"The Annual Fund Kick-Off Concert will feature performances from Vocal Music’s Encore, The Messengers jazz combo from Instrumental Music, solo performances from Musical Theatre students, and spoken word poetry from Literary Arts."
--Grace Triantafyllos, 8th grade
Oakland School for the Arts is holding a free concert to raise money for the OSA Annual Fund from 7:00pm to 8:00pm on October 17th in Sweet’s Ballroom. The pre-concert cocktail hour will be held on The Uptown’s outdoor patio.
The Annual Fund Kick-Off Concert will feature performances from Vocal Music’s Encore, The Messengers jazz combo from Instrumental Music, solo performances from Musical Theatre students, and spoken word poetry from Literary Arts.
The Annual Fund concert is meant to start this year’s fundraising campaign in an interesting way, as opposed to previous years.
“Ms. Keslosky [OSA’s Director of Advancement] and I are trying to reinvent how we engage with our families around giving to OSA,” says Matthew Travisano, OSA’s Artistic Director. “In previous years we’ve done an event called State of the School which was, frankly, dry and preachy. So our goal is to kick off our fundraising efforts with a fun and engaging concert which showcases some of the arts sub-pathways at OSA which directly benefit from the Annual Fund.”
The concert will also introduce OSA’s theme for this year, “If You Knew My Story”, and allow students to share what OSA means to them. “I guess you could say we’re trying to put the fun back into fundraising!” says Mr. Travisano.
The Annual Fund pays for supplies needed for the arts, and is also used for the salaries of OSA’s arts teachers; without the Annual Fund, OSA’s arts programs couldn’t exist.
“The Annual Fund is, we think, the most important donations people can make to the school, particularly our families,” says Kathryn Keslosky, OSA’s Director of Advancement. “It represents about half of what we need to raise every year in order to make up for the shortfall we have between what we receive from the state and what it actually takes to run the school.”
The Annual Fund is absolutely vital to OSA, since the money the state gives the school doesn’t cover the costs of running its arts departments.
“We get next-to-nothing from the State of California to teach the arts,” says Mr. Travisano. “Also, charitable organizations and foundations ask us what percentage of our families contribute something (even a dollar!) when we apply for grants,” Mr. Travisano adds. To sum everything up, the Annual Fund is absolutely crucial to all aspects of the school.
A pre-concert cocktail hour will be held at The Uptown from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. The will be a cash bar, as well as a student DJ from the Audio Production and Engineering program. It will be available to the first 100 people to RSVP.
Pamphlets with information about donating will be sent out to OSA families after the event. You can find out more or donate right now by visiting https://www.oakarts.org/GIVING/index.html.
The Annual Fund Kick-Off Concert will feature performances from Vocal Music’s Encore, The Messengers jazz combo from Instrumental Music, solo performances from Musical Theatre students, and spoken word poetry from Literary Arts.
The Annual Fund concert is meant to start this year’s fundraising campaign in an interesting way, as opposed to previous years.
“Ms. Keslosky [OSA’s Director of Advancement] and I are trying to reinvent how we engage with our families around giving to OSA,” says Matthew Travisano, OSA’s Artistic Director. “In previous years we’ve done an event called State of the School which was, frankly, dry and preachy. So our goal is to kick off our fundraising efforts with a fun and engaging concert which showcases some of the arts sub-pathways at OSA which directly benefit from the Annual Fund.”
The concert will also introduce OSA’s theme for this year, “If You Knew My Story”, and allow students to share what OSA means to them. “I guess you could say we’re trying to put the fun back into fundraising!” says Mr. Travisano.
The Annual Fund pays for supplies needed for the arts, and is also used for the salaries of OSA’s arts teachers; without the Annual Fund, OSA’s arts programs couldn’t exist.
“The Annual Fund is, we think, the most important donations people can make to the school, particularly our families,” says Kathryn Keslosky, OSA’s Director of Advancement. “It represents about half of what we need to raise every year in order to make up for the shortfall we have between what we receive from the state and what it actually takes to run the school.”
The Annual Fund is absolutely vital to OSA, since the money the state gives the school doesn’t cover the costs of running its arts departments.
“We get next-to-nothing from the State of California to teach the arts,” says Mr. Travisano. “Also, charitable organizations and foundations ask us what percentage of our families contribute something (even a dollar!) when we apply for grants,” Mr. Travisano adds. To sum everything up, the Annual Fund is absolutely crucial to all aspects of the school.
A pre-concert cocktail hour will be held at The Uptown from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. The will be a cash bar, as well as a student DJ from the Audio Production and Engineering program. It will be available to the first 100 people to RSVP.
Pamphlets with information about donating will be sent out to OSA families after the event. You can find out more or donate right now by visiting https://www.oakarts.org/GIVING/index.html.
