Building the Next Stage: A Campaign for Sitar Next Door

BUILDING THE NEXT STAGE

A CAMPAIGN FOR SITAR NEXT DOOR

THE NEXT STAGE

What happens if every child in Washington, DC discovered their creativity and achieved their full potential?

What if, when each of these children becomes a young adult, they have a clear pathway to secure employment and upward mobility?

What will it take to get us there?

Today, Sitar embarks on a $5.7 million capital campaign to address these questions in our corner of the world. We will expand our capacity through the purchase of a new arts learning hub. Sitar Next Door will open learning opportunities for hundreds more children and teens each year and build avenues to help them thrive as they reach their next stage of development — young adulthood. Join us in Building the Next Stage.

CAMPAIGN GOALS

2

1

Grow Sitar’s footprint by 50% with a new arts learning and training hub next door and plan Sitar’s financial future — unlocking goals 2 and 3.

3

Expand to support the next stage in human development — young adulthood — by initiating a new arts-focused, skills-based workforce training program.

ARTSADVANCE: CAREER STUDIOS

Enroll 66% more children and teens each year in affordable, evidencebased afterschool and summer programming.

SITAR EMERGING ARTS LEADERS & BLOOMBERG ARTS INTERNSHIP

ARTS AFTERSCHOOL & CAMP SITAR

EARLY CHILDHOOD ARTS

SITAR ARTS CENTER

AT 1700 KALORAMA RD NW

OWNED SUITE 101 SINCE 2006

EXPANDED TO SUITE 102 IN 2017

SITAR NEXT DOOR AT 1724 KALORAMA RD NW TO PURCHASE IN 2024

1700 BLOCK OF KALORAMA RD NW

WHY NOW, WHY SITAR?

A COMMUNITY ANCHOR

In 2021, Sitar families told us about their challenges overcoming job loss and severe economic hardship due to the pandemic. Parents share intense concern about their children’s socio-emotional health. Sitar graduates shared about their increasing pressure to contribute financially to their household. We took this time to design our strategic road map for the next 5 years. We began where we always do and invited our community to join us in envisioning Sitar Arts Center’s future impact.

We heard the clear call to expand the life-changing opportunties, learning, and belonging that so many find here. Sitar is ready to enroll more children in arts learning and care programs during the out-ofschool time hours. Sitar is ready to expand paid workforce training that supports young adults in building sought after skills for the creative industries.

To answer this call, Sitar must grow. Sitar now has the extraordinary opportunity to grow in place with Sitar Next Door. The 6,346-squarefoot facility anchors the ground floor of a new Jubilee Housing development that creates deeply affordable housing for families. The expansion is directly adjacent to Sitar’s current home at 1700 Kalorama Road NW and ensures that Sitar will grow sustainably.

ADVANCING EQUITY, ACCESS, & OPPORTUNITY

Sitar was founded on the belief that every child deserves access to quality arts learning, regardless of cultural and financial barriers. This is why our programming is offered on a sliding-fee scale, where 80% of enrollment is reserved for families at 60% or less of the area median income.

Sitar also responds to the powerful human need for belonging. Every student and family knows they are an integral part of our inclusive community. Many of our families have recently immigrated and many students are first-generation Americans. Eighty-five percent of our students are Black, Hispanic, Latino, or Multi-racial. 100% of our students belong here.

Our students regularly refer to Sitar as their home away from home. A nurturing community at each stage of development supports youth on their path to adulthood through the cycle of connecting, creating, and contributing.

Sitar’s arts education and workforce development programs unlock each student’s individual potential through creative, joyful, and community-centered learning that leads to proven success in school, career, and beyond.

