2025 Five Year Impact Report
2025 has been a pivotal year for the Creative Youth Awards; not only did we receive nearly 2,000 new creative submissions from students across the Bay Area, but we also hosted our largest, most dynamic Creative Youth Celebration with more than 500 youth, family and friends attending. In addition, we created a bolder and brighter re-brand of the Bay Area Creative Foundation and our programs. To honor this milestone year and look back on the work we’ve accomplished together we’ve built our first-ever Impact Report.
In just five years, the BACF has served more than 6,400 youth, showcasing nearly 7,000 works of art in our Creative Gallery and awarding $404,000 to 2,100+ student awardees. Each CYA year we curate expert groups of discipline specific arts professionals to review student entries. To date, over 100 artists, educators and professionals have been a part of our Review Panel. Through our free Creative Youth Celebration, we’ve partnered with premier arts organizations, showcased our student work and performances, and provided creative thought leadership from panels of established artists, CYA students and keynote speakers.
There’s more to come.
Next year we will be launching an additional arts grant program. The Theo Awards - named after Vincent van Gogh’s brother and benefactor - will offer new grant opportunities for youth and young adults to support their creative projects. Funding will be available through an application-based grants process, reviewed on a quarterly basis each year.
We will also be announcing our official CYA Alum Program with professional development and networking opportunities to continue support for our post-high school CYA artists.
Please join us.
As a young organization and nonprofit, it is critical for us to establish a robust base of financial support to continue our work celebrating and bolstering creativity in youth. That’s why on this Giving Tuesday, we’re asking for you to consider a gift to the Creative Youth Awards.
Thank you for supporting Bay Area high school students in their creative curiosity and confidence by donating today.
