Snow City Arts

What Snow City Arts does

Snow City Arts is a Chicago-based nonprofit arts education organization founded in 1998 that delivers one-on-one and small-group arts instruction to children and youth in pediatric inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. Its core program spans six disciplines — creative writing, media arts, music, theatre, dance, and visual arts — delivered by a team of 10 dedicated Teaching Artists whose curriculum is aligned with Chicago Public Schools learning standards so that hospitalized students can earn academic credit. Programs are delivered free of charge to patients and families at four Chicagoland partner hospitals: Rush University Children's Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Cook County Health, and Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, in close coordination with each hospital's Family Services and Child Life departments.

In April 2020, Snow City Arts launched a Virtual Learning Initiative — including one-way video instructional lessons, one-to-one virtual sessions, classroom-style virtual learning, and live-streamed lessons — delivered over Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and YouTube. The underlying technology stack is entirely composed of off-the-shelf tools (Google Workspace with a signed BAA, DocuSign, Virtru encryption, Bandcamp, Vimeo); no proprietary software, API, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, led by Executive Director Carrie Spitler, and complemented by Program Director Dan Kerr-Hobert (appointed July 2021) and Director of Development Deirdre Harrison.

Snow City Arts is funded entirely through charitable contributions: individual and corporate donations, foundation and government grants (e.g., a $100,000 Digital Changemaker Grant from the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation and a $15,000 NEA Grant for Arts Projects, both in 2021), and its annual Gallery Night fundraising exhibition (which raised over $178,000 in 2025, up from $149,571 in 2023 and $86,000 gross in 2020). The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on deep institutional relationships with Chicago-area hospitals and the broader arts-in-health ecosystem, supplemented by an event-driven fundraising cadence. No pricing is charged to end users; programs are provided at no cost to patients and families.

Name

Snow City Arts

Legal name

Snow City Arts

Website

https://snowcityarts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Snow City Arts is a Chicago nonprofit that delivers free, one-on-one arts education across six disciplines to hospitalized children at four Chicagoland partner hospitals, funded entirely through donations, grants, and an annual fundraising gala.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric arts education services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Hospital arts education
• Pediatric arts programs
• Creative writing workshops
• Visual arts instruction
• Music education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and Corporate Donations: Primary revenue stream from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations supporting arts education programs in hospitals
2. Annual Gala/Fundraising Events: Gallery Night annual benefit events that raise significant funds; 2025 raised over $178,000, 2023 raised $149,571, 2020 raised $86,000 gross ($70,000 net)
3. Foundation and Government Grants: Funding from National Endowment for the Arts ($15,000 grant in 2021), Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation ($100,000 Digital Changemaker Grant in 2021), and other institutional funders

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Snow City Arts delivers one-on-one arts education to children and youth hospitalized at four Chicagoland partner hospitals (Rush University Children's Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, Cook County Health, and Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital). Instruction is provided by trained teaching artists across six disciplines (visual arts, creative writing, music, dance, theater, and media arts) and is aligned with Chicago Public Schools learning standards so students can earn school credit while hospitalized. Services are offered free of charge to patients and families and funded through donations, grants, and annual fundraising events.

Product overview

Snow City Arts is a nonprofit arts education organization offering a unified program of arts education services for children and youth in Chicagoland hospitals. Their core offering consists of in-person and virtual arts education workshops delivered by professional teaching artists across six disciplines: creative writing, media arts, music, theatre, dance, and visual arts. The organization partners with four Chicago-area hospitals to provide one-on-one instruction aligned with school learning standards, allowing students to earn school credit while hospitalized. In response to COVID-19, they expanded their Virtual Learning Initiative to include remote instruction via video platforms. Additional programs include the annual Gallery Night exhibition and the Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund Award supporting teaching artist development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person Arts Education One-on-one arts education delivered by teaching artists directly to children and youth in hospital rooms at partner hospitals, covering creative writing, media arts, music, theatre, dance, and visual arts. Services are free to patients and families.
• Virtual Learning Initiative Remote arts education delivered via video conference platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and YouTube, offering one-way video instructional lessons, one-to-one virtual sessions, classroom-style virtual learning, and live-streamed lessons for isolated and hospitalized children.
• Creative Writing Workshops Teaching artists deliver creative writing instruction to pediatric patients, helping them express themselves through poetry and prose.
• Media Arts Workshops Teaching artists guide students in creating films, podcasts, stop-motion animations, and other digital media projects.
• Music Workshops Instrument instruction, music composition, and audio recording workshops delivered by teaching artists to hospital patients.
• Theatre Workshops Drama activities, storytelling, and performance arts education for pediatric patients.
• Dance Workshops Movement and dance instruction for pediatric patients to promote physical expression and creativity.
• Visual Arts Workshops Painting, drawing, ceramics, and other visual arts instruction for pediatric patients.
• Gallery Night Annual exhibition and gala fundraiser showcasing student artwork created through Snow City Arts programs, featuring live music performances by the Snow City Arts Band and engaging Chicago's philanthropic, medical, and creative communities.
• Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund Award Annual award supporting the artistic and professional growth of Snow City Arts Teaching Artists, funding creative projects and professional development initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of young people reached annually with arts education services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and minor.

