Operating Support Grant - Renewal

We will again use this generous funding to pay for staff, rent at Sacred Heart Music Center, promotional endeavors (printing, travel, outreach), upkeep of gear and computers, and so on. The goal is to reach a kind of cruising altitude with the MRC that allows us to undergo repeated, regular promotional actions that will establish the MRC in peoples' minds as the go-to place for teens who exhibit a desire to express their musical intelligence, at no charge to them. We will continue to monitor attendance and short- and long-term trends in participation to identify our successes and areas for improvement. With the MRC, true success is in the smiling faces of the diverse kids who discover an interest in playing the guitar or the keyboards or rapping or recording a song they wrote. It's in seeing kids of different ages and backgrounds work together to reach goals. We know the MRC is valuable, because the kids tell us so -- as do their parents and guardians and supervisors and educators. But our success must also be quantifiable in not just growing our numbers, but making sure that each year is another step forward to a stronger sustainability. The ongoing support of ARAC is key to helping us stay afloat for the kids while we do the work that is needed to grow the program bit by bit. It's a small program, but it makes a huge difference.