What Arts Access Miami does

Arts Access Miami is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit collective impact initiative that delivers free arts education (music, dance, theater, and visual arts) to K-12 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 2020, it operates as the backbone organization for a coalition of 26 arts nonprofits organized into regional alliances — North Dade Alliance (8 organizations), South Dade Alliance (9 organizations), and the incoming Central Dade Alliance (16 organizations). The backbone management function sits with Young Musicians Unite (YMU), while The Miami Foundation serves as fiscal sponsor. Core products include in-school and after-school arts instruction, the Catalyst Grant Program funding grassroots arts providers, the annual Youth Music Festival, the Arts & Youth Leadership Series, and an Interlochen Center for the Arts scholarship partnership that has sent 521 students to Michigan since 2018.

The coalition's products are coordinated through structured cohorts (Leadership, Principals, Program Directors, Teaching Artists, Marketing Directors, Youth Advisory Committee, Data & Impact) and six formal M-DCPS Working Groups that engage district leadership to align policy and embed arts in school operations. Reach extends to 88 schools and sites, serving 17,000 students weekly and 40,496 students cumulatively since 2020, with 34,043 instruction hours delivered. Reporting outcomes include 2x higher Language Arts scores, 20% better attendance, and 86% Positive Youth Development (16 points above Hello Insight's national benchmark). The model is delivered free to students, families, and schools; the unit economics depend entirely on philanthropic contributions and grants.

Revenue is sourced from grants and donations rather than fees. In 2025, Arts Access Miami secured a $10M philanthropic commitment from Dan Lewis and a $5.6M grant led by the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, alongside support from The Children's Trust, Arison Arts Foundation, Perez Family Foundation, Kirk Foundation, Miami-Dade County, and The Miami Foundation. Marketing and distribution are primarily event-driven (Youth Music Festivals with iHeartMedia), earned media (NBC 6, Local 10, The Miami Times, Axios Miami, WSVN 7News), and grassroots community engagement. The organization has stated a strategic goal of serving 100,000 students by 2028 and scaling to 40,000 students weekly across 150 sites and 5 regions by 2030.

Name

Arts Access Miami

Legal name

Arts Access Miami

Website

https://artsaccessmiami.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arts Access Miami is a 501(c)(3) collective impact initiative coordinating 26 nonprofits and Miami-Dade County Public Schools to deliver free K-12 arts education (music, dance, theater, visual arts) across 88 schools to 17,000 students weekly, operating through North Dade, South Dade, and the launching Central Dade regional alliances.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Arts Education Services

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts Education Instruction (Visual/Performing) (EDAJAFAK)

Keywords

• Arts education services
• K-12 arts programs
• Collective impact initiative
• Community arts education
• Music education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Philanthropic Funding: Arts Access Miami operates as a nonprofit collective impact initiative funded primarily through grants from foundations, government entities, and individual donors. They have received significant grants including a $5.6M investment and a $10M commitment from Dan Lewis for the Youth Music Festival and expansion initiatives.
2. Donations: Individual and corporate donations from the community, supporters, and event sponsors including media partners like iHeartRadio and local government sponsors.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arts Access Miami is a collective impact initiative that delivers free, high-quality arts education (music, dance, theater, and visual arts) to K-12 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Programming is coordinated through a tiered network of 26 partner arts organizations across regional alliances (North Dade, South Dade, Central Dade) and supplemented by the Catalyst Grant Program, Youth Music Festivals, leadership workshops, and scholarship partnerships. All services are provided at no cost to students, families, or schools.

