Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Annual Report Fiscal Year 2021 September 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 Engaging the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them.
A Message From Our CEO Dear Friends of the Children’s Museum, An “annual report” is meant to capture a year-in-review – an organization’s work, how well of a job we did in fulfilling our mission, and if we were good stewards of our supporters’ investments. For us, the report usually includes how many children and families we served, how our Every Child Program ensures that ALL the children in our community have access to the Museum, and recounts the myriad of educational and fun programs that inspire little (and big!) minds to become lifelong learners. This annual report still does that, but I encourage you to read between the lines for two things that are hard to capture in the written word or by looking at our financials…RESILIENCE and PRIDE. Despite a 75% reduction in staff, an extended closure, and the many uncertainties that came with a global pandemic, the Museum was still capable of fulfilling our mission of engaging the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them through determination, creativity, and plenty of fun. From activity boxes designed to give kids a break from online learning and engaging with audiences on our social platforms in both English and Spanish, to opening new play experiences in our outdoor spaces and reopening our indoor spaces with our first traveling exhibit – our incredible staff and board pivoted, and then pivoted again, and again, and yet again. We were an organization that embraced change and learning before the pandemic, and all that practice made us resilient beyond what can be captured in these pages. For this, I am endlessly proud. Thank you to our staff, our Board of Directors, our generous donors who never stopped believing in us, and to all US taxpayers because the support of the government was key to helping us make it through the pandemic so we can continue to serve our community for generations to come. Fondly, Kate Wells CEO
1
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
Every Child Program The Every Child program was created to guarantee all children equitable access to the Museum and its hands-on learning experiences. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix’s Every Child program provides free and reduced-priced admission through: 1) Distribution of free passes to 70+ local nonprofits that serve at-risk children and their families; 2) Free admission on the first Friday night of the month; 3) Distribution of annual membership passes to families receiving WIC benefits; 4) Special Night of Play for families of children with special needs; 5) Reduced-price admission for field trips for Title I schools; and 6) Admission discounts for military service members, police, and firefighters and their children. Outside of school, low-income students no longer benefit from the “resource faucet” of academic enrichment, healthy living guidance, and stimulating engagement opportunities. Failure to engage in enrichment activities deters children’s abilities to build social and cultural capital, and to develop and define interests and skills. Without financial assistance enabling their participation, children from low-income families are subject to sustaining historical achievement gaps, perpetuating a cycle of poverty. The Museum’s Every Child program ensures that all children can benefit from the Museum’s play-based programming, not just the ones whose parents can afford the admission price. Each year 50,000 children and their caregivers benefit from this program, igniting a community-wide passion for learning, imagination, and discovery.
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
2
Navigating the Pandemic During a seven-month closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix implemented both new and evolved modes of delivering programming – from virtual, at-home participation options to socially distanced, in-person Museum visits. Museum staff developed revised summer camp programs with Camp-In-A-Box which brought the same creativity, imaginative play, and educational events to a child’s day as our traditional and beloved in-person camps. Each “camp” was a themed, five-day experience with campers participating from the comfort and safety of their own homes. In addition to nine weeks of virtual camp programming (21 scholarships were awarded), the Museum served thousands of children daily through our free online programming in English and Spanish. We remained one of the few, if not only, local arts organizations to have produced 100% of our online content in both languages. From March 2020-August 2020, weekly communication, called “Whatcha Doin’ Wednesdays,” kept our community connected and updated during our closure. In September 2020 Museum staff also developed Thinker Player Creator boxes – designed to be an educational supplement and a creative outlet for kids in a year which saw many students returning to school via all-day or partial day online learning. The following month, in a groundbreaking partnership between the Museum and the Cartwright Unified School District, 1,550 of Cartwright’s Kindergartner’s received Thinker Player Creator Boxes. Implementing an innovative new delivery experience crafted with the safety of our visitors in mind, the Museum reopened in October 2020 using exclusively outdoor spaces, including our Children’s Garden, Move It! area, and north parking lot, with an additional 15,000 square feet of brand new, never-seen-before play experiences. To build enthusiasm and assure a safe environment, we titled our reopening plan Adventure Play: 100% Outside, 100% Fun!