“ Sitar is an accessible organization for families, welcoming environment, good quality learning opportunities, work opportunities. It offers children and young people invaluable opportunities for their future. ”

- Sitar Parent, 2021

OUR STUDENT BODY

A DIVERSE, TALENTED, AND EQUITABLE COMMUNITY WHERE DC YOUTH BELONG, ACHIEVE, AND ASPIRE

900 STUDENTS

FROM BIRTH THROUGH YOUNG ADULTHOOD

80% OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ARE FROM HOUSEHOLDS WITH LOW INCOMES

LATINO/HISPANIC

AFRICAN AMERICAN CAUCASIAN

MULTI-RACIAL/OTHER

ASIAN

5-YEAR AVERAGE

FOCUSING ON IN WARDS 1, 4, & 5 BECAUSE ONE-FOURTH OF THE CHILDREN WHO LIVE IN POVERTY IN DC reside in Wards 1, 4, and 5

THESE WARDS HAVE FEWER

OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME (OST)

SEATS than families need and income inequality that perpetuates the opportunity gap

WE RECOGNIZE, ADDRESS, AND ARE PARTNERING WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO EXPAND SOLUTIONS for advancing equity for these children and families

SITAR STUDENT BODY 5-YEAR AVERAGE

IMPACT

EXPLORING MULTIPLE ART FORMS UNDER ONE ROOF

VISUAL ARTS

PERFORMING ARTS DIGITAL ARTS

“Taking classes at Sitar has given me an opportunity to explore different areas in the arts that I would have not had a chance to at school. The drive to explore new things has influenced me to pick the major I am studying today.” - Sitar Alum

EXCELLING IN SCHOOL, CAREER, & BEYOND

MULTI-YEAR EXTERNAL EVALUATION TRENDS OF SITAR STUDENTS

STUDENTS DEMONSTRATE HIGHEST LEVEL OF COMPETENCY IN COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION SKILLS AT PROGRAM END

STUDENTS DEMONSTRATE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SKILLS OF CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING FROM START TO FINISH

RETURNING SUMMER INTERNS DEMONSTRATE HIGHER COMPETENCY IN WORKPLACE SKILLS THAN FIRST-TIME INTERNS

100% OF SITAR SENIORS GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL

ALUMNI POINT TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & EXPOSURE, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AS LONGTERM OUTCOMES

SITAR’S NEXT STAGE

WHAT WE WILL ADDRESS

GOAL 1

THE CHALLENGE

Sitar Arts Center’s original facility at 1700 Kalorama Road NW embodies our founding value that every child deserves access to a first-rate arts education.

For twenty years, the City and Sitar’s community have deeply invested in Sitar’s vision for youth and in maintaining the high quality of our physical space. Today, Sitar Arts Center is a community anchor where youth engage in excellent arts learning and creative programming, and a community hub where families and neighbors gather and connect through the arts.

Possibilities are brought to life in this one-of-a-kind space that offers a proscenium theater, darkroom, studios for art, dance, and music, and flexible learning space.

Across the year, the Center engages: 900 students through out-of-school time programs that are intensive in hours and learning; 100 contracted and volunteer teaching artists; 10 partnering DC arts organizations that bring instruction, performances, and exhibits; and over 1,500 annual audience members at our professional and student performances.

Year after year, Sitar’s programs reach capacity with waitlists as community need continues to grow. Through the Building Sitar for the Next Stage Campaign, we have the opportunity to unlock new possibilities for our young people through the purchase of and investment in a permanent new facility.

Grow Sitar’s footprint by 50% with a new arts learning and training hub next door and plan Sitar’s financial future — unlocking goals 2 and 3.

GOAL

1 THE SOLUTION

1700 1724

Board Conference Room for 24-people that is A/V equipped and can also be rented by local groups.

S.T.E.A.M. Lab with 11-stations and adjoining film studio for students to learn in areas of video production, graphic design, and game design.

Purchase and Renovate Sitar Next Door at 1724 Kalorama Road NW. Sitar will purchase 6,346 square feet of purpose-fitted space from Jubilee Housing at the neighboring 1724 Kalorama Road NW — to be delivered in 2024 fully built-out. Sitar Next Door will add:

Flexible Theater and Community Space with portable seating for 85 for a variety of arts performances and community activities.

Two arts learning labs that will increase our year round offerings.

Advanced Music and Recording Studios including an ensemble space and full scale recording engineering capabilities.

Art Walk Gallery to exhibit student and professional works.

Art Studio to engage students in visual arts and design.

Bonstra Haresign Architects

May 2022 Schematic Design

1700 BLOCK OF KALORAMA RD NW

To reach the next stage, we will also invest in Sitar’s financial future through:

Programming Expansion Funds. Strategic programming expansion funds allow for thoughtful new program design, needed Sitar staff growth, and sustainability of new programs as we grow from 2020-2025. Each fund has a designated purpose: 1) afterschool and summer expansion for children and 2) workforce development for young adults. Together, the funds create a bridge to a new level of operating budget and fundraising strength needed for the expanded Sitar.

