, inspire, and unite the community as one. This is a request for a $200 donation that will be used to add to the small facility’s limited advertising and marketing capabilities. BLOOMBARS WASHINGTON DC McGuire Family Fund 800 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801

April 22, 2016

BloomBars 3222 11th Street NW Washington, DC 20010 To whom it may concern, BloomBars is a non-profit organization established to use the arts as a way to unify and educate the community on matters regarding personal wellness, social justice, and cooperative progress. The organization asks that you consider a proposal seeking $200 in funding assistance towards marketing and advertising materials to aid the organization in spreading its mission throughout the community at large. This organization started as a group of artists who showcased spontaneous events on the streets of Washington D.C. that infused expressions of art and social justice messages for the public to enjoy and learn from. It progressed overtime to form into an established non-profit organization that is run by local volunteers who believe in the effectiveness of the arts’ ability to grab people’s attention and progressively impact the way they think and act. BloomBars’ mission is to influence change through art advocacy that showcases some of the major needs in society and influences community involvement in changeefforts. This is a small establishment that is only able to continue by the support of community donors. These donors are the reason why the volunteer members of BloomBars are able to hold their events for the benefit of the community. The volunteers are limited in their ability to advertise about upcoming events as their funding is focused, almost solely, on the activities and events taking place within the organization’s walls. With your help in providing the aforementioned funds, these resources can be purchased and provided to adequately influence BloomBars’ mission. Thank you for taking the time to consider this request. Sincerely,

Abstract (A summary to be written after project is finished)

Need Statement BloomBars was strategically placed within the infamous urban and diverse neighborhood of Columbia Heights in central Washington D.C. The 2014 census data estimated the population of Washington D.C. to be 49% African American, 43.6% Caucasian, 10.4% Hispanic, and 4% Asian (United States Census Bureau, 2014). The variety of race prevalent within the community has led to many differences in culture, social norms, languages, interests, beliefs, values, customs and experiences noticeable within the area. These differences have created an issue of isolation of members within the community because of societal stereotypes and stigmas that have caused people belonging to different races to separate themselves from others who don’t share their race or cultural upbringing. This isolation is problematic because it feeds into negative social patterns of segregation, judgmental attitudes, and class differentiation. There is a need to establish a community of cultural competency and acceptance in this area so that all members can flourish into a just society where everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and equality. In order for this organization to best serve the community, there is a need for financial support to keep it up and running. BloomBars has been able to thrive from the support of local community donations, but does not receive assistance from state or federal funding. Because of their limited funds, they are unable to best spread their message to the public about their events. With your help, we will be able to provide this organization with a $200 donation that will go towards the production and distribution of flyers to be placed in local shops and stores in the urban community for people to see. This will allow the important messages of BloomBars to be spread throughout the city with the hope of especially reaching out to those who are marginalized, inviting them into a welcoming and accepting community.

Identification of the Service Area The BloomBars organization’s unique mission provides services to a number of the populations the McGuire Family Fund seeks to assist through their grant opportunity endeavors. Two of these services most notably provided by BloomBars are those that utilize theatre to challenge and educate as well as entertain audiences, and that address poverty and wealth inequality. Within the BloomBars’ mission statement lays the heart of motivation to provide services to the aforementioned populations. A multitude of artistic creations, including theatre productions, musical and dance performances, martial arts exhibitions, visual arts exhibits, and film showings appear within the walls of the organization. These creations are presented as a way to inspire and unite the local community of Washington D.C. regardless of individuals’ socio-economic backgrounds. Many of the artistic endeavors produced are done so because of the artist’s understanding of the need and desire to communicate to their fellow neighbors the importance of social justice, advocacy on behalf of pressing socio-political issues, and the importance of building a strong community within the D.C. area.

Program Description The BloomBars organization was founded in June of 2008 in Washington, DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. BloomBars is located at 3222 11th Street NW in Washington, DC. (BloomBars, 2016). This organization uses the transformative power of art to promote community building, social justice, advocacy, youth development, and health and wellness. BloomBars vision is to create a global network of spaces, similar to the one located in Washington, DC, to serve as the training grounds for agents that will promote change in new generations through the power of art, affecting positive growth in the local community. BloomBars’ guiding principles are to keep the community first, have honest dialog, take risks, provide safe space, bring the community back to the basics, experiment, be innovative, and have fun (BloomBars, 2016). BloomBars started with a series of spontaneous, underground showcases of different artists called “Blooms.” “Blooms” infuse art and music with local and global social justice causes bringing together a wide diversity of people in the Washington area. In order to create more meaningful human connections, BloomBars does not serve alcoholic beverages, as a typical bar does, but rather makes the events open to all ages (BloomBars, 2016). As the BloomBars vision unfolded they had a huge amount of success including: hosting several film screenings, concerts, photo and art exhibits and “Blooms.” The fourth Bloom, in particular, raised more than 5,000 dollars for the Haitian hurricane victims (BloomBars, 2016). This organization’s mission is to inspire people to reach their full potential, or “Bloom,” investing a part of themselves, or “planting” in the organization, and causing BloomBars to grow in a way that spreads throughout the community. This creates a safe space for creative expression, honest conversation, personal health and wellness, and entertainment in a rich cultural environment (BloomBars, 2016). BloomBars has a vast amount of objectives that it hopes to obtain including:  Build compassionate communities that nurture and support artists committed to service and social responsibility  Create meaningful connections between artists and community-based organizations  Empower youth and parents to use art as an education and literacy tool  Establish a space for artists and community members to learn and practice social activism  Provide a premier performance space for artists to hone and share their craft  Provide a (live and digital) platform to amplify artists’ work, and engage and connect local and global communities  Foster an environment that allows music and art (musicians/artists) to be more accessible to non-artists  Inspire exploration and discovery of new ideas, places, and people within, and outside of the surrounding community (BloomBars, 2016). BloomBars is highly regarded by local community members often referred to as an artist and non-profit incubator, performance space, art gallery, theater, dance studio, screening

