What Arts for Life does

Arts For Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 that delivers free, hospital-based arts education programming to pediatric patients and their families across North Carolina. The organization operates three chapters embedded in Brenner Children's Hospital (Winston-Salem, founded site), Mission Children's Hospital (Asheville), and Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital (Charlotte, launched 2015), with headquarters at 7 Beaverdam Rd, Suite 207 in Asheville. Program delivery is built around permanent art-table fixtures in outpatient clinics and waiting rooms, one-on-one bedside studios for inpatients, and group sessions in communal playrooms, supplemented by a remote programming layer branded Arts For Life Anywhere (launched 2020) that includes Artivity Kits mailed to patients, an archive of video lessons, a monthly newsletter, and live virtual Creativity on Call sessions via Zoom. The proprietary Heartbeat Sessions program, operated in partnership with Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville, records patients' heartbeats with a digital stethoscope and produces professionally recorded songs built around the rhythm — currently a differentiated specialty offering. Programs cover visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography), music lessons, creative writing, and adaptive arts techniques for patients with limited mobility, all provided at no cost to families.

Revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit funding stack: tiered individual donations ($58 to $1,000+ with a Patron's Circle at the top tier), the Healing Hearts Club monthly giving program ($10-$100/month), the Kids at Heart Society multi-year pledge program ($1,000-$10,000 over three years), private foundation grants (Ramble Charitable Fund, Winston-Salem Foundation, Women's Impact Fund, ArtsAVL), government and arts council grants (NC Arts Council, City of Charlotte), and corporate sponsorships for annual benefit events. Annual impact reached 19,000+ participants in 2025 with 14,300+ sessions delivered and 4,500 Artivity Kits distributed; since 2010 the organization has served 102,000+ patients and family members. Operations are supported by 10+ paid staff and a volunteer corps that commits to weekly three-to-four-hour shifts for minimum nine-month tenures.

Name

Arts for Life

Legal name

Arts For Life

Website

https://artsforlifenc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arts For Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001 that delivers free arts education programming — visual arts, music, creative writing, and adaptive arts — directly to pediatric patients at three North Carolina children's hospitals and via remote Artivity Kits and video lessons, serving 19,000+ participants annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Arts Education Services

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610), Educational Services (61), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Visual Arts Instruction (Drawing, Painting, Sculpture) (EDAMAAAA), Performing Arts (Acting, Improv, Theater) (EDAAAGAE)

Keywords

• Pediatric arts education
• Hospital arts programs
• Nonprofit healthcare programs
• Therapeutic arts services
• Creative arts therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters, with donation tiers ranging from $58 to $1,000+. Monthly giving program (Healing Hearts Club) provides sustainable funding. Stocks, cryptocurrency, Apple Pay, and Google Pay accepted
2. Foundation and Grant Funding: Support from private foundations including Ramble Charitable Fund, Winston-Salem Foundation, Women's Impact Fund, and ArtsAVL. Government and arts council grants including North Carolina Arts Council and City of Charlotte
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Event sponsorships for annual benefit events. Sponsors include MB Haynes Corporation, Pink Dog Creative, TFA Gallery + Advisory, Marzano Capital Group, and others
4. Special Giving Programs: Kids at Heart Society requires a three-year pledge of $1,000 or more. Healing Hearts Club offers monthly giving with various benefit levels ($10-$100/month)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arts For Life provides free arts education programming directly to pediatric patients and their families in three North Carolina children's hospitals. Programs include Hospital-Based Programs (permanent art tables in clinics/waiting rooms, bedside studios for one-on-one sessions, group sessions in playrooms), Remote Programs (Artivity Kits, video lessons, Creativity on Call live virtual lessons), and Heartbeat Sessions (patients' heartbeats recorded with digital stethoscopes and set to music, professionally recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studio). All programs cover visual arts, music, creative writing, and adaptive arts, and are delivered at no cost to families.

Product overview

Arts For Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering arts education programs for pediatric patients and families in North Carolina hospitals. The organization operates a unified program portfolio consisting of Hospital-Based Programs (art tables, bedside studios, and group sessions), Remote Programs (Artivity Kits, video lessons, newsletter, and Creativity on Call via Zoom), and the Heartbeat Sessions program. Arts For Life Anywhere serves as the sub-brand for remote offerings. Programs cover visual arts, music, and creative writing, all provided free of charge to patients and families at partner hospitals in Asheville, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Arts For Life Anywhere: Remote programs including Artivity Kits, video lessons, and asynchronous creative programs for patients and families who cannot visit hospitals in person.
• Heartbeat Sessions

