RAW Arts lands surprise grant

LYNN – Imagine you run a non-profit organization and an unsolicited grant for $75,000 gets delivered to your doorstep.That’s what happened last week at Raw Art Works (RAW), a downtown Lynn studio founded in 1988 that offers free therapeutic art classes and a wide array of programs, mostly to at-risk teenagers.The grant from the Boston Foundation is among those doled out quarterly as part of the organization’s Out of the Blue initiative, the name reflecting the lack of an application process and, hence, the recipient’s surprise.”This was truly out of the blue,” said Suzanne Lenz, RAW’s development director. “We didn’t even submit a proposal.”The Out of the Blue grant was one of three major financial awards that RAW received this summer, said Lenz, adding that RAW was also granted $50,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts as part of federal stimulus support and in June received a Massachusetts Cultural Council facilities grant of $138,000 to make its four-story brick studio building in Central Square more energy efficient.RAW Executive Director Kit Jenkins described the grant as an extraordinary gift. “We are so honored to have such a highly-regarded leader in the funding community recognize the importance of RAW’s mission,” she said. “The Boston Foundation has been a generous, long-term supporter of our programs. This unrestricted grant comes at a critical time. Like many other non-profit organizations we are working extra hard to deliver excellent programming while faced with financial challenges resulting from the economic downturn.”RAW serves more than 550 students a year – including 200 in its summer program – and sends 90 percent of its high school seniors on to college.”Raw Art Works has taken a great idea and developed it into a strong organization honored locally and nationally for its innovative and effective work,” said Paul S. Grogan, president and chief executive officer of the Boston Foundation. “In challenging times, it has grown its budget significantly and built an impressive staff. It offers an exemplary model of how an organization can grow while keeping focused on its goals.”In addition to its classes, RAW runs a film school, single-sex art groups for teenagers, mentoring and leadership programs and a college and career support program.