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ArtWorks' publishing arm received grant to grow
A $150,000 grant from YouthBridge Community Foundation will help Boomerang Press, a venture of St. Louis ArtWorks, gain the recognition it needs to expand its business in the field of commissioned art.
St. Louis ArtWorks is an employment program that gives teenagers from low-income families who are struggling in school the opportunity to develop the skills and confidence they need. The program provides work experience and education in the arts through apprenticeships in local art businesses.
Boomerang Press is an entity of St. Louis ArtWorks that focuses on producing art for greeting cards, posters and other printed material. The program is composed of apprentices who have worked with St. Louis ArtWorks for at least one year and demonstrate notable skill and talent.
“YouthBridge Community Foundation has been a strong supporter and advocate for St. Louis ArtWorks and Boomerang Press,” said Priscilla Block, executive director of St. Louis ArtWorks. “In fact, YouthBridge’s belief in our organization played a major role in St. Louis ArtWorks creating Boomerang Press in 2006.”
Rex Reed, executive director of the YouthBridge Community Foundation, said he was introduced to the beginnings of Boomerang Press during YouthBridge’s Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition in 2006. A group of artists from St. Louis ArtWorks won the competition at Washington University, and Boomerang Press was fully established shortly thereafter.
“We worked with them at Washington University and saw what they were doing,” Reed said. “After that, we hoped to be able to direct them a bit more.”
Block said that of the 150 teenagers St. Louis ArtWorks hires each year, only 20 to 30 are part of the “Boomerang Gang.” In addition to gaining confidence, participants also benefit from the program by creating design ideas, working directly with clients and learning how to take critiques of their work so it fits clients’ desires, Block said.
“This is a business, and we run it as such,” Block said. “It offers invaluable ‘real world’ experience designed to give each apprentice a leg up in the art world.”
Reed said Boomerang Press was chosen for a grant because it has the ability to grow as a business. He said YouthBridge Community Foundation offers grants to help supplement the costs of building new children’s charities, so any earned revenue can be used to stabilize the organizations.
Boomerang Press’ grant is payable over three years, and Reed said YouthBridge Community Foundation will work one-on-one with the business to make sure its revenue increases throughout those three years, and that the foundation would continue to offer support to Boomerang even after the money from the grant is given.
“We maintain relationships with these organizations,” Reed said. “These are programs that we help along, and we maintain a connection with them. Our philosophy is to help them progress, and we help guide them through the whole process.”
Block said much of the grant would go toward marketing for Boomerang Press. She said the business provides a good service, but it needs to be better known. A full-time marketing position funded by the grant is currently being created for the organization.
As a not-for-profit, Boomerang Press needs constant support, but the grant will help the organization expand and gain more revenue to better support itself, Block said.
“It will help us become less dependent on traditional sources of revenue, such as government and more grants,” she said. “The organization will never completely be able to run on its own, but the larger the revenue, the more we can support it. You can always depend on growth if there is support.”
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