Frequently Asked Questions 

What is Fresh Artists’ mission?
To promote access for all children to the healing, transformative self‐expression of art making and philanthropy.

What are the goals of Fresh Artists?

• Create opportunities for our children to become major participants in philanthropy, “paying it forward” to other children
• Recognize exceptionally talented K-12 student artists by showcasing their art in high profile places
• Deliver innovative art programs and art supplies to children in severely under-resourced public schools
• Work towards substantially stronger funding of public school art education
• Inspire businesses and individuals to engage in keeping art-making vibrant in our public schools.

Why was Fresh Artists founded?
We founded Fresh Artists in direct response to the severe cutbacks in arts funding in public schools. As an example, art education funding has been cut more than 50% over the past 20 years in Philadelphia public schools. From 2005 through 2008, only 83 cents per child per year was allocated for art supplies. In 2009-2010, that allocation was eliminated. The need for help is urgent!

How does Fresh Artists work?
Fresh Artists identifies and invites children to donate high-resolution images of their art.  Then, Fresh Artists accepts corporate and individual contributions to fund the delivery of innovative art programs and supplies for art teachers.  As a thank-you, donors receive large-scale photographic reproductions of that student art for display in their facilities.  It is a unique circle of giving where children’s art fulfills a corporate need and raises funds for future art making.

How old is Fresh Artists?
We received our 501(c)(3) status in February 2008.

What are some of your three-year metrics?

• Total number of pieces installed in corporations 857
• Retail value of art supplies delivered to art teachers? More than $117,000
• Total number of pieces in the collection: 600
• Total number of children who have donated artwork: 492
• Total number of zip codes represented in the collection: 55
• Number of art teachers who have received grants: 312
• Number of business where art has been installed: 80

Fresh Artists says it delivers “innovative programs and art supplies” to public schools in need. We understand the art supplies part. Tell me about your “innovative programs”
It’s hard to believe Fresh Artist’s is three years old! We were so busy these first years developing our organizational infrastructure we scarcely took a day off. We are proud of what has been accomplished with the help of many, many wonderful people:  creating our structure and operations, going into schools and building the Fresh Artists Collection of more than 600 images, raising money, installing 857 large-format reproductions of children’s art in more than 80 corporations and delivering the retail value of more than $117,000 in art supplies to schools in need. As piece after piece fell into place, we realized our vision was a success! Helping Fresh Artists come to life has been the best three years of my life.

As we went about accomplishing all of these things, of course we were interacting with wonderful people. First and foremost, we began to meet very young artists around the city and learned about their hopes for the future. We met art teachers striving to deliver exceptional art programs for their students. And we began to partner with corporations around our city that had traditions of civic engagement and generosity. Listening to each one of these constituencies has led us to develop new and innovative programs and initiatives:

• Fresh Artists Clothesline Art Sales, a grassroots initiative in children’s philanthropy
• Partnership with the Barnes Foundation, “mini-masterpieces”
• Sign Studio, an entrepreneurial social business staffed by 3rd & 4th graders
• Pablo, the Philly Philanthropist
• Stories Behind the Art, background on art placed in donor’s facilities
• Memory Games: Fresh Faces, Fresh Food and Fresh Art, and an intergenerational game
• Partnerships with nonprofits serving vulnerable children

For a more detailed background on how and why we developed these programs and initiatives, please our Full Founder’s Essay.

Is Fresh Artists only in Philadelphia?
Our artwork is now installed throughout the country, from Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, to 173 pieces installed in Safe Shores, the DC Children’s Advocacy Center in Washington DC. We will be selecting artwork and inviting children from outside Philadelphia to become part of our collection during this year. As the Collection is a highly focused “curated” collection for a very few children, we wanted to design a way for ALL children to participate in the philanthropic process of Fresh Artists. This year we launched our new program, “Fresh Artists Clothesline Art Sales”, a new grassroots initiative where any child or groups of children can organize and hold a little art show, donate and sell their art, and raise funds to deliver art supplies to a school in need. All funds from “Clothesline” will be used to purchase art supplies and boxes will contain the names of the children who raised the money.

