By Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director

Earlier this month, members of the Variety New York team traveled to the Variety International Convention to connect with leaders from dozens of other Variety chapters around the world. We had the opportunity to connect with our colleagues, learn from one another and develop strategies to continue the success of Variety the Children’s Charity in communities around the world.

A prominent theme that emerged during the convention’s proceedings was a desire to enhance the outcomes and impact of our work. We discussed ways that we can increase our collective impact by focusing on the real changes that happen for young people as a result of the work spearheaded by Variety chapters. Variety staff and Board members from around the world wanted to learn about how the money we raise, the programs we run, and the grants we distribute truly work to change young people’s lives.

At a time when many non-profits focus their conversation on dollars raised and limited resources, it is refreshing to have conversations with colleagues who want to learn about and strategize around deeper impact. While we certainly need resources to achieve the impact to which we aspire, if organizations doing this work do not take time to reflect on their ultimate impact, they can ultimately spin their wheels in a vicious cycle of merely counting dollars in and dollars out.

At Variety the Children’s Charity, we recognize that we must start from having a deep and comprehensive understanding of the end results of our efforts to understand the most effective strategies to increase support and resources for our work. We understand that our organization is “the children’s” charity and at the end of the day it is with the children that our success and accountability lives.

Throughout the year, students have been working on concepts of identity and self, and then applying that knowledge to the community where they live.  The partnership has pushed students to recognize both the art that is currently present in their community and the art that could be created to enhance their community.  In the fall, students explored the art of graffiti, which has a long history in  the South Bronx.  Students’ conception of art was expanded as they viewed pieces not only in the museum, but also pieces on the streets close to where they live.  After this initial exploration, students created their own collage graffiti pieces with positive messages that students wanted to see hanging throughout the halls of their school.

In the spring, students will be exploring self-portraits and identity, guided by an exhibition of self-portraits currently on view at the museum.  In order to apply these themes outside the art studio, the students are going to be pushed to think about how their identity interacts with the community the live in.  These abstract ideals become tangible as the students create art that will ultimately become a part of the community they live in, creating a more beautiful space.  The second grade will be creating simple contour drawing self-portraits, while the third grade will be creating more complex shadow self-portrait.  The entire set of self-portraits will be on prominent display around the perimeter of the school during the month of June.   The fourth grade is working on a collaborative mural, which will seek to incorporate themes of self-identity and community-identity, to be painted on the outside of the portable classrooms facing the school yard.  Throughout these various projects and explorations, students will be guided to consider the role they play in their own community, and how art can be a part of that connection.

Variety the Children’s Charity of New York will honor George Levitt, Senior Vice President- Film for National Amusements, at the annual “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” Reception on June 5, 2013.

This year’s “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” Reception includes a special film screening of The Internship, starring Rose Byrne, John Goodman, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, located at 141 West 54th Street, New York, NY. The film screening has been graciously provided by our friends at 20th Century Fox.

Directly following the screening guests are invited to the cocktail party portion of the evening at NOIR New York City, located at 151 East 50th Street, New York, NY. During the reception, George will receive the “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” Award for his service to National Amusements, the industry, and the community. All proceeds from the evening will support Variety New York.

Each year, the “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to both the motion picture industry and the community at-large through his or her charitable work.

George Levitt’s career has spanned 39 years at National Amusements and has helped maintain its leadership in the field. Family-owned National Amusements is the parent company to Viacom. In 2009, Levitt received the ShowEast Al Shapiro Distinguished Service Award. This year, Variety New York, will acknowledge Levitt’s tremendous achievements within the industry and his commitment to the arts.

The event co-chairs are Wendy and Mark Goldstein, Charley Moss and Ann Cook. Information for purchasing tickets, sponsorships and journal ads is available at www.varietyny.org/ event/yghh13.

By Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director

At Variety New York we have been talking a lot about personal leadership development lately. In January we ran a value-added session to discuss personal leadership frameworks. Participants learned about Emotional Intelligence and how those competencies or lack thereof can contribute to resonant or dissonant leadership styles. Variety has also offered staff of grantee organizations the opportunity to undergo a 360 degree evaluation by their peers to better understand their leadership strengths and gaps.

I have had the opportunity to partake in and to teach many workshops on leadership development over the years and, I believe, it is one of the most valuable and often underrated parts of supporting organizational success. An organization is only as strong as its least active leader. Every member of a team or organization has unique skills and abilities to contribute to the leadership of the organization. It is only by unlocking and supporting each person’s individual leadership that the total potential of an organization can be unlocked and realized.

