“I used to volunteer at a local food distribution program. Seeing the kids we served take food to their home made me want to do something beyond just providing a basic necessity,” said Mae Anderson, Chairman of Art Outreach, a non-profit arts intermediary dedicated to supporting art practitioners as well as championing art appreciation and visual literacy in Singapore. “I wanted to spark their curiosity and help them get the same sort of education my kids benefited from.”

Art Outreach was one of the 2023 winners in the ‘Strengthening Community Connection’ category of the Xero Beautiful Business Fund. They were recognised for their work with students, local communities and artists to raise visual art literacy and appreciation in Singapore. We spoke with Mae and with Colin Wan, General Manager & Chief Creative, about the advent of Art Outreach and how the organisation works towards art education for the community, by the community.

Sparking a love for art

Art Outreach began as an organisation offering art education programmes for primary and secondary school students. “Back in 2003, the local school curriculum was challenging and focused on STEM subjects. There wasn’t a lot of emphasis on arts and humanities,” said Mae. “And that’s a shame because art can be a strong source of motivation and education.”

Mae and the team would champion art education as a way to fill this gap in the syllabus. “When we put an artwork in front of a child, we often ask them questions like, ‘What do you see?’, ‘Why do you think that or feel that way?’, ‘If this piece of art was about something that happened in Singapore at this particular time, what do you think was happening in Vietnam at the same time?’. These questions may sound simple but it helps a child think through what they’re seeing and draw connections across places, time periods and communities.”

Working with students remains a big part of the organisation, particularly through school assembly talks and the ARTLink community programme for underprivileged children. Art Outreach also works to support local artists, partnering with both young and experienced talent to reach new markets for their work. “A lot of contemporary artists here want to engage audiences as part of practising art. We offer a space for them to create and exhibit their work, as well as opportunities to learn from their peers and experts on how to grow their career as artists sustainably.”

As of this year, Art Outreach has helped 339 practitioners and reached almost 500,000 people through all their programmes.

Staying above board with Xero

With so many different programmes running throughout the year, keeping track of operations and managing finances has always been a key priority for the team. As a registered charity, Art Outreach is recognised as an Institute of a Public Character (IPC). They are required to submit an annual report and financial statements every year to maintain their status, a task that requires careful data management and one that the team takes seriously. 

“It’s because we are a charity that we need to be even more responsible for our cost-to-income ratio. We need to show our funders that they can trust us and that we will carry their ambitions alongside ours all the way to the finish line,” said Mae. “Xero has been an incredible help and allows small organisations like ours to punch above our weight.” Their effort has paid off: Art Outreach was one of four art nonprofits to win the Charity Transparency Award several times, since implementing Xero in 2019. 

“We can’t live without Xero,” said Colin, who had spearheaded the move. “Before implementing Xero, the process was tedious and time-consuming, requiring frequent trips to our bookkeepers. Now, it’s much easier to extract the information we need, especially when preparing annual reports and applying for grants.” 

Colin was the one who heard about the Xero Beautiful Business Fund and suggested Mae record their entry video. “After 20 years of pitching our charity and doing outreach, I couldn’t believe that all it took to enter was to share our message,” Mae said. “Xero made the entry process incredibly easy, which tells me that they genuinely want to empower small organisations like ours.”

Building capacity for the future

“It’s very rare to see funders who are willing to trust that a charity knows where and how to apply the funds they give thoughtfully,” said Mae. “The money we won was able to not only cover the cost for a particular new programme, but also towards unglamorous things like capacity building and overheads, allowing us to keep growing sustainably.”

That particular programme was Off the Wall, a new initiative that invited three urban street artists to transform an indoor space into an immersive exhibition. “Visitors could come and see the murals which were painted live over the course of six weeks, speak to the artists to hear about the vision behind the work, and even purchase a print of a section of the mural in support” explained Mae. “The project proved so successful that we chose to bring Off the Wall back with three new artists this year.”

Winning the fund allowed Art Outreach to launch new programmes and offset some of the costs that come from running a non-profit. But it was how they put the funds to use that made the real difference. 

“I always advocate for charities to understand how to prepare to receive funding. Running a successful charity requires both the donor and the beneficiary to come up with a programme that really drives catalytic change while adhering to sustainable business practices,” said Mae. “Ask the hard questions like ‘How do we hire the best people?’, ‘How can we take care of them?’ or ‘How do we ensure financial viability over the long term?’ These are things that all charities need to be thinking about.”

We’re thrilled to share that the Xero Beautiful Business Fund is back for 2024. Entries close on 27 August 2024 NZT.

The 2023 winners are an incredible group of small businesses and nonprofits who are passionate about solving problems and making an impact in their local communities. We’re spotlighting some of the past winners to hear more about how the fund has impacted their business and helped them achieve their goals. Read the stories of other Xero Beautiful Business Fund winners

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