• Columbia College ChicagosecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partnership with Columbia College's Arts In Health track program; Program Director and Teaching Artist present to students about arts in healthcare careers
• Rush University Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary hospital partner where Snow City Arts teaching artists deliver arts education to pediatric patients in inpatient and outpatient units
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary hospital partner providing arts education services to pediatric patients
• Cook County HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital partner providing arts education services to pediatric patients two full days each week
• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage HospitalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital partner with Arts Idea Lab space funded by the Wibergs, previously hosted Snow City Arts programming
• Children's Hospital University of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital partner receiving arts education services through teaching artists
• Chicago Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-hospital teachers coordinate with Snow City Arts to align arts education with school curriculum and provide academic credit
• University of Illinois Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived the Neisser Award in 2020 recognizing long-time hospital partnership
• Cultural Access CollaborativeminorOthersOrganizational membership and collaboration with cultural access initiatives
• National Organization for Arts in HealthminorOthersOrganizational membership in NOAH
• Enrich ChicagominorOthersOrganizational membership in Chicago arts access collaborative

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Creative Center at University Settlement: Nonprofit providing arts programming for people with illness, disability, or other life challenges, including hospital-based workshops — closely aligned with Snow City Arts' in-hospital arts education delivery model.
• RxART: Nonprofit that commissions contemporary artists to create installations and programs for pediatric hospital settings, directly comparable to Snow City Arts' arts-in-hospitals mission and pediatric hospital focus.
• Center for Arts in Medicine (University of Florida): Leading academic center advancing arts-in-medicine research, education, and practice; directly comparable mission area of integrating the arts into healthcare settings, and a recognized thought leader in the field Snow City Arts operates in.
• Hospital Audiences Inc. Nonprofit bringing arts, cultural, and entertainment programming to people in healthcare and care settings in New York; similar mission of arts delivery in hospitals and institutional care environments.
• Music & Memory: Nonprofit that brings personalized music programming to people in healthcare settings, including hospitals and care facilities; comparable as a single-discipline (music) arts-in-health nonprofit delivering programming directly in care environments.

Regional players

• Studio in a School: New York-based nonprofit providing visual arts instruction to children in schools and communities; comparable as an arts-education nonprofit delivering structured instruction to youth, but focused on K–12 schools rather than hospital settings.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network: NEA-funded national initiative providing creative arts therapies to military and veteran populations; comparable as a federally supported arts-in-health program, though it serves a different beneficiary population (military/veterans vs. pediatric).
• VSA / Kennedy Center: Long-standing national program (now part of the Kennedy Center) providing arts education and creative expression programs for people with disabilities; comparable as a large-scale arts-education nonprofit serving vulnerable populations, though broader in scope.

Emerging players

• Art Pharmacy: Connects patients to arts and cultural experiences as a clinical, social-prescription intervention; comparable in delivering arts-based health interventions to patients, but uses a referral/prescription model rather than direct arts education delivery.

Others

• National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH): Membership organization advancing the field of arts in health; Snow City Arts is itself a member. Comparable as an ecosystem convener that connects and advocates for organizations doing arts-in-health work like Snow City Arts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/snowcityarts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/snowcityarts
• Facebookfacebook.com/snowcityarts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/snow-city-arts-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/snow_city_arts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Snow City Arts