Celebrating 10 Years of 916 Ink: 2020-2021 Annual Report

g n ti a r b e f l o e s C r a e Y 10 Ink 916

Annual Repo rt 2020 July 1, 2020 –

June 30, 2021

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BREATH

& BONES: VOLUM E

Visualizatio

It is my honor to sh are with you this annual report for th e 2020-2021 Program Year. This was a time of rapid change and pervas ive uncertainty.

I don’t know that an y of us fully understand the im pact the last two ye ars have had, but I do know that 916 Ink continued to be a positive force for th e youth we worked with. We stayed true to our mission and found a way to persevere—that is worth celebratin g.

Additionally, enclo sed is a celebration of 916 Ink’s 10 years of operation!

From the genius be ginnings of an idea to the collective dr eam of our founder s to the sustainable Sacramento institu tion we are today, 916 Ink’s journey has been one of resil ience, creativity, an d innovation.

None of this would be possible withou t the incredible staff, donors, volun teers, board memb ers, and funders who have chosen to join us in our belie f that we can do better for our youn g people. Because of you, I am certain that the next 10 ye ars will be as impa ctful, inspiring, an d delightfully “inky” as the first 10.

In service,

I leave here with more confidence in my writing. With a deeper understanding of writing. With more appreciation for teachers.

With hope this year will be better than the last.

— NATALIE ELLIOTT-CISNEROS, 15 YEARS OLD

n

ers ng writ 916 Ink with

from

you e by the junction and pros ool in con Poetry Sch High wood Walnut

d an etry the Po of e by pros iters n’s g wr atio p un uc ou yo Ed Gr in iday ction ns Fr un Ink Visio conj 916 in th wi

Poetry and prose from the Creative Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professi Writing Club of ons High School in conjunc tion with 916 Ink

Grants $625,623

Revenue Total: $905,865

Events $71,553

Our Find your Voice programs have prov ided an environment over the last year wher e young people can freely express them selves, the good an d the bad, the tragic, and the hilar ious.

Our new Read On! tutoring program ha s used the power of individualized in struction to reverse some of the negative impacts of young readers’ rece nt tumultuous experiences.

10

Corporate $15,749 Individual $68,811 Fee for Service $123,085 Misc. - $1,044

Expenses

Program Expenses $586,679 (71%)

Total: $824,578 Core Mission Support: Fundraising $103,300 (13%)

Core Mission Support: Support for Direct Services $134,599 (16%)

2020-2021 Program Year Find Your Voice is our signature creative writing program. We work with young writers in a variety of settings: from workshop series in a school or community setting, to after-school programs, to Amplify! Creative Writing Summer Camps.

598

Young Writers

308

Improved attitudes towards writing

91% 75%

10,764

Hours of Creative Writing Instruction Delivered

Published Authors

7

28

School Districts

Publications

51

Improved academic behaviors Improved in terms of socialemotional development

95%

Workshops occur in:

Underserved / low-income schools

Community

38% 39% partnerships / other

Programs

23%

21

At-risk / juvenile justice

School Sites

I leave here with a passion for writing and a writing brain.

— JAYDEN SIU, 9 YEARS OLD

In 2020, we launched a new pilot program called Read On! This rigorous one-on-one virtual tutoring program builds critical literacy skills for participating students. First year impact data show how effective this program is. Read On! fits in well with the core mission of 916 Ink, because writers read, and readers write!

Number of Students

100%

32 Number of Volunteer Tutors

28

growth in foundational reading skills.

Hours of Tutoring

1081

of Read On! students showed

100%

of families had positive impressions of the

Participating students improved reading skills at a

50% greater rate

than they would achieve without intervention.

program and growth their child showed.

The Read On! staff, tutors, and volunteers are so dedicated to helping children meet their reading potential. Their patience, support, and encouragement have made my son more confident as a reader. That confidence has pushed him to want to read beyond his previous comfort level. – ANONYMOUS PARENT

Key Funders for 2020-2021 City of Rancho Cordova Measure H

Albert & Elaine Borchard Foundation

City of Sacramento

Arata Brothers Trust

Sacramento County Office of Education

County of Sacramento

California Arts Council

Golden 1 Credit Union

California State Library Cannady-Ford Family Fund of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation

Sacramento City Unified School District

Margaret Detering Fund of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation

Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture Teichert Foundation Visions in Education

RCA Community Fund

City of Elk Grove

The Spark

by Trillian Creath, 12

years old

on black. t black upon black up ess. Nothing there, jus

Eternal darkn t be?

No, wait. What could tha . ing within the nothing light, the only someth ing ker flic y, tin e On Light.

Suddenly: “I can’t.” d the nothingness.

The words echo aroun T Wor he The light dims. ldJum p “No, it’s ‘yet.’”

Boo ing kWo . tes era erb rm Again, the voice rev “I can’t yet.” s steadily.

The tiny glow brighten ng and this light be?

Where might this nothi . In all of us.

Why, in you, of course

Poetr y and prose by wr iters grade s 6-8 from 916 In k’s Am Summ plify er Ca mp

Around us. universe.

Pulsating through the ught. d flame, flame and tho A dance of thought an ?

What could it be, you ask dence.

