2026-08-05T14:10:23-07:00 2025-12-31 472626541 Cook & Company A Prof Actcy Corporation One Sansome St Ste 3500 San Francisco CA 94104 990 2025-01-01 942733935 Create CA CREA 6265789315 85 South Grand Ave Pasadena CA 91105 Veronica Alvarez Executive Director 2026-08-05 true Douglas Cook PhDMPACPA P01521705 4156211112 2025 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Veronica Alvarez 85 South Grand Ave Pasadena CA 91105 1616239 false X www.createca.org X 1988 CA Create CA advocates for high-quality arts education for all students by providing policy expertise and mobilizing a statewide network of advocates and allied partners. 12 12 12 26 0 2091517 1499545 34875 57295 70836 23610 -11662 2172422 1593594 73500 69000 0 1179289 1037873 0 291907 644123 505154 1896912 1612027 275510 -18433 3566049 3532182 208230 192796 3357819 3339386 X Create CA advocates for high-quality arts education for all students by providing policy expertise and mobilizing a statewide network of advocates and allied partners. false true 478302 15000 Public Will, Data & Other Programs: Create CA continues to advance a statewide public will strategy to increase awareness of and support for arts education across California. This work focuses on elevating the importance of arts education and making policy and funding issuesparticularly those related to Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools Act accessible and understandable to a broad public audience of almost 80,000 subscribers across our social media channels. See Schedule O for more information. 357898 69000 1500 Arts Now: Create CAs Arts Now program provides professional development and coalition-building opportunities for arts advocates across 35 counties throughout California. During this period, Arts Now programming focused on supporting local advocates as schools and districts implemented Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools Act. Through flexible synchronous and asynchronous training opportunities, the program equipped advocates with tools to support effective local implementation of Prop 28. See Schedule O for more information. 159945 18375 Student Engagement: Create CA continues to engage and train student advocates through Student Arts Advocacy Day and the Youth Advisory Council ensuring that the organizations work continues to reflect the perspectives of the young people most impacted by arts education policy and programs. 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RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED false false 6403 43231 49634 1562393 1612027 230601 57650 false 237988 252203 244846 230601 965638 1448457 57361 46129 44167 49634 197291 59497 63051 61212 57650 241410 362115 19649 7224 6403 33276 Part II-B, Line 1i - Other Activities Description Staff wages, PRT, benefits, dues and subscriptions Part IV - Additional Information 33121 18867 14254 14254 Lease liabilities 70209 70209 1616239 1616239 -22645 -22645 1593594 1634672 22645 22645 1612027 1612027 Part XII, Line 2d: Other expenses and losses per audited F/S Special event direct expenses $22645 false Museum Event 28074 17440 10634 619 4500 4955 1315 11256 28074 17440 10634 619 4500 4955 1315 11256 22645 -12011 X X X true false false false false false false false false Veronica Alvarez Executive Dir. 180001 3300 8790 21236 213327 X Software 1 26395 FMV X Supplies 3 4840 FMV false false false Form 990, Part III, Line 3 As a result of strategic and financial considerations, we retired the Student Voices program but we will continue our student engagement work via our Youth Advisory Council, our involvement in Student Arts Advocacy Day and other avenues. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b After it is reviewed by the finance staff and the Executive Dir., draft form of the 990 is provided electronically to the Audit Committee of the Board which formally votes to approve it. If its approval is recommended by the Audit Committee, it is then provided electronically to the full Board which formally votes to approve it. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c Board members sign a conflict of interest policy and are required to provide any updates annually. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15a After careful review of the job descriptions for each or our staff roles, our HR consultant conducted a thorough review of comparable compensation for each role, working to find data for southern California nonprofits of a similar budget size. She then provided a management report that informed compensation decisions. This process last occurred in 2025. The contracted salary for the Executive Director is approved by the full Board upon hiring. It is reviewed annually by the Executive Committee and is part of the organizational budget that is approved annually by the full Board. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Documents are available upon request. Form 990, Part III, Line 4 - Arts Now Create CAs Arts Now program provides professional development and coalition-building opportunities for arts advocates across California. During this period, Arts Now programming focused on supporting local advocates as schools and districts implemented Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools Act. Through flexible synchronous and asynchronous training opportunities, the program equipped advocates with tools to support effective local implementation of Prop 28. Given ongoing uncertainties and challenges with Prop 28 rollout, local advocacy remains critical to ensure these funds expand arts education opportunities rather than merely supplant existing programs. The Arts Now Leadership Institute trained 30 leaders from across the state in arts education advocacy, and additional Arts Now programs engaged more than 300 participants statewide through webinars on current issues and opportunities to advance local arts education. Create CAs program team provides one-on-one technical assistance to participants beyond group training sessions, supporting local advocates as they champion and advocate for Proposition 28 in their communities. Our regional partners, the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area and Friends of Sacramento Arts, are critical to this work, helping expand our statewide network, co-lead programming, and provide insight into the local challenges and opportunities related to Prop 28 implementation. Create CA hosts monthly Arts Now Meetups to bring together arts education advocates, educators, and community partners from across California to connect, share