Leadership development takes time. It takes patience. It takes personal investment. And, it takes a lot of courage. It can be hard for some organizational leaders to share the spotlight with other leaders in their organization. Additional, unfocused leadership development can create a scenario with too many cooks in the kitchen. However, by allowing everyone space, time and encouragement to grow and lead within the parameters of the organization’s vision, an organization can experience true success, innovation and loyalty within its team.

Grant makers can help facilitate leadership development with grantees by creating spaces and conversations for all individuals at an organization to express their strengths, desire for growth and areas needing improvement. These conversations along with some concrete tools and processes to allow for group and personal learning plans can help organizations identify and capitalize on all the leadership strengths available.

Personally, I feel fortunate to have been a product of focused leadership development opportunities at NYU Wagner and through the Everett Public Service Internship. These programs coupled with mentors who were not afraid to support that development helped me understand the symbiotic relationship between personal leadership and organizational success. Today, I feel proud to be at an organization that equally embraces this value and offers guidance to its grantees to enhance it within their organizational cultures.

Students from THE POINT recently had a once in a lifetime opportunity to act in the professional film The We and the I directed by internationally acclaimed film director Michel Gondry and produced by Partizan Films! The movie screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and premiered in New York City on March 6, 2013. It is currently screening at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Exemplifying THE POINT’s commitment to arts-based youth empowerment, the film is helping to activate new interest in the organization’s programs and the South Bronx community. It has been reviewed in the NY Times, LA Times and international news outlets.

THE POINT is currently developing literacy and arts programming centered on The Children of Children Keep Coming by Russell L. Goings. THE POINT has invested in three sets of the novel and is collaborating with Mr. Goings to bring this epic griot poem to life throughout its 2013 Youth Development Programs. Mr. Goings has already visited to share his incredible story with THE POINT’s staff and volunteers and students from the After-School Program visited his exhibition at the 92nd Street Y for a personal tour with the author and 92Y’s Education Director. THE POINT’s Visual Arts Program also curated a spring 2013 traveling exhibit at the James A. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx featuring student work with themes from The Children of Children Keep Coming.

In 2013, students from International Center of Photography (ICP) at THE POINT are exhibiting work in Montefiore’s Medical Center clinics in the New York City area. With support from Red Hook 160, LLC, THE POINT is also piloting a one-year Digital Photography & Media Program in Brooklyn.

With the support of Variety the Children’s Charity, THE POINT looks forward to continuing to help young people channel their innate creativity and energy towards the betterment of themselves and their communities.

The success of these programs inspired Kate Kelly, Director of Resident Services for Bridgeport Housing, to find funding for a five week salsa dance workshop at the Trumbull Gardens Housing Project with dance teacher/percussionist Richard Hill, and a five week rap poetry workshop for teens at the Marina Village Housing Project with Khaiim Kelly, the RapOet. While all these programs were slow to build but very successful by completion, parents from the community stated, “Why are these programs only once a month?  Our children want to work more with the same artists for longer sessions.  How can we do this?”  They clearly were expressing the need for sequential learning programs in the arts.

To satisfy this request,  again thanks to Variety, a tile mosaic mural community public art project which will involve 13 sessions of community members designing and creating a large mural representative of the community will be completed and hung on the outside of the Gary Crooks Center as a visual representation of the impact of art on a community.  Alberto, a nine year old boy came to the first session of the mural project and proclaimed, ”I’ll be here every session!  I love doing art!”  Alberto’s first experience with art at the Crooks Center was at the Maura O’Shea workshop in the earlier Family Arts Series.  He came back the following month for the Family Weaving.  He is excited about being a creator in the tile mosaic mural project. Again, Bridgeport Housing Resident Services Director, Kate Kelly found more funding to have Richard Hill return to teach an 8 week session on drumming for children from 2nd-6th grade which will include a performance at the Bridgeport Housing Annual Meeting on Dec. 12. What began as a very simple Family Arts series has taken on a life that has impacted a community, is being built by the community, and symbolizes the desires and needs of that community.  Arts For Learning is becoming a reality in Bridgeport thanks to Variety The Children’s Charity.

Dr. Loughlin, Pediatrician-in-Chief, commented how the addition of the Movie Magic program to the hospital will help uplift the spirits of all the youth receiving treatment by offering an escape from their surroundings. Sharon Granville, Manager of Child Life Services, spoke to the positive psychological effects that something as simple as choosing a DVD title can have for a child that is unable to make decisions or anticipate the day to day processes of his or her treatment. Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of Variety New York, talked about how the Movie Magic program is yet another way Variety strives to achieve their mission of transforming the lives of children through the arts.