Cash Reserves for Resiliency and Sustainability. Sitar’s new space and new programs need to support our community now and for generations to come. This makes strong cash reserves essential. Our goal is to create a building fund and bring operating cash reserves to 3 months of fiscal year 2025’s estimated $3.9 million operating budget.

Critical Upgrades to the Center. After over 15 years of continuous usage, 1700 Kalorama Road NW showed wear and the technology was outdated. In the exploratory phase of the campaign (March 2019 - May 2021), early campaign donors helped Sitar to upgrade the HVAC system and add UV filtration, modernize to LED lighting, refurbish the flooring in the dance studio, practice rooms, and lobby, update the A/V systems in the deLaski Theater, and respond to the pandemic-related risks with enhanced health and security measures.

GOAL 2

Enroll 66% more children and teens each year in affordable, evidence-based afterschool and summer programming.

FOR EVERY CHILD IN DC ENROLLED IN AN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM, THERE IS ONE WAITING.

THE CHALLENGE

In DC, the average cost of an afterschool program is $167 per week. The average cost of a summer program nationwide is $500 per week. The high cost makes many out-of-school-time options inaccessible for families overcoming poverty or economic insecurity. The DC Fiscal Policy Center reports that single parents and Black and Latinx families, experience a disproportionate gap in securing needed out-of-school-time care for their children.

In DC’s Ward 1, where Sitar is located and 45% of enrolled students reside, 1 in 4 children live in poverty.

In DC, 84% of parents agreed that afterschool and summer programs help working parents keep their jobs. Nationwide, research demonstrates afterschool and summer programs provide a lifeline for working by: offering a safe space for engaging, hands-on learning, promoting opportunities in fields where young people from historically under invested communities are often excluded, and connecting parents and caregivers with other community resources.

Sitar has addressed these needs for decades, producing lasting impact for our students and community; however, demand for seats continues to far outpace Sitar’s current enrollment capacity due to space limitations. And after the isolation and trauma caused by the pandemic, the socioemotional support that Sitar has available for children is needed more than ever.

GOAL 2

THE SOLUTION

GROW WHAT OUR COMMUNITY

EARLY CHILDHOOD ARTS

ACHIEVEMENT BY END OF PROGRAM

80% of summer interns demonstrated proficiency in 21st Century work skills of Flexibility, Independence, Communication, Initiative, Collaboration, and Punctuality.

75% of students demonstrated proficiency in 21st Century Skills of Critical & Creative Thinking, Initiative & Accountability, Communication, and Collaboration.

90% of parents observed their child being a “self-advocating learner” through skills of Curiosity, Imagination, Independence, SelfDirection, and Confidence.

“Excellent place where students are shaped in the arts, in creative ways and in inspiring ways, from a young age.” - Sitar Parent

GOAL 3

Expand to support the next stage in human development — young adulthood — by initiating a new arts-focused, skills-based workforce training program.

THE CHALLENGE

Young adults need new pathways to thriving careers.

We hear regularly from former students who, despite working hard and succeeding all the way through high school graduation, need support overcoming the barriers built into the structure of traditional career pathways.

Many Sitar alumni pursue college degrees, but find the four-year degree track inaccessible due to the high cost of college, the need to work to support themselves and family, and other family obligations that call them home.

Our students do not have enough financial support to participate in unpaid internships that invest in professional development and network building that opens doors and jumpstarts careers.

During the pandemic, young workers experienced the most job loss of any age group in Washington, DC.

COMMUNITY NEED

Many young people want to explore career opportunities that unlock their passions and talents in the professional arts and creativity industries; however, the traditional pathways pose signficant barriers for those in historically under invested communities.

These barriers result in less diversity in all areas of the workforce and the creative economy. New paths are needed to disrupt systemic inequities that block talented youth from realizing their full career potential and block employers from realizing the transformative power of diverse talent on their teams.

