July 2025

Dear Community, 

At the mid-point of this year, I'm full of reflection and anticipation. I spent the first five months of 2025 on maternity leave as I welcomed my first child, a precious daughter. I'm so grateful to have had that time with my baby in our newborn bubble. And now, as I return to work, I'm so thankful for the kindness and care shown by all of our partners in the field of Creative Youth Development who have welcomed me back with warmth and generosity.

The world is a scary place right now. There's no way to sugarcoat or avoid it. But, I do believe that pouring our resources (whether they be energetic, spiritual, emotional, financial, or other) into young people is a deep and meaningful investment in a hopeful future. Seeing the powerful work happening in Creative Youth Development organizations every day allows me to imagine that there is a brighter future ahead for us all.

I hope you'll read on to learn more about the work that's been happening at The Center for CYD and with our partners over the past few months, as well as what's in store for the season ahead.

With appreciation,

Katie Lorge Murawka

Director, The Clare Rose Center for Creative Youth Development

Arts & Intersections Working Group at Catalyst

Clare Rose co-founded the Arts & Intersections Collaborative in 2022 following a year-long “State of the Arts” pilot program at Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties. Arts & Intersections is a gathering place for funders working directly in arts and culture as well as those whose work intersects with the myriad needs of the broader creative economy. As a co-chair of the group, Clare Rose has a role in setting the agenda and leading important cross-sector conversations that serve the broader arts ecosystem in San Diego and center CYD as a key field serving local communities. Currently, Arts & Intersections have a number of exciting projects and opportunities, including:

Image: San Diego Youth Dance Festival

San Diego Collaborative Launches Social Prescribing Initiative with Art Pharmacy

Art Pharmacy, a social prescribing company that works with partners in healthcare, education, and workforce management to address the dual mental health and loneliness crises, is partnering with San Ysidro Health System to support adolescent mental health. Catalyst, whose funding partners and collaborative leadership is helping make this work possible, will host an event at San Ysidro Health Center on July 9, 2025 at 9:00am. 

The panel event will include a Q&A and remarks from Chris Appleton, CEO of Art Pharmacy, Matt D’Arrigo of the Clare Rose Foundation, and Dr. Priti Ojha of San Ysidro Health Center to discuss the benefits of social prescribing and of Art Pharmacy’s partnership within San Ysidro Health.

This partnership was born out of the Arts & Intersections Collaborative, a Catalyst-led initiative designed to explore how the arts can intersect with other sectors—like health, education, and workforce development—to address complex social challenges. The collaboration helped lay the groundwork for bringing this initiative to San Diego, with a specific focus on supporting youth mental health. The result is a first-of-its-kind pilot in San Diego, introducing arts-based social prescribing as a new model for improving adolescent mental health in the region.

“The opportunity to support the holistic growth and development of youth through the arts is part of the Clare Rose Foundation’s DNA; and we couldn’t be happier to have played a leading role in the coalition of funders that helped bring this work to San Diego. Social prescribing will not just have a clear, positive impact on the mental health needs of San Diego youth, but could be transformational for health care systems as we know it. Notwithstanding the benefits for San Diego’s landscape of artists, creatives and arts and culture organizations, this work is exactly what this moment demands,” said Matt D’Arrigo, Director of Creative Youth Development, Clare Rose Foundation.

Local Funder meeting with the California Arts Council (CAC)

On June 18, leadership from the California Arts Council met with local funders to discuss current budget & funding, strategic goals & frameworks, and grant programs & applications at the CAC. Key takeaways included:

• The CAC budget remains stable at $30M, this level of consistent funding is considered a win given federal cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts
• A 5-year strategic framework is currently in development, focused on the integration of arts & culture into all aspects of civic life
• The CAC's Cultural Districts program reopening for first time in 10 years with potential $10M budget increase
• First-ever Creative Economy Study nearing completion with 6 high-level recommendations

Having the CAC meet with local funders and arts agencies was impactful, as attendees were able to lift up all of the work being done in San Diego for CAC leadership to see firsthand. This convening was a meaningful opportunity to show the uniqueness of the local arts and culture ecosystem, highlight the collaborations that exist here, and bring understanding to the breadth of work being done...from CYD, to cultural districts, to social prescribing, and more.