How is the art chosen?
Fresh Artists is a “curated collection”, not a juried collection. We choose artwork to attract and engage businesses and corporations. We select artwork that is visually bold and vibrant, that fills its paper/canvas and can withstand “scaling up” in size. Sometimes the images are enlarged up to 6' by 9' feet.

Who owns the artwork?
The child always owns the artwork. The child and his or her parents grant a license to Fresh Artists to use digital images of the artwork to fulfill its philanthropic mission.

Once a piece of artwork is identified and selected by Fresh Artists, we invite the young artists to sign a legal license that was created by a law firm specializing in intellectual property law. We typically approach the family through the child’s art teacher, a trusted adult in their lives. The license was designed to be easily read and understood by people with no legal background, and is written to preserve all rights of use and disposal of art for the child. The child and their legal guardians sign the license, noting how they want the child referred to (full name, partial name, or anonymous), and return it to Fresh Artists. We then co-sign the License, and return a photocopy to the child’s family. After receiving permission to use the artwork, we digitally photograph or scan it and then return the original artwork to the student, again, typically via the art teacher.

Fresh Artists is a “virtual collection” of art: We neither hold nor own original artwork…only digital images. The original artwork may be kept by the child, sold, re-licensed to others, given to Aunt Maude or thrown away. It is the child’s choice.

Can a child withdraw their artwork from the Fresh Artists collection?
Yes. Fresh Artists may “opt out” of the original License by sending us a letter via the US Post Office after their 21st birthday to request a form to sign removing their image from our Collection. We will then remove the image from our Collection.

Where do you find the children’s artwork?
We work with public schools and some other local schools serving under-resourced children. We visit student art shows to find promising artwork for our collection and also visit art classrooms. If you are a teacher in a K-12 public school and feel you have artwork that suits our collection, please send us an email with a few selections of artwork at a low resolution.

We welcome art teachers emailing images to us throughout the year for our consideration (low resolution, 72 dpi, at 5" x 8") at info@freshartists.org

What happens to the original artwork of the children?
Once licensed to Fresh Artists, all original artwork is photographed at extremely high-resolution by a professional photographer or scanned by a fine art print company and then the original is returned to either the child’s art teacher or directly to the child. The child is free to do whatever he or she wants to with the original artwork.

Can children or their teachers submit artwork for consideration?
Yes. It is best to first look carefully through our Gallery on this website to become familiar with the kind of art we accept. It is a very “branded” collection. Although we feel strongly that all children’s artwork in charming and important, very few pieces are suitable for this unusual corporate-focused Collection.

We welcome art teachers emailing images to us throughout the year for our consideration (low resolution, 72 dpi, at 5" x 8") at info@freshartists.org

How many children have donated artwork?
As of July 2011, 492 children have donated 600 pieces of artwork to Fresh Artists.

How do you get art supplies to art teachers?
Grantees are notified of their awards, chose one Art Kit from a list of many different options, depending on their needs and pick up their supplies at the loading dock at the Education Center in Philadelphia on a certain designated day.

How do art teachers get grants from Fresh Artists?
Our grant program targets the greatest need. We identify severely under-resourced public school art teachers through school visitations, metric reports and in collaboration with the school districts we serve, and invite the grantees to choose the supplies they most need.

Why do you give art supplies half-way through the school year?
Fresh Artists is not intended to be the primary or sole source of art supplies for public school art teachers. It is intended to augment, not replace public school funding for art supplies. Our intention is to “freshen up the shelves”, when art teacher’s resources are typically at their lowest.

Is Fresh Artists part of any particular school district?
No. We are an independent public charitable organization, a 501(c)(3) organization. We are registered with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations. We currently offer our art supplies and programs to art teachers in the School District of Philadelphia but will be working with other school districts starting this year.

What businesses support Fresh Artists?
And this is only a partial list!