3
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
Some of the creative exhibits included Colossal Castle, Tike Motocross, Mud Kitchen, Retro Recess, Sock Skating, Scrapyard, Mail Cart, Paint Alfa, Rainbow Garden, Vintage Fire Truck, The Workshop, Foam, and Be Kind Mural. Children and their families made online reservations and followed timed ticketing schedules to limit the number of visitors. Adventure Play ensured the healthiest possible atmosphere for children to benefit from our activities, exhibits, and programs until the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic is contained. We are proud of implementing a variety of mindful, proactive, and flexible modes of delivery that enabled us to offer our loyal visitors with uninterrupted opportunities for educational child development in a safe, fun, and comfortable environment. We remain grateful to our community partners who generously helped make Adventure Play come to life.
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix welcomed visitors back inside the Museum on May 29, 2021 and happily featured, “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit,” which was open for play at the Museum from May 29 – September 6, 2021. On loan from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, this 2,500 square-foot exhibit is a fabricated world inspired by five of Eric Carle’s classic books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and The Very Busy Spider.
Camp-In-A-Box
Financial Highlights Functional Expenses Programs & Membership
19%
Fundraising General & Administrative
9%
72%
Expenses by Programs $55,786 Thinker Player Creator Regular Admissions Adventure Play
$296,237
$1,645,499
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
4
Our Donors $100,000 & Above Flinn Foundation Small Business Administration Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
$50,000-$99,000 Gila River Indian Community* Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture The Steele Foundation
$20,000-$49,999 Delta Dental of Arizona* Discount Tire Company T.W. Lewis Foundation Thunderbirds Charities
$10,000-$19,999 Arizona Commission on the Arts Arizona Milk Producers Carolyn and Todd Delano Morgane and Conrad Diven Robert Donat Eunice and Carl Feinberg Elizabeth M. Gordon Margaret T. Morris Foundation PetSmart, Inc. PNC Bank The Kimball Foundation
$5,000-$9,999 Arizona Community Foundation Arizona Public Service Cardinals Charities Desert Financial Credit Union Ann Dey Jane A. Lehman & Alan G. Lehman Foundation Rebecca Light & Josh Wertlieb Kroger Co. Seasons For Sharing Sarah and Anthony Taylor* The David B. Jones Foundation The June and Julian Foss Foundation
5
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix gratefully acknowledges the following corporations, foundations and individuals whose gifts have played a major role in supporting our mission of engaging the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them.
$1,000-$4,999 Albertsons-Safeway American Express Foundation Barker Pacific Group, Inc. Rita Bostick Cathy and Loren Brown Brian Campbell DPR Construction Fidelity Charitable Patricia Fisher Gennaro Garcia Ryan Hale Terry Hanson Scott Horn Sally and Andrew Hurwitz Angel Jannasch-Pennell Heidi Jannenga John F. Long Foundation Judy Krysik Becky and Dan Lieberman Shaylon Lovell Okland Construction Co. Abigail and Edward Olaya Allison Otu Ana Pereira Michelle Pierson Gerald and Dawna Pitts Kristy and Timothy Roschke Heath Scheid Deanna and John Sheedy Yesenia Simmons SmithGroup Andrea Stone The Plaza Companies Stephanie Tribe U.S. Bank Urias Communication Kweilin Waller Kate Wells Kristin Windtberg Brad Woodman Ricky Zhou
Up to $999 Anonymous (3) Amazon Smile Foundation Ameriprise Financial Amica Companies Foundation Marni Anbar Sandra Arbab Arizona Gives Day Amanda Armstead Keri and Kavon Attarpour Lacey Ballantyne Laura Barth Margaret Beck-Harbort Benevity Jesselyn Benscoter Ricardo Bernal Elizabeth Bingert Blackbaud John Bomhoff Kelli Borges Kathryn Buher Mary Cangeme Chris Cardinal Kimberley Carter Matthew Casiraro Roxanna Catlett Jordan Chandler Charities Aid Foundation of America City of Phoenix City of Phoenix - Employee Giving (4) Meri Coash Susanne Cook Susan Cook Brook Cosby Alex Covalciuc Margaret Culliton Matthew Cuneo Daniel Curzon Glen Daignault Brandi Devlin Nathan Dubes Leah Dunn Andrew and Georgia Edwards Frederick Edwards Sophie Etchart Facebook Charlotte Farr Fidelity Charitable April Fischer Jill Foley April Fors Mary Terese Forsyth