Product overview

Arts Access Miami is a collective impact initiative that serves as a unified platform for delivering arts education across Miami-Dade County. The core offering consists of coordinated school-based arts programming (music, dance, theater, visual arts) delivered through a tiered network of regional alliances (North Dade Alliance, South Dade Alliance, Central Dade Alliance) and the Catalyst Grant Program supporting emerging organizations. The ecosystem is supported by engagement programs including the annual Youth Music Festivals, the Arts & Youth Leadership Series workshops, and the Interlochen scholarship partnership. Together, these products form a systems-based solution aligning schools, nonprofits, funders, and civic leaders to ensure every student has access to free, high-quality arts education from K-12.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arts Access Miami Collective Impact Programs A coordinated, collective impact service that delivers free, high-quality K-12 arts education (music, dance, theater, and visual arts) to students across Miami-Dade County Public Schools through in-school and after-school instruction. The program is delivered via 26 partner arts organizations and three regional alliances and is provided at no cost to students, families, or schools.
• Catalyst Grant Program A two-year funding opportunity for grassroots and emerging arts organizations delivering school-based arts education across Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The program combines direct implementation funding with organizational capacity building through cohort learning, supporting 13 Catalyst Grantees serving 2,697 students across 22 schools.
• North Dade Alliance A regional alliance coordinating 8 partner organizations across 32 schools and community sites in North Dade, guaranteeing equitable access to high-quality arts programming for youth in Miami Gardens.
• South Dade Alliance A regional alliance launched in 2024, with 9 organizations working across 23 schools and community sites to bring transformative music and arts education to Homestead and South Dade regions.
• Central Dade Alliance A regional alliance launching in the 2026-2027 school year, expanding into Brownsville, Allapattah, Liberty City, West Little River, and Gladeview with 16 partner organizations across 22 schools.
• Youth Music Festival Annual regional music festivals (Miami Gardens and South Dade) showcasing student performers from Arts Access Miami programs, featuring 1,650+ student performers and 50+ ensembles drawn from 60+ arts organizations and reaching 4,500+ attendees.
• Arts & Youth Leadership Series A citywide workshop series bringing together nonprofit leaders, board members, funders, and public partners for capacity building through practical teaching, fireside conversations, and keynotes focused on strengthening arts education delivery.
• Interlochen Scholarship Partnership An annual scholarship partnership sending 60 students from Miami to Michigan for immersive arts experiences at Interlochen Center for the Arts; 521 students have participated since 2018.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2x higher average Language Arts scores compared to peers not enrolled
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership with the third-largest school district in the U.S. Includes six M-DCPS Working Groups engaging the Superintendent and Cabinet to align policy, increase efficiency, and embed arts education into the core of Miami-Dade schools. Principal cohorts meet twice annually alongside program providers.
• Young Musicians Unite (YMU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManaging organization and backbone of Arts Access Miami. CEO/Founder Sammy Gonzalez Zeira leads Arts Access Miami, with YMU staff (COO Zachary Larmer, CFO Melanie Greenwald, CPO Pedro Diaz, CMO Luciana Pavan) providing operational management.
• The Miami FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiscal sponsor and key institutional partner. President & CEO Rebecca Fishman-Lipsey, COO Nikisha Williams, and Collective Impact Senior Manager Geryel Osorio-Godoy support Arts Access Miami operations and collective impact work.
• Interlochen Center for the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership sending 60 students from Miami to Michigan for immersive arts experiences. 521 students have participated since 2018, gaining exposure to world-class instruction.
• Alliance Grantees (26 Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTiered network of arts organizations including: Miami Foundation, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Young Musicians Unite, Achieve Miami, Arts for Learning, Evolutionary Arts, Guitars Over Guns, Interlochen, Miami Music Project, Save The Music, Teeny-Violini, Vocal Youth, Greater Miami Youth Symphony, The Motivational Edge, Arts Ballet, Diva Arts Dance Studio. Deliver arts education across North Dade (8 orgs), South Dade (9 orgs), and Central Dade (16 orgs) alliances.
• iHeartMedia (iHeart, Tu 949, 103.5 The Beat)secondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia sponsors for Youth Music Festival events, providing radio coverage and promotional support for regional festivals.
• Hello InsightsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerData partner providing PYD (Positive Youth Development) measurement and benchmarking. Their national average is used as a benchmark for 86% youth development metric.
• Catalyst Grant Program GranteescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo-year funding opportunity supporting grassroots and emerging arts organizations delivering school-based arts education. 13 Catalyst Grantees serve 2,697 students across 22 schools with 30 performances and 1,000 audience reach.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ingenuity (Chicago): Ingenuity operates a near-identical collective impact model coordinating schools, arts organizations, and funders to expand arts education across Chicago Public Schools. It is the closest structural analog to Arts Access Miami's coalition-based delivery approach.
• Turnaround Arts (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts): A national initiative that partners with schools and districts to use arts education as a lever for academic and social improvement, sharing Arts Access Miami's focus on measurable student outcomes and district-level integration.
• Any Given Child (Sphinx Organization): Sphinx's Any Given Child program partners with school districts to ensure equitable access to arts education, using a similar district-embedded coalition model focused on measurable student outcomes.
• Create CA: A statewide California coalition advocating for arts education in K-12 schools. While advocacy-led rather than direct delivery, it pursues the same collective impact agenda of aligning schools, nonprofits, and funders around arts access.

Regional players

• Arts for All (Los Angeles County): A coalition of LA County arts organizations, schools, and funders working to expand arts education access. Comparable in mission and coalition structure but operating at a different geographic scale and governance model.

Broad incumbents

• National Guild for Community Arts Education: A national membership organization supporting community-based arts education providers. Comparable as the broader ecosystem enabler and convener for community arts organizations similar to Arts Access Miami's coalition members.
• Young Audiences Arts for Learning: A national network delivering in-school arts education programs through affiliate organizations. Comparable as a long-standing model of channeling arts programming through K-12 schools via a partner-organization structure.
• Lincoln Center Education: The education arm of Lincoln Center, providing arts instruction, curricula, and partnerships in schools. Comparable as a high-profile institutional provider of K-12 arts education aligned with district priorities.
• Carnegie Hall Education & Social Impact Programs: Carnegie Hall's education division delivers music education programs in schools and communities. Comparable as an established national arts-education organization offering in-school programming and teacher development.

Emerging players

• VH1 Save The Music Foundation: A foundation funding music education programs in K-12 schools. Comparable as a funder partner to arts organizations delivering school-based programs, and a potential peer funding source for initiatives similar to Arts Access Miami's music-focused components.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ArtsAccessMiamiOrg
• Instagraminstagram.com/artsaccessmiami

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arts Access Miami