Products and services

• Hospital-Based Programs In-person arts programs delivered at three partner North Carolina children's hospitals, including permanent art tables in outpatient clinics and waiting rooms, bedside studios for one-on-one creative sessions in patient rooms, and group sessions in communal playrooms. Covers visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking), music lessons, creative writing, photography, and adaptive arts for patients with limited mobility. Provided free of charge to pediatric patients and families.
• Artivity Kits Self-contained art kits designed specifically for young pediatric patients, containing materials, project ideas, and resources for more than four hours of self-guided art-making. Mailed to patients and families for use at home or in the hospital, based on 20+ years of Arts For Life experience providing arts programming in pediatric hospitals.
• Video Lessons Archive of pre-recorded video lessons featuring visual arts and music instruction designed to be completed with basic materials, available for pediatric patients and families to follow along on their own time at home or in the hospital.
• Heartbeat Sessions Program where pediatric patients choose or write an original song set to the rhythm of their heartbeat, recorded with a digital stethoscope, then professionally recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville, NC, creating a one-of-a-kind musical legacy for the patient and family.
• Creativity on Call Live virtual lessons taught via Zoom by trained Arts For Life staff members, available through some chapters for pediatric patients and families who cannot attend in-person sessions. Provides real-time creative engagement and instruction remotely.
• Arts For Life Anywhere Sub-brand and remote programming umbrella featuring project ideas, inspiration, Artivity Kits, video lessons, and self-guided creative activities accessible to pediatric patients and families at home or in the hospital. The remote complement to Hospital-Based Programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.2% of participants agreed that making art or music makes being at the hospital better (76.6% said ALWAYS, 21.6% said SOMETIMES)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• Brenner Children's Hospital (Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2001 at Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem. Arts For Life provides art tables in outpatient clinics and waiting rooms, bedside studios for inpatients, and specialty clinic programs. Over 4,000 patients and family members served annually
• Mission Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpanded to Mission Children's Hospital in Asheville in 2003. Serves the entire 18-county region of Western North Carolina. AFL serves over 2,000 patients annually at locations including the Zeis Cancer Clinic, pediatric inpatient unit, and Olson Huff Center for Child Development
• Levine Children's Hospital (Atrium Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched partnership in early 2015 in Charlotte. Has reached over 6,000 patients and family members through the arts. Serves children at bedsides, Pediatric Dialysis Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and BMT Program
• Echo Mountain Recording StudionotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld-renowned recording studio in Asheville, NC where Heartbeat Sessions songs are professionally recorded for pediatric patients. Professional musicians create personalized musical legacies inspired by patients' heartbeats
• North Carolina Center for NonprofitsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership organization supporting nonprofit effectiveness. Arts For Life is a member demonstrating commitment to nonprofit sector standards and best practices
• Share CharlottenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerOnline engagement platform connecting the community to Charlotte-Mecklenburg nonprofits. Arts For Life is a member organization featured on the platform
• ArtsAVLnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsheville arts organization. Arts For Life holds membership and partnership through their ArtsAVL affiliation, connecting to the broader Asheville creative community
• Culture of Results (COR) Initiative of the North Carolina Center for Health and WellnessnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram evaluation partner that conducted comprehensive survey-based assessment of Arts For Life programs across all chapters in 2019, measuring impact on patient wellbeing and family experience

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Starlight Children's Foundation: National nonprofit delivering programs (play, gaming, content) to hospitalized children, including arts, crafts, and entertainment at the bedside in pediatric hospitals — directly comparable mission and delivery setting to Arts For Life.
• Musicians On Call: Brings live and recorded music to patients at hospital bedsides, including in children's hospitals; comparable to Arts For Life's music programming and Heartbeat Sessions in using music as therapeutic engagement in clinical settings.
• Songs of Love Foundation: Creates personalized songs for children facing medical challenges, including those in pediatric hospitals; highly comparable to Heartbeat Sessions' model of producing one-of-a-kind musical outputs for individual patients.
• Children's Cancer Association (JoyRx): Delivers music, arts, and friendship programs to seriously ill children and their families, with significant pediatric oncology focus; directly overlaps Arts For Life's pediatric hospital arts-in-health programming.
• Ryan Seacrest Foundation: Builds multimedia broadcast studios inside pediatric hospitals (Seacrest Studios) for patients to use as creative outlets; comparable in providing in-hospital creative programming infrastructure for pediatric patients.
• Project Sunshine: Volunteer-driven nonprofit providing arts, crafts, and play programs to children facing medical challenges in hospitals; directly comparable volunteer-led hospital-pediatric-arts model.
• Camp Sunshine: Provides year-round programming, including arts and recreational activities, for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families; comparable mission around arts/creative programming for seriously ill children.

Broad incumbents

• American Music Therapy Association: National professional association promoting music therapy in healthcare and educational settings; broader incumbent that overlaps with Arts For Life's use of music for pediatric patient wellbeing.
• Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP): Professional body for child life specialists who deliver psychosocial care, including creative activities, in pediatric hospitals; adjacent to Arts For Life's work within hospital child life ecosystems.

Others

• National Organization for Arts in Health: Membership and advocacy body advancing the arts-in-health field; relevant ecosystem peer that connects Arts For Life to broader sector standards, research, and funding channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/artsforlifenc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 for Life