Meet Organizational Member: TOARTS

The Basics!

Niki Richardson
TOARTS 
Development Director

Tell us about yourself, and your organization’s mission.

Born and raised in India, Niki Richardson has been fundraising since her graduation from Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University in 2001. She has helped raise over $14M in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties for agencies ranging from history and preservation to human services. She currently serves as the Development Director for TOARTS, Ventura County’s largest arts nonprofit and the fundraising and programming arm of the Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. TOARTS’ mission is to advance, support and present visual and performing arts, cultural events, and arts education at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center. The vision is to ensure that the Civic Arts Plaza is a Place where the Arts Thrive for All. 

What’s happening at the TOARTS—any recent highlights, milestones, new programs or upcoming events?

On October 4, 2019 TOARTS is celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza with an event that will raise the roof of the Fred Kavli Theatre. This is an event you will not want to miss. We can't reveal too many details at the moment, but I can tell you that our guests will be treated to a private concert with Herb Alpert and Lani Hall.

What about your organization is particularly special to you, what would you like our readers to know?

Our Kids and the Arts educational program that provides arts education, exposure and experiences to school-aged youth of Ventura County. We currently provide tickets and transportation to over 3,500 students anually. More than 80% of the youth we expose to the arts are from Title I schools and of that number more than 50% have never before attended a live theattrical performance.

Recently we brought 750 students from all over Ventura County to attend a Storybook Theatre production of Alice and Wonderland where elementary school-aged youth heard a message of 'thoughts have power, so be careful what you think about.' We received a note from one of the teachers stating that in her 35-year career thid was on of the best programs her students ever attended. We also provide study guides for pre and post learning opportunities so that the experience doesn't end with just the visit to the theatre.

We partner with the local school district to provide Artists in the Classroom and do general assemblies with National Geographic speakers. These speakers live unique and out-of-the-box lives and bring messages of perseverance, passion, consistency, dedication to their craft and living a life of excellence in the pursuit of their dreams to our middle and high school youth.

Research conducted by the Americans for the Arts shows that a community rich in the arts has lower poverty, more community engagement and supports diversity. More compelling is the research that shows the impact of the arts in the lives of school-aged youth. Low income youth who were exposed to the arts in elementary and middle school are 50% more likely to graduate from high school and apply to and finish college. There are over 250 schools in Ventura County. It is our desire to expand our Kids and the Arts program to be more robust and go beyond arts exposure. Exposure is good, but education is excellent.

TOARTS is working with the local school district to develop a program which ultimately reintroduces arts into the curriculum of one school as a pilot project, which when successful and measurable with consistent outcones, can be duplicated to all schools in ths district and then all the districts in the county. Investing in the arts for our elentrary school-aged youth is not just good for the kids, it is good for the community. The arts uplift a community, an arts-rich community has lower rates of poverty and gang-violence; The arts also help a diverse community feel more bonded as the arts transcend cultures, languages and socio-economic disparity. In the words of Thousand Oaks Police Chief Tim Hagel, "we don't need more police officers, we need more arts because no gang member that I have ever arrested in my 35 -year history has spent his weekends attending theatre or parctipating in the arts." 

Why did you think it was important to become an organizational member of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership?

As the preeminent place to continue to strengthen my professional ties and to deepen my acamdemic knowledge, there is no better place in Ventura County to have such a rich roster of trainers and teachers. Most of the speakers that CNL has presented are amazing, and to have this resource right here in our backyard, at the very reasonable cost that is, makes this truly a no-brainer decision. I LOVE that I don't have to pay per event I want to attend, and that our organizational memebership just provides umbrella access to any and all trainings hosted by CNL that I want to attend. The value proposition is tremendous!

What do you value most about your membership?

Apart from a deep fondness for Dena Jenson and the incredbile work she does in our community for the nonprofit sector, I value the new relationships I have fostered, the old relationships I have deepened, and the education I have garnered not just from the speakers but from these relationmships. Members to the CNL is like a one stop shop to keep me in the know as to what's what in the nonprofit dector, to sharpen my skills both intrinsic and extrinsic and to stay connected to my peers and colleagues in the sector. I have been grateful to be one of the merry band of volunteers to provide early support to the nonprofit leadership council that kept the aducation/leadership opportunities alive even while CNL was being birthed, and am grateful that this is all now, under one very generous roof.