Joy. Positivity. Self-confi piration. nd, soul, aflame with ins The spark of a heart, mi AmplifySum

21-MS.ind

d 1

9/8/21

8:35 AM

3301 37th Avenue, Suite 14, Sacramento, CA 95814 916.826.7323 • info@916ink.org • 916ink.org

Thank yo u for your supp ort of youth vo ices!

Ink Turns

Then (20 1

1)

• 50 stude ~ nts s • 0 bo erved oks p u b l i shed (3 zin es) • 3 lib rary work • 0 pa shops id sta ff (all vo lunte er)

10

Now (202

1)

• 4,59 2 stu dents • 212 serve books d publi • 51 p s hed rogra ms, in 21 sc cludi hools ng a n d doz of com ens muni ty gro • 23 p ups aid st aff

Top 10 in 10 When looking for highlights, we could bookmark dozens of pages from this first chapter of Ink history. But we had to narrow it down! Here are 10 moments from the past 10 years that we are especially proud of and set the scene for what’s to come.

●

Joy, wisdom, whim

sy, and wonder

●

PUBLISHED 1 OUR FIRST BOOK: From our www.916I nk.o

rg

Produced Oak Park Salvati in partnership with the on Army in Sacramento,

with words.

3

Calif.

OPENED THE IMAGINARIUM: In 2015,

916 Ink opened its whimsical

launch, we knew

● 4

PRIORITIZED SYSTEM-

INVOLVED YOUTH:

In 2013, we partnered with

creative writing palace, the

Sacramento County Office of

Imaginarium, as part of the Maple

Education to begin programming

Neighborhood Center initiative led

in youth corrections facilities.

books was key.

by La Familia Counseling Center.

Since then, we have expanded

In 2013 we published our first

This special space gave us an

this work to other facilities

professionally printed anthology

anchor and a permanent home to

throughout the state. By

of student work. Ten years later,

inspire hundreds of young writers.

publishing these young

publishing young ISBN: 978-0-9

855279-0-7

authors in real

By student

s of Capitol Heights Academ in collabor y ation with 916 Ink and The Salvatio n Army, Sacram ento, CA.

we are humbled to have 212 books

writers, we show them

in our library. That’s 4,598 young

their stories have

writers who have seen their

value and that people

names in print and know their

want to hear what

voices matter.

they have to say.

●

place in collaboration with the Sacramento Public Library and The Salvation Army. In 2013, we partnered with our first school sites to reach more young writers.

Since then, we have shown that the Find Your Voice program works in a diverse array of settings.

Yo Min ung ds in T ime

and pros of e conj El Cent by th e yo unct ro Jr ung ion write with ./Sr. Hi gh rs 916 in Ink

-Sum

EXPLORED NEW VENUES FOR OUR WORK: Early workshops took

I

T END BRIH CK WAL L

Poet ry

YDF

2

BEH

mer2

1.ind

d 1

8/12

/21

2:07

PM

●

CREATED NEW ENVIRONMENTS FOR EMERGING WRITERS:

5

ure

ent Adv x Bo

Ink From: 916 Ave 3301 37th 95824 ento, CA Sacram

_____________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

To: _______

In 2016, we began holding summer camps and after-school programming in the Imaginarium.

Author’s Lab, for returning

●

students who wish to deepen their

shelter-in-place orders began in

writing skills, and Write Your Way,

March 2020, we knew that young

a series of genre workshops to

people would continue to need

delve into the mechanics of

the safe space, the academic

specific types of writing.

enrichment, and the social-

More recently we launched

7

PIVOTED DURING THE PANDEMIC: When

emotional development offered by 916 Ink’s workshops. We spent one week regrouping and then shifted our programs online.

Since then, we have served hundreds of students through virtual programming and will continue to host online workshops moving forward.

● 9

SERVED 4,500 YOUNG PEOPLE: In 2021, we

reached a milestone of 4,500 young people who have gone through a 916 Ink creative writing workshop or reading tutoring program. Overwhelmingly, our student writers tell us that 916 Ink helps them feel more confident, their reading and writing skills have improved, and they have a new love for the written word.

● 10

● 6

TOOK OUR SHOW ON THE ROAD: Our

WE’VE LEVELED UP: From an all-volunteer

crew, hand-stapled zines, and a shoestring budget, we are

earliest workshops focused in

thrilled to now have 23 staff, 200+

Sacramento County, but we’ve

publications, and a budget that’s

increasingly had opportunities

about to pass the $1 million mark.

to expand our horizons. While

We’re proud of how we’ve grown

Sacramento remains our home

in such a short time, while always

base, we are thrilled to reach more

remaining true to the vision

youth by connecting with young

and inspiration of our original

writers throughout the state. In addition to our deep Sacramento roots, we’ve now held programs in Yolo, Contra Costa, Solano, and San

● 8

founders. We can’t wait to turn

LAUNCHED READ ON!:

the page to see what’s going to

In 2020, we started a new

happen next.

story for 916 Ink with a reading

Joaquin Counties. In early 2022,

tutoring program, called Read

we’ll be hosting our first workshop

On! This program began as a

series in Ventura County!

pilot program, with two schools and a handful of students, and is rapidly growing (see current year results on the next page).

Learn More Watch video interviews with past students, board members, and volunteers, and read more about how far we’ve come.