Variety New York has provided the pediatric units at the Komansky Center with 170 personal DVD players and over 1,000 DVDs for the children to enjoy. Each year thousands of children from all over the world are brought to the Komansky Center for medical care. Thanks to the Movie Magic Program, children now have the opportunity to enjoy high-quality child friendly entertainment while receiving treatment at the hospital.

Special thanks to the Buster Foundation for resources to allow this program to happen. Thank you also to Chuck Fisher for donating his time and extraordinary talent to create custom illustrations for the Movie Magic DVD carts. Additionally, thank you to Tony and Freddy Victoria for designing and building DVD carts that are fun and functional in a hospital setting. Finally, thank you to Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Studios for donating hundreds of DVDs for the children to enjoy at the hospital.

Jessica Bynoe introduced the key points of the white paper and explained that while Variety New York’s philanthropic model was proving to be highly successful for the foundation, there are many models for non-profits to adhere to and the key is to recognize which works best for the individual foundation. She noted that Variety New York’s focus on grassroots organizations came out of a change in focus from larger, more recognized non-profits, to smaller more community based organizations. In “The Art of Adding Value,” she writes, “It may be safer and less risky to support larger, more established organizations, but if we are trying to achieve real change, we must support those solutions which are born in and by the communities most afflicted.” Lorraine Marasigan commented that this focus on grassroots organizations also worked well for FCYO because it allowed them to assess the unique needs of the communities they provided funding in. Cheryl Green Rosario spoke of the difficulties that corporate funders have in working on a grassroots level, but how American Express was using other methods, such as engaging local groups on collaborative endeavors to make an impact at the community level.

Another core point to the model that was discussed was the move from an unbalanced funder/grantee relationship to one where equity is sought out and promoted. Jessica noted that Variety New York hosts monthly value-added workshops for grantees to come together, learn from experts, as well as from each other to enhance their organizational systems and practices. She explained that Variety New York established an open door policy with grantees in hopes of creating a more equitable relationship. Ben Cameron agreed that a funder operating in an opaque manner could not expect full transparency from a grantee. He noted that a relationship of trust and understanding between funder and grantee is very difficult to create because of the innate power imbalance of who is providing the funds and who is applying for funding. He recommended that foundations should be as clear as possible about their funding policies, procedures and expectations in order to be respectful of grantees time and resources.

In the white paper, Jessica writes, “If we are honest about the current limitations of philanthropy and develop relationships and investment partnerships that recognize the power dynamics and work to address them, we can build and inform a better approach.” Colin Smith spoke to that point, having transitioned from the finance industry to the non-profit sector. He noted that metrics and evaluation results from grassroots organizations can be very robust, but that overall community and social change is a slow process that needs to be nourished and allowed to unfold naturally. He also spoke of how difficult it was for grassroots organizations to obtain operating support from funders and donors which often impeded their efficiency and their ability to communicate their successes.

With the release of this paper and last night’s event, Variety New York hopes to inspire new thinking about philanthropy and new practices that can improve funder/grantee relationships and outcomes.  A digital version of Variety New York’s white paper, “The Art of Adding Value,” is available on our website for download.

 “The Art of Adding Value: Variety New York’s High Touch, High Impact Philanthropic Model”

In these unpredictable moments, an organization like Variety New York can only hope to be compassionate, empathetic and flexible enough to support our friends and respond to our community.

On behalf on my staff and board, please stay safe and hold your loved ones and communities close.If you are experiencing severe circumstances and cannot meet that deadline, feel free to reach out to us at 212-760-2777 or info@varietyny.org.

Click here for more information on the Variety New York grant.

Kids Creative participants have gone on to top city high schools and colleges to study the arts, among other subjects. In surveys of Kids Creative alumni, we have found that the creative freedom and confidence they developed has been essential in building a good work ethic and understanding how to collaborate with others. In order to maintain diversity at camp, 60% of campers receive scholarships to attend, while the remaining 40% pay tuition. Since 2008, the scholarship fund was supported by a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant, which ended this summer. We are currently seeking outside funding partners to ensure that we can continue to have a diverse atmosphere at camp for years to come.

This fall, as we begin after school programs at 8 schools, we are especially excited to return to PS 536 in the Bronx, where our after school program is supported by Variety the Children’s Charity of New York.