Clare Rose is proud to represent and amplify CYD work in spaces with key funding and policy decision makers to ensure the needs of our partners in the field are heard and understood by those who have positions of power and influence.

Image: Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties

Image: San Diego Nonprofit Academy

San Diego Nonprofit Academy

On June 4 and 5, The Center joined hundreds of peers at the 2025 San Diego Nonprofit Academy at the Nonprofit Institute at USD. This event was dedicated to fortifying nonprofits with the knowledge, relationships, and strategies needed to lead effectively in today’s rapidly evolving environment. The Academy offered space for workshops, dialogues, resource sharing, and knowledge building to address the needs of the sector right now. The Academy also marked the launch of Social Impact Central, a hub that will provide the technical support, coaching, and leadership resilience for the nonprofit community. We're excited to engage with Social Impact Central and work with the Nonprofit Institute as a partner in service to organizations seeking capacity building resources and support.

CYD Cohort Convenings Continue

In March, April, and May, The Center hosted a series of in-person gatherings focused on supporting CYD leaders in Building Sustainable Business Models. The three-part series began with understanding the current public policy landscape, with the following sessions opening up a peer learning dialogue about increasing flexibility and creating strategies to adapt to a continually changing landscape across the nonprofit sector.

We also hosted a Meet the Funder convening with the California Arts Council in April. The Center’s CYD cohort organizations had a robust peer learning exchange about the changes in grants available for CYD programming, as well as a more in-depth conversation about the Healthy Places Index (HPI). We then met with Kristin Margolis, who clarified grant opportunities, eligibility and other questions. The CYD cohort formed a personal connection with a key funding decision-maker.

And, this past week we gathered our cohort for a Joyful Hours get together to talk shop, socialize, and build community over food and drink.

Image: May Convening

Ongoing convenings for our CYD grantees and partners foster a greater sense of community between organizational leaders and allow The Center to provide resources where they're most needed. Now, more than ever, The Center is committed to supporting our partners with resources, relationships, and opportunities they self-identify to tackle current issues, build capacity, and support their initiatives. 

Supporting CYD Cohort Organizations with Organizational Development, Capacity Building, and Back Office Services

The Clare Rose Center for Creative Youth Development is a trusted partner dedicated to the Creative Youth Development field. We have capacity building and subject-area expertise that CYD organizations turn to when they need it most. Because of our team's experience in the field leading CYD organizations, our long-term proximity to our partners, and our relationship-centered approach, we know organizations deeply, and we are able to jump in to support them in the ways they need. 

By providing organizational, infrastructure, and capacity building support, The Center helps cohort organizations strengthen their programs and better serve youth and their communities. At any time, we are working with a handful of organizations on short-term projects (like working on logic models and theories of change), long-term engagements (like holding a grants management position during a time of staff transition), and ongoing strategic thought partnerships with organizational leaders and staff. 

Image: transcenDANCE

Image: Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls San Diego

Image: A Reason To Survive

Image: Fern Street Circus

Image: A Step Beyond

Image: transcenDANCE

The Partnership for Children and Youth, the California School-Age Consortium, and ExpandLA are working in partnership to bring key stakeholders together to seize this critical moment in the history of the Expanded Learning workforce for the second It Takes All of Us Expanded Learning Workforce Summit. Join us in San Diego for this two-day convening designed for district and community-based organization leaders, institutions of higher education, workforce development practitioners, and funders. It Takes All of Us is the only statewide event solely dedicated to addressing expanded learning workforce issues and offers inspiring keynotes, practitioner-led sessions, and action planning activities designed to strengthen our field.

Decolonizing Wealth Project is launching the Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF) – a culturally affirming initiative focused on expanding access to community-based mental health care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12-24. In addition to supporting community-based programs and partnerships, YMHF will also fund work to shift narratives around care and programs that offer culturally grounded healing experiences that center the unique needs and strengths of marginalized youth living at the intersections.