El Papel: 0426
“It’s hard to be mad when you feel like you’re part of something big.”
March madness has certainly been living up to its name. The death of affordability is here. I’m afraid it’s getting harder to hustle in a world that actively shuts opportunities out.
When I started Sketchboard, it was a simple gathering for the love of creating in community. Then it became a regular thing, almost sacred. I finally felt like I had built something that meant so much to others.
Before the pandemic, we had consistent, extravagant events. When we had to lock down, the lust for sharpening pencils and the rhythmic mark-making became insatiable. Refusing to become virtual, we waited until it felt safe enough to gather in person again. Absence makes the heart fonder, or whatever.
Then we became a nonprofit.
That changed so many things for us. Or rather, that was the hope. When you become an official entity, what you get in return is recognition by the government as good samaritans. And yes, you can get grants. Yes, people can make tax-deductible donations. The write-offs, employer gift matching, all that jazz. But while we have been donating our time, we can no longer afford to do this without your consistent financial support. We are only able to sustain Sketchboard through the symbiotic exchange we have naturally built over the years.
We rely 100% on ticket sales and our subscribers to pay for what we offer: figure drawing with live art models, supplies for workshops, and our staff.
We have seen a 40% decline in attendance over the last few months, along with a highly competitive grant landscape. It’s depressing to have to hustle harder than we have before. Still, we are finding a silver lining between the trials and tribulations.
We are incredibly grateful for the abundance of opportunities that have been offered to us, in the past and into the future. From being in the East Bay with our partners at Oakland Museum, to our new donated space inside the Frontier Tower in San Francisco.
We would love to continue offering the long poses and the workshops at an affordable rate, along with free events like the artist talks and the Drink n Draws. We have lost a couple more historic institutions here in the Bay Area, such as Flax Art Supplies in Oakland and the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco. It’s only when we lose these spaces that we realize how much residue they have left behind.
These once-bustling spaces are now left barren, open for the vultures to replace with what they believe is “culture” or “art” (please go see the awful metal jacks by the Conservatory of Flowers for reference).
Who is this art for? Who gets these Vacant To Vibrant grants that already have abundant resources? And why does Mayor Lurie get to be the judge, jury, and executioner after dismantling the SF Arts Commission?
It’s been incredibly hard to organize and sustain Sketchboard with the goodwill, time, and financial backing we once had. These resources are also becoming less accessible, and we are now asking for your commitment to our sustainability for years to come.
Right now, we are struggling to make ends meet. We had to cut back from the original plans we had, such as offering our Long Poses on Saturday Mornings and our Studio Days. It’s not easy taking those L’s and admitting that we can no longer continue performing for stability.
As a brown queer femme who has given their whole body, time, and emotional labor to this organization, I am running out of goodwill to continue to give.
I have become radicalized by this community, and I know you have, too. Right now, I am thinking of discontinuing more of the programming, with Oakland Sessions being the first to possibly get cut.
FWIW: Art Models get paid $150 for each 2-3 hour session, with tips. Three of our committed team members get paid $200 each for facilitating our weekly sessions. Our director gets paid $1700 after taxes are taken out. We pay for 2 of our venues, $500 each, while some of our other venues pay for us to be their partners.
This doesn’t include the backend admin, such as website hosting, online subscriptions, etc. It’s not complicated to understand this is a nonprofit business. We still need to make that bread so we can all eat.
But having a donated space isn’t enough to sustain us. We need to use all the resources we have cultivated together to keep Sketchboard thriving today, from people power, to time spent thinking through logistics, to coordinating the spaces and the people who show up, and, most importantly, the community’s consistent financial support.
Ways to Sustain Sketchboard’s Future:
1. Becoming a recurring donor! Choose a donation amount, and help our programming be resilient and sustain Sketchboard. Any monthly amount helps and is fully tax deductible. Join our monthly giving program below.
2. Want to enjoy the perks of both donating AND attending our events? Join our Subscription Program! You can get access to all of our workshops, events, and get exclusive Sketchboard merchandise. All subscriptions are fully tax deductible. Join our Subscription Program here: https://www.sketchboard.co/join-sktchbrd
3. Employer Gift Matching is a great way to make your donations go ever further. You can now find Sketchboard on Benevity, https://benevity.com/, a gift matching platform - ask your workplace Community Engagement Coordinator or HR representative to see how you can use your workplaces gift matching program for Sketchboard.
4. Sketchboard is now also on CARS! https://careasy.org. If you have a vehicle you are ready to part with CARS can help take care of the paperwork and removal with the proceeds or recycling going to Sketchboard. This is a great way to get to your to-do list and donate to Sketchboard.
5. Sponsorships & In-Kind donations. If you have materials or services you are willing to donate to Sketchboard please reach out to us at development@sketchboard.co.
6. Spread the word!! In addition to giving to sketchboard, you are also a vital part of the community and can help spread the word and reach of Sketchboard. Let your co-workers know why they should donate to us, bring your arts community to our events, invite us to table at an event, give a membership as a gift, host a house party or event as a fundraiser for Sketchboard, & let other art institutions such as schools and community centers know they should collaborate with Sketchboard!