• abc6 – WPVI-TV
• Anapol, Schwartz
• Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan and Conboy
• City of Philadelphia, Office of the Managing Director
• CMI – Compas (4 offices PA & NYC)
• Comcast Corporation
• Delaware Valley Green Building Council
• Direct Image & Design LLC
• Drexel University, Goodwin College of Professional Studies
• Drexel University, School of Education
• Education Law Center
• Elevate Architects + Collaborators
• Elliott-Lewis Corporation
• Goldblum and Hess Attorneys at Law
• Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust
• Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin
• Hamilton Family Foundation
• Haworth: Philadelphia, Holland MI showrooms
• Health Partners
• In Posse, LLC
• Institute of Family Professionals
• Keystone Shipping Company
• Martin Banks
• National Children’s Alliance, Washington, DC
• Neiman Group
• Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Northfields Conference Center
• Pearl Pressman Liberty Communications Group
• Philadelphia Children’s Alliance
• Philadelphia Tribune
• Project HOME
• Red Cross House
• Saint Christopher’s Foundation for Children
• Safe Shores, the DC Child Advocacy Center
• SAP Americas
• Saul Ewing LLP
• School District of Philadelphia, Office of Translation and Interpretation
• School District of Philadelphia, Parent Resource Center
• School District of Philadelphia, Education Center Café
• School District of Philadelphia, Print Shop
• School District of Philadelphia, Office of Student Records
• School District of Philadelphia, Teacher Affairs Office
• School Reform Commissioners Office
• Sentry Art Advisory Service
• Shire Pharmaceutical
• Steelcase
• Tasty Baking Company
• Temple University, School of Education
• The Cheese Trap
• Washington Children’s Foundation
• Weaver’s Way Food Cooperative
• World Café Live

What kind of in-kind support does Fresh Artists receive?
We are grateful for the many important donations of goods and services such as a website and its management, all of our art and installation photography, scanning services, and printing. We operate our office in donated space, and with donated utilities. Most of the folks working on Fresh Artists are volunteers.

Do you receive foundation support?
Yes! We are honored to receive the support of the following foundations and family trusts. Here is a snapshot of some of the many foundations that support Fresh Artists.

• The Berwind Corporation
• Children Can Shape The Future
• Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Foundation
• The Hamilton Family Foundation
• Health Partners Foundation
• Mr. Gerry Lenfest
• The Petermeyer Family Trust, Philadelphia Foundation
• St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children
• Susquehanna Foundation

What benefit do the children receive from being part of Fresh Artists?
Fresh Artists is first and foremost an opportunity for children to learn about and practice philanthropy by “paying it forward” to other kids. Our Fresh Artists children receive the gratification and empowerment of knowing they are philanthropists, donating the use of their images to raise funds for other children. At our annual student celebration event each spring, we honor our young artist-philanthropists with a few small thank-you gifts such as a t-shirt with their artwork on it, a framed certificate of “extraordinary artistic achievement”, and a special “front stage pass” lanyard exclaiming “I’m Making A Difference” with their artwork on it. The children also receive a copy of our children’s storybook called “Pablo, the Philly Philanthropist”, which follows a youngster on his path becoming a young philanthropist. We also give each child two art kits containing a sketchbook and set of oil pastels…with the admonition that one kit is for them to keep, and the other kit is for them to “give away to another child”. Demonstrable philanthropy!

Several businesses have hosted special receptions for the children, their families and teachers at their facilities, and we often make arrangements for the children, their parents and art teachers to visit offices to see their art installed. One young man said, when first seeing his artwork blown up huge in a big corporation, “I guess I really am somebody”. That says it all.

Does Fresh Artists need volunteers?
We mostly need people to introduce us to businesses and corporations so that we can present our program of corporate art. We do welcome help with our two-day annual distribution of art supplies and at our annual Sprout Fest honoring the children in June. Our new initiative, “Fresh Artists Clothesline Art Sales” is an entirely volunteer-based initiative. We are especially looking for retired art teachers as volunteers to coach organizations that want to hold “Clotheslines”! Email us at clothesline@freshartists.org if you are interested in helping!

How can I get my child involved with Fresh Artists?
How about having a Fresh Artists Clothesline Art Sale? This is a great way your child, family, school, scout troop or faith-based organization can get involved and make a huge difference to lots of kids. It’s easy and fun and can really make a difference to hundreds of kids. The “How-to” instructions are on our website. Fresh Artists Clothesline Art Sale. Click Here

Does Fresh Artists have art exhibitions?
Not really. We print-to-order, and don’t keep a big stash of these large-format beauties. Mainly because we don’t have room to store them! We display small scale editions of each year’s new, “fresh crop” of images at our annual student celebration event, the Sprout Fest. We have a few sample large-scale enlargements from our collection that we sometimes use to stage small, temporary exhibitions for development purposes. The central method of exhibition of children’s artwork is by our donor/partners permanently installing the children’s artwork on the walls of their facilities.

