The Right Brain Initiative

What The Right Brain Initiative does

The Right Brain Initiative is a school-based arts integration program operated by Arts for Learning Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The program partners with K-12 school districts in the Portland metro area to bring teaching artists into classrooms for hands-on creative work and to train teachers in incorporating arts into everyday instruction. Its core differentiator is a district-level partnership model that allocates arts education resources according to district priorities rather than individual school fundraising capacity, addressing inequitable access to arts programming across school systems.

The underlying technology is a pedagogical methodology — arts integration — rather than a software platform. The product surface includes the core Right Brain Initiative program, Professional Development workshops for educators, Measuring Success assessment tools, a vetted Artist Roster, Strategy Cards for classroom implementation, and Brain Food educational content. The program is affiliated with the national Young Audiences Arts for Learning network, which provides access to established methodologies and teaching artist resources.

The organization operates on a grant-and-donation funding model rather than direct customer payments. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and partnership inquiries are handled via direct outreach to the programs team. The customer base is concentrated among Portland-area K-12 public school districts and their constituent schools. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range. As of the most recent program communications, the initiative is conducting a formal program review intended to determine a path for sustainable growth, while continuing to serve partner schools.

Name

The Right Brain Initiative

Legal name

Arts for Learning Northwest

Website

https://therightbraininitiative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Right Brain Initiative is a nonprofit arts-integration program operated by Arts for Learning Northwest that partners with Portland metro K-12 school districts to deliver teaching-artist residencies and educator professional development in the Portland area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts Education Instruction (Visual/Performing) (EDAJAFAK)

Keywords

• Arts integration education
• Teaching artist programs
• K-12 arts education
• School district partnerships
• Educator professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

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. Grant Funding and Donations: The organization operates as a nonprofit arts education program, funded primarily through grants and charitable donations. The 'Donate' and 'Funding' pages indicate reliance on external funding rather than customer payments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Right Brain Initiative is a school-based arts-integration program that partners with K-12 school districts in the Portland Metro Area to place trained teaching artists in classrooms for hands-on creative work, while providing professional development for teachers in arts-integration strategies. It is a program operated by Arts for Learning Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is funded primarily through grants, donations, and sponsorships rather than direct payments from schools or families.

Product overview

The Right Brain Initiative is a single unified arts-integration program offered by Arts for Learning Northwest. It consists of a core school partnership program that brings teaching artists into classrooms, supported by Professional Development for educators, Measuring Success tools for tracking outcomes, an Artist Roster of vetted teaching artists, Strategy Cards for classroom implementation, and Brain Food educational resources. The program operates as a partnership model with districts to equitably serve schools based on district priorities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Right Brain Initiative Program A school-based arts-integration program that partners with K-12 school districts, schools, and teaching artists to bring hands-on arts education into classrooms and help teachers incorporate arts into everyday learning. It is offered by Arts for Learning Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Professional Development Training and resources for educators to learn arts-integration strategies and incorporate creative approaches into their teaching practices, delivered to partner schools and districts.
• Measuring Success Assessment and evaluation component used to track student and educator outcomes from arts-integration programming delivered through the Right Brain Initiative.
• Artist Roster A directory of vetted, professionally trained teaching artists available to partner with schools as part of the Right Brain Initiative's arts-integration programming.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Young Audiences Arts for Learning (National Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Right Brain Initiative is affiliated with the national Young Audiences Arts for Learning network. This affiliation provides access to proven arts integration methodologies, a broader network of teaching artists, and collective resources across the national organization.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute: Runs K-12 arts education programs in schools including teaching artist residencies and professional development — closely comparable to RBI's in-school delivery model.
• Young Audiences Arts for Learning: National affiliate network of which RBI is a member; runs the same K-12 arts integration model with teaching artists deployed into classrooms, making it the closest structural peer and parent umbrella.
• Wolf Trap Foundation for the Arts: Operates early-childhood arts integration programs in classrooms through partnerships with school districts, with a comparable model of embedding artists and supporting teacher professional development.
• Inner-City Arts (Los Angeles): Nonprofit providing arts education to underserved K-12 students in a single metro market via teaching artists and in-school programs; structurally similar regional arts education nonprofit.
• Turnaround Arts (John F. Kennedy Center): National program bringing arts education resources to under-resourced K-12 schools through district and school partnerships — a direct functional analog to RBI's arts integration approach.

Broad incumbents

• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit advocacy and services organization supporting arts education policy and local arts organizations; provides infrastructure and research RBI benefits from but operates at a national, policy-focused level.
• Lincoln Center Education: Major performing arts institution with a broad K-12 education portfolio including in-school programming and teacher PD; overlaps with RBI on arts integration in schools but operates nationally and at much larger scale.
• National Arts Education Association: National professional association for arts educators providing curriculum, professional development, and standards; adjacent enabling organization that supports the broader ecosystem RBI operates in.

Regional players

• Center for Arts Education (Los Angeles): Regional K-12 arts education nonprofit delivering in-school programming, teacher PD, and equity-focused initiatives in the LA area — close functional equivalent in a different geographic market.
• Arts Ed Washington: Washington-state focused nonprofit advocating for and supporting K-12 arts education; a regional analog to RBI's equity-focused mission in a different but adjacent Pacific Northwest market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/the-right-brain-initiative
• Instagraminstagram.com/artsforlearningnw
• Xx.com/rightbrainnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Right Brain Initiative