*Multi-Year Grant
up to $999 cont. Gretchen Freeman Nadine Friedman Brian Friedman Robert Fries Catherine Frogge Abeer Gaber Linda Gage Silvia Garcia Jeffrey Garza Walker Camille Gifford Felesha Givens Emily Goldstein Adam Goodman Lindsay Grizzle Georgie Hanlin Kathryn Hanlin Sharon Harper Mary Hauer Jared Hieger Jennifer Hill Jade Hogancamp Honeywell International Morgan Howson J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC Sara Jenkins Joseph Johnson Mindy Johnson Amanda Ketchum Bobby Keys Elizabeth Kim Justin Talbot-Stern and Krista Pacion Kroger Co. Chris Kuhlman Sigrid Kuster Susan Kuster Deborah Larson Sandie Lawson Cici Lew Katie Lindenberg Clara Lopez Anita Martinez Wren Matthews Erica Maxwell Fred Mccann Antares McCoy-Villaneda Kim Meltzer Carson Mlnarik Gabrielle Mokomoko Melissa Morin Ann Morton Eric Negron
Erin Nicoletti Forrest Noelck Brian O'Connor Tim O’Grady Daphne and Matt Opperman Marcia O'Shaughnessy Philip Page Paloma Ready Mix & Materials LLC Kathleen Pettycrew Melanie Powers Rachel Raizola Nick Reed Wesley Reynolds Mickey Ribaudo Kathy Rowe Hildy Saizow Rosemary Scarfo Melanie Sikes Brian Smith Anais Sonder Eugene Sooto Gayle Starr Jennifer Stern Andrea Stone Laura Tan Angelo Terrado Christopher Thomas Sallea Unger Bobbi Voss Jazmyn Walker Patrick and Maureen Walz Danne Washington Marion Wiener Donna Williams Krysta Wishmeier Chad Wolf Kelsey Wolf-Donnay Terry Woodbeck Kristilyn Woods Alex Wurth Josephine C. Young YourCause Pauline Zaro Elizabeth Zelazo
In-Kind
Foundations & Corporations Albertsons Companies Arizona Commission on the Arts Arizona Community Foundation Arizona Public Service Arizona Milk Producers Barker Pacific Group Cardinals Charities Delta Dental of Arizona DPR Construction Flinn Foundation Gila River Indian Community John F. Long Foundation Kroger Co. Margaret T. Morris Foundation Okland Construction Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture Plaza Companies Seasons For Sharing Small Business Administration SmithGroup T.W. Lewis Foundation The David B. Jones Foundation The June and Julian Foss Foundation The Kimball Foundation The Steele Foundation Thunderbirds Charities Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
ABC Sand and Rock American Fence Arizona Foothills Magazine Arizona PBS Arizona Parenting Magazine Bales Hay BallBoy Productions, LLC Cactus Mat City Of Phoenix Dig It Gardens Discount Tire Event Rents Phoenix Fasturtle Funergy Grand Canyon Brewing & Distillery Hall of Flame Museum KJZZ KidStop Latest Craze Productions Legacy Traditional Schools LGI Homes Oketo Construction Paloma Ready Mix, LLC Phoenix Community Tool Bank Pioneer Raising Arizona Kids Reliable Forklift Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel Santa Rita Landscaping Sunbelt Rentals Sunstate Equipment The University of Arizona Tito’s Handmade Vodka Jeff and JR Treval Valley Towing
Children’s Museum of Phoenix | Annual Report 2021
6
Ways to Give Thank you for choosing to make a gift to the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. Each year, your generosity allows us to offer the very best programs, exhibits and play experiences for children and their grown-ups.
To make a gift to the Museum, please choose one of the following options below:
Donate online: bit.ly/SupportCMoP Send a check: Please make checks payable to the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and send to: Children’s Museum of Phoenix Attention: Development Office 215 N. 7th Street | Phoenix, AZ 85034
Transfer Stock: CMoP accepts gifts of public traded securities. Please contact the Development Office (602) 648-2743 for assistance and account information.
Matching Gifts: Contact your employer to see if they have a matching gift program.
PLANNED GIVING: The Monroe Society – created to honor our legacy
donors for their generous charitable provisions, wills, trusts or designations of future gifts of insurance or retirement assets. Please contact Georgie Hanlin, Director of Development at ghanlin@childmusephx.org or (602) 648-2743.
215 N 7th Street | Phoenix, AZ 85034 | (602) 253-0501 ChildrensMuseumOfPhoenix.org The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN #86-0934323