Location: Tucson, Arizona

Type of Organization: Private non-profit

IRS Designation: 501(c)3

Tax Exempt Number: 20-0184741

Founded 2003

Mission: To support, sustain and encourage the expansion of the Opening Minds Through the Arts Program through fundraising, public awareness and advocacy.

Target Population of the OMA Program: Elementary and middleschool children, with particular focus on at-risk students.

Address and Office: 2025 E. Winsett Street   Tucson, Arizona  85719

Phone: 225-4654

Fax: 225-4863

Email: shirley.kiser@tusd1.org

Executive Director: Shirley Kiser

Governing Body: 22-member board of directors; 14-member advisory board; 27-member honorary board; parent council

Foundation President: Dr. Mary Belle McCorkle

Past President and Founder: Eugene Jones

OMA Director: Dr. Joan Ashcraft, Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Tucson Unified School District.

OMA Foundation Operating Budget, 2006-2007: $419,000

Percentage of 2006-2007 Budget Going to Program Expense: 69%

Number of Students Served, 2007-2008: 19,000 (5 schools added)

Number of Students Served, 2006-2007: 17,000

Number of OMA Schools: 42 (40% of all TUSD elementary and middle schools)

Number of Teachers in the OMA Program: 700

Number of Teaching Artists: 55

Average Annual Cost Per Student: $150

Key Program Partners: TUSD; US and AZ Departments of Education; John F. Kennedy Center; AZ Commission on the Arts; University of Arizona; Harvard University; Smithsonian Institution

A Few Unique Components:

• OMA Program has been evaluated by a respected, independent national research and evaluation firm, WestEd, which has found significant improvements in student achievement.
• OMA conducts Fine Arts Summer Institutes for hundreds of TUSD and other classroom teachers, and a Teaching Artist Institute to train artists to teach.

What OMA Does for Tucson's Children: Helps expand their world; improves their academic achievement; raises their test scores; improves their concentration and self-discipline; intensifies their love of learning; gives them a means of self-expression and a path to accomplishment; fosters their love of the arts.