Arts for Oakland Kids
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO ADVANCE ARTS JUSTICE BY ENSURING THAT ALL STUDENTS IN UNDER-RESOURCED OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVE A COMPREHENSIVE ARTS EDUCATION IN ORDER TO IMPROVE LEARNING AND PROMOTE ACHIEVEMENT.
- Income
- $177,106
- Spending
- $166,245
- Spent on programs
- 56%
- Reserves
- 10.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 57%
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 16
- Highest pay
- $32,011, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 10.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 6% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 6% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1556% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 36 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 79 out of 100. Higher than 73% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $92,360 spent. TO ADVANCE ARTS JUSTICE BY ENSURING THAT ALL STUDENTS IN UNDER-RESOURCED OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVE A COMPREHENSIVE ARTS EDUCATION IN ORDER TO IMPROVE LEARNING AND PROMOTE ACHIEVEMENT.ARTogetherARTogethers After-school Music Program provides newcomer refugee and immigrant students at Oakland International High School with collaborative weekly music classes, creating gathering spaces for students to learn and explore different musical styles and traditions together.BoomShake MusicDuring the 2024-5 school year, BoomShake Music will offer full-year weekly street drumming workshops to every 2nd and 5th grade student at Manzanita SEED Elementary School. Guided by teaching artists Sarah Norr and Mira Manickam-Shirley, students will learn drum technique, ensemble playing, movement, composition and improvisation, and the creation of songs and chants. Students will perform both at school events and at Oakland-based community gatherings and social justice actions.Cantare con VivoCantares Nova Youth Choir unites 6-12 grade students from disparate Oakland neighborhoods for 36 weeks of weekly rehearsals and small-group vocal coaching; monthly leadership workshops and clinics with working musicians; and annual choir festivals, college tours, and community performances with Cantares elementary and adult choirs. Nova makes it possible for every Oakland 6-12th grader to have tuition-free, uninterrupted access to bi-weekly choral music education throughout their middle and high school years, a critical time for developing a positive self-identity and a lifelong love for the arts.The CrucibleThe Crucible's Creative Economy Pathways Program (CEPP) introduces high school students attending OUSD schools (this funding will support our work at Rudsdale High School) to The Crucibles variety of industrial art practices as well opportunities to turn the skills learned into tangible products that can then be used as items that can be sold at a number of vending opportunities they are invited to participate in.Harmony Project OaklandHarmony Project Oakland (started in 2020) is a free, intensive, multi-year program offering instrumental classes, performances, and musical mentoring. We harness the transformative power of music to embolden students to realize their full potential and empower them to greet challenges in their lives, both musical and otherwise. Through social-emotional and musical instruction, practice time, and peer mentoring, students actively participate in the program for a minimum of 4 hours per week.Living JazzThe Living Jazz Childrens Project is a free, in-school performing arts residency designed for pre-kindergarten through 2nd graders in the Oakland Unified School Districts Title 1 schools and expanded in 2022 to West Contra Costa School District and middle school students. Debuted in 2005, the jazz-rooted arts education program teaches music fundamentals, ensemble singing, rhythm, percussion and dance, utilizing art as a tool for social change and cultural empowerment. The year-long curriculum focuses on choral music through a social justice lens, on rhythm and polyrhythms from the African Diaspora within the context of cultural awareness, and on dance as a form of cultural history, self-expression and storytelling.Prescott Circus TheaterPrescott Circus Theatre (PCT) will continue of The Esperanza Circus and Theater Arts Residency at Esperanza Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year. The residency will provide weekly circus and theater arts instruction for 130 students across seven classrooms: all fourth and fifth grade general ed students and all K-5 special day class students with moderate / moderate-severe disabilities. In partnership with classroom teachers, PCT teaching artist, Cesar Amaruc, will facilitate and support students technical and creative learning in circus and theater arts while promoting skills that support school and life success.ThingamajigsThingamajigs is a genre-crossing arts organization that promotes music and other art forms created with made and found materials or alternate tuning systems. Our mission is to develop and nurture the exploration of alternate materials and methods of creating sound and promote collaborative efforts between artists and local communities. We often serve students classified as at-risk from socioeconomically disadvantaged families who may not have the experience to have a creative outlet.The Youth ARTS CompanyThe Youth ARTS (Addressing Real Traumas and Solutions) Company is a trauma informed, healing-centered community based art program that emboldens teenage student artists to use writing and spoken-word as a catalyst for trauma-healing, youth advocacy and narrative change. Through their poetry & spoken word, students enhance wellness in their own lives and the community at large by producing their own Community Based Arts production using Youth Participatory Action Research methods.Todays Future SoundFuture Sounds is a year-long program offering Therapeutic Beat Making workshops open to all 300 10th-12th grade students at Rudsdale Continuation High school. We request $5,000 from the Landis Foundation in order to extend workshops funded by the school through the whole school year.Youth BeatYouth Beat will provide high-quality, year-long, (120+ hours total) after-school film and animation classes to 90 Oakland high school students during the 2024-2025 school year and summer 2024 (100 hours). At least 80 of these students will attend AOK qualifying high schools. Students will come mostly from the low-income East Oakland neighborhoods along International Blvd. They will learn from accomplished media professionals and 1) develop technical skill, 2) build creative muscle, 3) develop a sense of competence and self-worth, 4) become part of a supportive creative community, and 5) build teamwork, leadership, project management, and critical thinking skills.Z Space StudioWord for Word Youth Arts will conduct its 10th annual in-depth publi
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 1996.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.