room, youth academy, and center for health, wellness, and community engagement. A volunteer team of artists, educators, community leaders and business leaders run BloomBars. BloomBars provides a safe space for community members, of all ages, to come together to promote social justice and welfare for all. BloomBars, supported completely by the community, relies only on donations to keep its programs up and running. Sponsors of BloomBars include Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization (Fractured Atlas, 2015). BloomBars currently offers bloomscreen, bloomu kids, bloomu music & dance, dance, music, poetry, yoga and featured events. The BloomBars April calendar includes a diversity of events: Samba Class, Parting Party in the Gallery, Harambee, Tamika Love Jones Funk and Tap Dance Jam Concert, Healing Dance Workshop, 123 Con Andres Kids Concert, Family Yoga, Kundalini Yoga Class, The Garden Open Mic, Ballet en Fracias, and much more (BloomBars, 2016).

How the Program Addresses Social, Economic and Diversity Issues “You Bloom. We Bloom”. This is the motto that has grown the BloomBars organization into what it is today. Since the very beginning, the BloomBars founders’ mission was to help the overlooked and underappreciated community “bloom” as individuals and as a unified body. The hope of this organization is to bridge the gap that has separated minorities from the nation’s predominately white society. BloomBars aspires to bring people together by collectively using the arts to provide a welcoming environment of engagement and entertainment that inspires peace, justice, wellness, understanding, acceptance, and equality of all people regardless of their differences. Not only does BloomBars focus on sending these important messages to adults, but it also provides a safe community for families to bring their children. A major goal of this organization is to reach families of minorities and those of lower-socioeconomic status, who are deprived of the same privileges that those of higher economic statuses enjoy. There are many events that focus on educating children, fostering friendships, and helping them to express themselves, while allowing them to enjoy their childhood youth freely.

Budget

Capacity of the Agency to Manage Funding BloomBars is a small nonprofit that has been able to keep much of the overhead costs associated with owning and operating a business to a minimum. It is managed by a team of artists, educators, and community and business leaders within the local Washington D.C. area who donate their time and talents toward the mission and goals BloomBars hopes to achieve. Only a small board of directors overseeing—and being paid to do so— the day-to-day and long-term operations of the organization receive monetary compensation. John Chambers, BloomBars’ email correspondent, disclosed that the organization is funded almost entirely by small donations made by local community members (personal communication, March, 2016). As a result of this main source of funding, in conjunction with grant requests made such as this one, it is reasonable to assume these donations will continue to fund the organization until the needs for these services in the local D.C. area diminish. Given the city’s urban, artistic culture and appreciation, it is likely that this organization will continue to thrive from the donations made on behalf of community members for many years to come, just as it has since its opening eight years ago in 2008.

Program Assessment (waiting for references to be put in)

Future Funding Plans BloomBars’ current funding is comprised almost entirely of small individual donations made by local, Washington D.C. community members. The organization has been voted “Best Arts & Culture Nonprofit “ in the DMV by Washington City Paper Readers Poll for the past four years in a row (2012-2015). Therefore, it is feasible that future-funding endeavors will continue to be contributed by members of the local community, as BloomBars has made a recognizable and positively viewed name for itself. These funds may be secured both monetarily as well as by in-kind donations made directly to the organization. As mentioned previously, the greatest need of BloomBars is funding support towards resources to make flyers that will better spread the news of it’s entertaining, inspiring and affordable events. We believe, because of past experiences, the community of Washington D.C. will continue to express their appreciation of the organization by contributing the materials and funds necessary to sustain the vision BloomBars has created.

Letter of Support April 14, 2016 BloomBars’ Sponsors To whom it may concern: It is our pleasure to write a letter in support of the proposal “BloomBars: Help Us Bloom! Inspiring and Uniting the Community through the Performing Arts” being submitted to the McGuire Family Fund by our cohort within our Grant Writing for Agencies class at James Madison University. BloomBars is unique in many aspects including its optional cost to attend events, social justice- focused performances, and urban culture attraction. Thanks to BloomBars, Washington D.C.’s diverse population of people with different levels of socioeconomic statuses now have a welcoming community. Our cohort fully supports the mission behind BloomBars and its emphasis on using the arts, something all people can relate to, connect with, enjoy, and be inspired by. Sincerely, Grant Writing for Agencies class cohort at James Madison University After reviewing the above request for support, I, ______________, on behalf of our organization, ______________________, fully support the efforts of the Grant Writing for Agencies class as they seek external funding to support a program designed to inspire and unite the community of Washington D.C. through artistic endeavors focusing on socio-political issues and other issues of great importance facing our society. Sincerely, ____________________

Appendix

References BloomBars. (2016). About BloomBars. Retrieved from http://www.bloombars.com/about BloomBars. (2016). Contact / Location. Retrieved from http://www.bloombars.com/contact-directions BloomBars. (2016). Event Calendar. Retrieved from http://www.bloombars.com/eventcalendar BloomBars. (2016). Origins (The BloomBars Story). Retrieved from http://www.bloombars.com/origins-the-bloombars-story BloomBars. (2016). Support. Retrieved from http://www.bloombars.com/support Fractured Atlas. (2015). Fiscal Sponsorship. Retrieved from https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=3766

2016. Washington, district of columbia. City-Data. Retrieved from http://www.citydata.com/city/Washington-District-of-Columbia.html Quick facts: district of columbia. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/11...