What is the long-term vision for Fresh Artists?
We will create a small Print Studio Apprenticeship program in the form of an after-school Print Studio Workshop where local teens will be trained to print and fabricate the large-format, ink jet images that we give to our donors and help install them in our donor’s businesses. As digital printing is the wave of the future…we will offer our Apprentices real-world job experience that will give them marketable skills, while deepening our commitment to building a child-centric philanthropy. The kids will receive a stipend for their work, help with their own portfolios for college, and a senior show of their own work. We have a terrific volunteer Advisory Team of local and national experts in digital printing, photography, youth mentoring and operations in place, and we are well underway making plans for this exciting new chapter of our life. We hope to interest manufacturers of large-format digital printers to donate equipment and expertise for this workshop.

How can I make a donation to Fresh Artists?

• Donations for artwork: Email us at info@freshartists.org to make an appointment for us to visit your business or corporation. We will help you determine how our artwork can decorate your offices, and guide your selection from our Collection. The program of gift artwork begins at the $500 level.
• Donations below $500: Donations of any amount are most welcome, through Pay Pal on our website, or by mailing a check made out to Fresh Artists, to Fresh Artists, P.O. Box 44, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444. No artwork is given for donations under $500, but you will receive our undying thanks, and a big hug when we meet!
• Tax deductions: As Fresh Artists is a 501(c)(3) organization, registered with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations, all donations to Fresh Artists are tax deductible. If thank-you artwork is received, the donor will receive a letter clearly showing the fair market value of the premium received.

May I give art supplies or artmaking materials to Fresh Artists?
Sure! Although we are not actively soliciting donations of art supplies or materials at this time given our lack of storage, people have asked us to find teachers who could use things they would like to donate. We know of many specific needs in our schools, and can make the introductions between donor and grateful recipient! Email us and we’ll figure out a good match! info@freshartists.org

At what level of donation do I receive thank-you artwork from the children?
Thank-you gifts of artwork from the children begin at $500. You can download the Donor Benefits Matrix to see all the levels of gifts.

How does the re-gifting program work?
If you cannot use your thank-you artwork, we can install it the charity or nonprofit of your choice. We can suggest hospitals, children’s or adult daycare facilities, homeless shelters, public health clinics, PAL centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, or the like. The artwork is installed with an attractive Plexiglas wall label that explains our program and acknowledges the donor for their support of creative children.

Is the thank-you artwork original art?
No. The thank-you artwork is a large-scale, digital photographic reproduction of the children’s original artwork. They are high-resolution, ink jet prints, mounted on sturdy, rigid board, suitable for installation on walls. The artwork is printed on pigmented inks. Although striking, very beautiful and inspirational, these reproductions have minimal “fair market value” as there are few places that offer 40" x 60" blowups of second-grader’s artwork! They are not signed, numbered, framed nor glazed.

Can you mount the artwork on different substrates?
Our standard mounting is on 3/16" black Gatorboard. We can mount on several types of plastic, Plexiglas, aluminum, or 100% recycled 1/2" “Re-Board”. There are additional charges for all these different fabrication processes. If you feel your artwork must be framed, we can suggest a framer that can do this to your specifications.

What paper do you use?
We use a heavy, satin finish paper, but have the capability of printing on the newer, sustainable bamboo and sugar cane paper. Special papers, finishes, and mounting is possible upon consultation.

What are the sizes of donations and gift artwork?

• A donation of $500 may choose a 30" x 40" reproduction (“Baby Bear” size)
• A donation of $1000 may choose a 40" x 60" reproduction (“Mama Bear” size)
• A donation of $2,500 may choose a 6' x 9' reproduction (“Papa Bear” size)

We nicknamed the sizes because we are artists and we got tired using numbers to describe the dimensions! Besides, it’s simply more fun. Also, these sizes are approximate. Each piece of art has a different aspect ratio. So you could end up with a 42" x 58" “Mama” piece, or a 35" x 35" “Baby”. It’s art. Not math.

