Great Bay’s newest grantee is an arts-based social enterprise dedicated to making youth more self-reliant.

Founded in 1990 by social entrepreneur Susan Rodgerson, Artists for Humanity (AFH) provides paid employment in the arts to inner-city high school youth. AFH operates a number of micro businesses, including those related to painting/murals, sculpture/industrial design, silk screen, graphic design, and photography/web design - each of which provides youth the opportunity to design and sell products. Since the organization’s inception, AFH has earned over $3 million in revenue through the sale of young people’s art. The social enterprise income has been instrumental in enabling AFH to grow its program offerings and achieve its social objectives.

In recent years, AFH has begun replicating its project in other geographic areas, including Woonsocket, RI and Kansas City, Mo. It was Susan Rodgerson’s interest in replicating the model in Portland, Maine that led her to the Great Bay Foundation. She requested planning grant funds to explore the feasibility of a Portland project. Impressed by AFH’s use of earned-income ventures as a means to increasing young people’s economic self-reliance, Great Bay provided $26,565 to support the endeavor.

To read more about Artists for Humanity and other Great Bay Grantees, please visit our Funded Projects page.