MARKET DEMAND

At the same time, there is high demand in DC and the US for creative and skilled workers and employers are increasingly recognizing that these can be developed outside formal education settings:

• Creativity, Originality, and Initiative are the top job skills predicted for 2022, especially as the demand for manual skills continues to fall.

• In DC’s Job Outlook through 2026, high-demand occupations include producers and directors, editors, and graphic designers.

• Technical arts skills are increasingly applicable in multiple fields.

Sitar’s vision for creative workforce development will bridge community need, individual potential, and market demand.

GOAL 3 THE SOLUTION

Sitar needs to support young adults with new pathways to careers.

At Sitar, students build 21st century skills of initiative, creative thinking, and critical thinking. Every art form requires the student to imagine multiple ways to solve a problem and complete a project. Mastery of any visual or performing arts skill requires self-discipline, practice, collaboration, and accountability to self and others.

These characteristics mirror the attributes or “soft skills” that employers cite they need most.

Sitar is designing a new program, ArtsAdvance: Career Studios, that deeply engages young people drawn to the arts and trains them in arts-focused skills that are widely employable. Meanwhile, Sitar will support students in applying the “soft skills” developed through the artistic process to the workplace.

The employers will gain a diverse pipeline of talented young adults who are “work-ready” in technical skills and the less tangible but essential self-management and relationship skills.

SITAR CORE COMPENTENCIES VISION FOR ARTSADVANCE CHANGE CREATED

Reaching young pepole from historically under invested communities by removing practical barriers to ensure program accessibility.

Supporting young people in a nurturing community where belonging is felt and agency is exercised.

Sitar is initiating ArtsAdvance to engage young adults, ages 18-24, who come from historically under invested communities in a next-level career training program around creative industries that best meet community and market demand. ArtsAdvance will include training in both the hard, technical skills and the soft skills necessary to set its graduates on a pathway to secure employment and upward mobility.

Designing art-based programs that tap into young people’s potential through scaffolded approaches of learning the basics > developing soft & hard skills > applying skills through project-based work.

Support the development of a diverse new corps of skilled and creative young adults who can achieve their own goals and add valued perspectives and needed evolution to historically white-dominated fields.

ARTSADVANCE: CAREER STUDIOS

S.E.A.L. & BLOOMBERG ARTS INTERNSHIP

ARTS AFTERSCHOOL & CAMP SITAR

ArtsAdvance: Career Studios builds directly off Sitar’s current arts learning and workforce development programming by leveraging our core competencies to focus on the next stage of human development.

CAMPAIGN PLAN HOW

WE GET THERE

CAMPAIGN BUDGET

TOTAL GOAL: $5,700,000

FACILITIES

$3,600,000

PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

$1,900,000

OTHER $200,000

FACILITIES

PURCHASE AND RENOVATE SITAR NEXT DOOR $3,100,000 AT 1724 KALORAMA ROAD NW

Assumes Bridge Financing through Mortgage to Cover Full Costs of Acquisition (Estimated at $4,600,000)

CRITICAL UPGRADES TO OUR THEATER, DANCE STUDIO, AND $500,000 CLASSROOMS IN SITAR ARTS CENTER AT 1700 KALORAMA ROAD NW

PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

FUNDED $1,100,000

“We are making a stand for an inclusive city. We all benefit as Sitar claims this space.”

- Sitar Donor on Building the Next Stage Campaign

NAMING OPPORTUNITIES

AT SITAR NEXT DOOR

$1,000,000

The Flex: Flexible Theater and Community Space

Advanced Music Studios

$500,000

$250,000

$100,000

$50,000

Arts Studios

S.T.E.A.M. Lab

Recording Studio

Student Lounge

Welcome Lobby

Board Conference Room

Arts Learning Labs (2 Available)

Art Walk Gallery

Ensemble Rehearsal Room

Technical Production Booth

The Flex Backstage

Service Kitchen

Faculty and Staff Lounge

Program Offices

Student Restrooms

Additional naming opportunities are available at Sitar Arts Center at 1700 Kalorama Rd NW and for restricted programming funds.

For more information on naming opportunities, ways to give, and to give involved in Building the Next Stage, please contact: Essence Newhoff, Chief Development Officer at essence@sitarartscenter.org 202.797.2145 ext. 101 or visit nextstage.sitarartscenter.org.