A gift of $10,000 and above will receive bonus gifts of 20” x 30” posters in addition to the “Bear” size reproduction gifts. There is a complete matrix of donor gift benefits on the donor page. You can download the Donor Benefits Matrix to see all the levels of gifts.

Can artwork be ordered in custom sizes?
Yes, certainly. The donation will be calculated to be commensurate with the thank-you gift of art.

Is your artwork framed and glazed?
No. Our standard fabrication artwork mounted on 3/16" black Gatorboard, not framed, glazed, not signed, not numbered. The idea is to give our donors an attractive, useful thank-you gift with minimal fair market value in order to maximize their tax deduction. If necessary, the artwork can be framed, but we feel it is not necessary. Our installation process is unique, attractive, secure, and simple. If you want your prints framed, we can direct you to an excellent framing service, and you can pay them directly for their services.

How long will the panels last?
A good question. We don’t really know. They are simply ink jet prints on paper. We are told by the manufacturer that because our prints are made with non solvent-based pigmented ink (instead of dye-based ink) on high quality paper, that the prints are archival. We specify a very long-lived archival adhesive when mounting the paper prints to the gatorboard. But where they are installed has a lot to do with how long they will last. Heat, humidity, direct sunlight all affect their longevity. We do as much as we can to insure the longest possible life, but at the end of the day, they are simply ink jet prints on sturdy foam board. The reason that a substantial tax deduction can be taken by our donors is because we are delivering a fairly simply, low-value thank you gift.

That being said, we have hundreds of panels that have been up on walls for more than 5 years and they look terrific, with no perceptible fading.

Do you offer a “green” product?
We now offer reproduction panels using either bamboo or sugar cane paper, both very “green”. These papers are matte finish and produce a very beautiful result. We can also mount these papers on a substrate called “Re-Board”, a 100% recycled corrugated board, about 1/2" thick. The look is more informal than the standard black Gatorboard, but very attractive.

Can the panels be laminated to protect them?
You bet! We offer a satin (“luster”) clear lamination on all sizes. This lamination has a long life (the manufacturer guarantees it for 50 years… but who knows!), and protects against UV damage and liquid splashes and sprays. There is a small extra charge which we pass along for this protection.

How do you install the artwork?
We offer complete professional installation services for an additional fee of $75 for small (Baby) and medium (Mama) size artwork. We charge $150 for a large (Papa) size piece. There is an additional charge for masonry walls or unusual installations. We “float” the artwork about 1-1/2" off the wall, securing it with stand-offs and screws with finishing washers. It is a simple, secure and elegant installation.

Can you ship the artwork?
Sure. It can be shipped either on its panels or rolled, before it is mounted to the Gatorboard. Packing and shipping charges are extra, and a quote is available upon request.

Can the young artist-philanthropist be invited to see his/her artwork installed in the donor’s business?
Yes, under certain circumstances. As you might expect, we don’t give any child’s personal contact information out to anyone. Several corporations have hosted wonderful receptions for their young artist-philanthropists, their families and art teachers. This is always done through the children’s art teachers, who secure the appropriate permissions and sometimes help facilitate the children’s travel arrangements.

Can a donor use images of the children’s gifted artwork in any way?
Not without specific written permission from Fresh Artists. Images can be used with written permission from Fresh Artists for annual reports or PR, but Fresh Artists must always be credited. The artwork panel is the donor’s to keep but no license to use that image is transferred with the gift of the panel.

Is the entire image collection on your website?
No. We have a selection of images on our gallery pages, and change the images from time to time. Please emailus for an appointment to see the entire collection. info@freshartists.org

How do I obtain a copy of Pablo, the Philly Philanthropist?
Write to us at Fresh Artists, P.O. Box 44, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 and send a check for $20 plus $5 shipping and handling. We will send it out to you! Soon you will be able to purchase it on our website, but you know how things are when you are a small nonprofit with big ideas! The website always lags behind the vision!

Download the FAQ Document. [PDF - 1.1mb]