Donor Highlights

ANNUAL FUND

OSA’s generous Annual Fund donors raised a remarkable $452,930 for the school. The Annual Fund is the backbone of fundraising at OSA, garnerin critical support for faculty salaries, arts supplies, equipment, and technology. It helps us to close the gap between public funding and what it costs to provide each student with a unique OSA education. We saw 54% family participation in the Annual Fund in 2019-20. Opposite page, top: 2020 Jazz Combo “The Messengers” performing at the Annul Fund Kick-Off Concert in October 2019; opposite page, bottom: A look from Sweet’s Ballroom onto The Uptown. OSA partnered with The Uptown Nightclub to host our Annual Fund Kick-Off fundraiser.

BANDCAMP

OSA is honored to be supported by Bandcamp, whose headquarters is across the street from the school in downtown Oakland. For many years, Bandcamp has helped to underwrite OSA’s Step it Up program, and has generously provided their space to host fundraising events for OSA. In January 2020, OSA hosted a live “Off the Table” production to help raise funds for the school. OSA’s “Off the Table” is a take on NPR’s Tiny Desk series. It is filmed, recorded and produced by a team of OSA students to highlight the powerful creative culture of Oakland youth. Pendarvis Harshaw, host of KQED ARTS Rightnowish, compared OSA’s Off the Table to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, “but even better” [because], “you’re getting the chance to look at the next wave of talent out of the Bay Area.” OSA Student, Oliver Tuttle was the artist featured the day Harshaw recorded the Rightnowish episode.

GIVING TUESDAY

OSA students and faculty came together in support of Giving Tuesday—a global day of giving—on December 3, 2019. Together, the community raised $25,000 to go toward Chromebook purchases. This effort helped us significantly in getting closer to our goal of having a 1:1 student/Chromebook ratio.