In 2018, burgeoning nonprofits Code/Art and Mind&Melody were placed on Inspire305’s radar when they were awarded $45,000 in grants, collectively. And this has opened the door for both organizations in terms of expansion, innovation and additional funding.
Our 2018 Grand Innovator and Trailblazer winners are changing the nonprofit landscape. Code/Art’s biggest new initiative is their Professional Development (PD) courses. “Thanks to grants from Microsoft and the Knight Foundation, this summer we trained nearly 100 Miami-Dade County Public School art and technology teachers to teach creative coding lessons to their students,” says Amy Renshaw, Code/Art’s CEO and co-founder. “If each teaches at least one coding lesson to each of their students, we estimate that we will amplify our reach 10-fold, going from 1,600 girls reached with Code/Art coding lessons to 16,000 girls reached!”
Code/Art was awarded a Miami Foundation Community Grant, which will allow them to expand community club offerings for underserved students. Rather than requiring girls to attend the entire school year, they plan to make these new clubs more flexible, and each club will offer three eight-week coding modules.
As for Mind&Melody, they are conducting a research study with renowned neurologist and researcher Dr. Galvin, in non-pharmacological interventions for dementia/Alzheimer’s. “We will be studying the impact of Mind&Melody’s music intervention on 100 dementia participants’ moods and caregiver burden in 10 facilities in Palm Beach County,” says Christina Rodriguez, Mind&Melody’s president and co-founder.
In addition to added funding, Mind&Melody has also received additional funding. “We are thrilled to announce that we have been accepted in The Children’s Trust Small CBO Capacity Building Program,” Rodriguez continues. Through this, they have received $35,000 to increase their capacity. “We will be expanding our programs to kids experiencing disabilities.”
Both organizations offer opportunities for the community to join in. Code/Art is recruiting volunteers for their upcoming March Code/Art Festival, to help with engagement opportunities and more. Mind&Melody welcomes volunteers at their ongoing sessions. A musical background is not required – just a willingness to help people through music.