In support of our mission – to ensure that all youth have access to an arts education by supporting the transmission of the visual arts in all of its forms – the Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation created the Arts Education Initiative.
Mel and Leta Ramos Foundation
Arts Education Initiative
Our Arts Education Initiative is modeled after other national initiatives of its kind that foreground arts education as critical to the development of arts leadership. Research in the creative fields shows that an arts education leads to greater student success in general, and an engaged and more prosperous citizenship overall.
- We focus on arts education as a primary need of individuals and communities, especially in under-funded neighborhoods and communities where our youth often lack access to ongoing immersion in, or even exposure to, the arts
- We believe that support of arts educators and teaching artists contributes to cultural vibrancy, diversity, inclusion and belonging
- We support both in-school and after-school programs through art instruction and civic engagement as part of our commitment to access and equity in arts education
Our Giving Focus
Through our Arts Education Initiative we raise funds in partnership with like-minded donors and grant makers in support of arts education throughout Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, and for selected special projects elsewhere. We rely on the generosity of such supporters to carry out this work in some of our most hard-hit and under-funded communities recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 on creative economies.
To learn more about the funding priorities of the Arts Education Initiative, please contact us, and visit our Donate page for how you can join our Circle of Friends.