resources, and learn from one another. These virtual gatherings provide a space for participants to receive timely updates, discuss emerging issues, and strengthen local advocacy efforts related to arts education. A key focus of the Meetups has been supporting communities as they navigate the implementation of Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools Act. During these sessions, Create CA shares guidance, tools, and policy updates while also hosting listening sessions where participants can share stories of success, raise challenges, and highlight local implementation experiences. These conversations help Create CA better understand what is happening on the ground and inform our ongoing advocacy, resource development, and technical assistance efforts statewide. In 2025, Create CA launched the Arts Now Organizational Partners program, engaging six nonprofit organizations from across the state in targeted programming designed to strengthen their advocacy capacity. Through this initiative, participating organizations receive financial support, technical assistance, training, and resources to help them more effectively advocate for expanded arts education opportunities in their communities and local school districts. Form 990, Part III, Line 4 - Public Will, Data & Other Programs Create CA continues to advance a statewide public will strategy to increase awareness of and support for arts education across California. This work focuses on elevating the importance of arts education and making policy and funding issuesparticularly those related to Proposition 28accessible and understandable to a broad public audience. Through strategic communications, media outreach, digital engagement, and advocacy resources, Create CA works to inform communities, support local advocates, and expand public understanding of why arts education matters for all students. As part of this effort, Create CA recently launched a new data dashboard that makes it easy for advocates, educators, and community members to track Proposition 28 funding and required district reports, as well as see how many arts education teachers are employed in their local school districts. This tool helps increase transparency, supports local advocacy, and empowers communities with the information they need to ensure Proposition 28 funds are being administered effectively. Together, these efforts help grow a diverse community of supporters and strengthen the broader movement working to ensure equitable access to arts education statewide. To deepen understanding of how Proposition 28 is transforming arts education in California, Create CA has also begun a new research partnership with WestEd to track the law's implementation and impact across the state. This research project will examine how districts are utilizing Proposition 28 funds, the growth of arts education staffing and programs, the challenges school districts are encountering, and the extent to which this funding is expanding students access to arts learning. By combining statewide data analysis with insights from educators and school communities, the project will help identify promising practices, highlight challenges, and inform future policy and implementation strategies. The findings will support advocates, administrators, policymakers, and educators in ensuring Proposition 28 fulfills its promise of expanding equitable access to high-quality arts education for all California students. Form 990, Part III, Line 4 - Student Engagement Student Voices is a hub that provides training, resources, and opportunities for young people ages 1224, helping them understand the importance of civic engagement and advocacy and how these connect to arts education. In 2025, Create CA provided leadership training and workshops to 19 Student Voices Leaders, current 7th12th grade students from public schools across the state, who received stipends in recognition of their participation and leadership. Due to financial constraints and strategic considerations, we made the difficult decision to end the Student Voices program in July of this year, but we will continue to host Student Arts Advocacy Day and the Youth Advisory Council. Create CA hosted the fourth annual Student Arts Advocacy Day at CalArts on July 12, 2025, in partnership with the California Summer School for the Arts. The event brought together more than 500 high school students from across California, making it the largest arts advocacy training event for students in the state. Participants engaged in a variety of interactive workshops that explored the intersection of the arts and advocacy, including Write for a Reason, Moving for Movements, Postcarding for Purpose, and Drumming for Change. To further integrate student perspectives into Create CAs programs and policy work, the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) continued in 2025 with a cohort of 10 students and young people ages 1624. Through the YAC, participants received training in civic engagement and nonprofit governance, while gaining insight into how a statewide arts education organization develops programs and advances policy goals. Council members also played an important advisory role by sharing feedback and ideas that helped inform Create CAs programming and communications strategy, ensuring that the organizations work continues to reflect the perspectives of the young people most impacted by arts education policy and programs Form 990, Part III, Line 4 - Supplemental Program Accomplishments Create CA is pleased to present a report on our major program accomplishments and highlights. During fiscal year 2025, Create CA made significant strides toward increasing equitable access to quality arts education for all PK-12 students in California. Create CAs Top Five Program Accomplishments: 1.Through virtual and in-person events, Create CA provided training to more than 2,500 advocates across California, strengthening a statewide network working to support the effective implementation of Proposition 28. 2.Create CA hosted the fourth annual Student Arts Advocacy Day at the California Institute for the Arts, which provided arts advocacy workshops to over 500 current high school students from across the state. 3.Expanded partnerships to grow our network of coalition partners and local advocacy capacity to 38 counties in California. 4.Launched a Public Data Dashboard to increase transparency related to Prop 28 5.Initiated statewide research on the impact of Proposition 28 to inform policy, best practices, and effective administration.