Grounded

What Grounded does

Grounded (legally Spearman Adams LLC) is a Memphis, Tennessee-based arts and mindfulness organization that develops arts-based programs and curricula for community healing and emotional resilience. Its core offerings span documentary films (Me and the Light, As I Am, April), a 10-module K-12 curriculum called the Grounded Learning Experience, public art installations (Bullets to Bells, Hello from the Other Side, Color of Freedom), a prison-system curriculum called Healing through Creative Practice deployed across 33 California prisons, and a creative consulting practice serving organizations and brands. The underlying methodology combines mindfulness practices, creative expression (writing, music, visual art, movement), and neuroscience-informed program design, supported by a three-year research partnership with Virginia Tech's Embodied Brain Lab that has produced preliminary evidence on biopsychosocial outcomes.

The organization is co-founded by a roster of award-winning artists, including a former Official White House photographer, an ordained Buddhist nun, Emmy-nominated filmmakers, and Grammy-nominated musicians, several of whom hold Kennedy Center Turnaround Artist appointments. Customer segments include K-12 schools (primary), state corrections agencies, organizations/brands, and the general public, served through direct sales to institutions, curriculum licensing and implementation support, and public events and exhibitions. Revenue is generated through professional-services consulting engagements and educational curriculum licensing/implementation; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Impact Justice has conducted annual program evaluation since January 2020, and the organization is planning a 2026 immersive neuro-arts gallery at Virginia Tech. Operationally, the company runs with a lean core team of 5 employees and no disclosed outside investment.

Name

Grounded

Legal name

Spearman Adams LLC

Website

https://wearegrounded.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Grounded is a Memphis-based arts organization that develops mindfulness-infused curricula, documentary films, art installations, and consulting services for K-12 schools, correctional systems, and organizations to support community healing and emotional resilience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Education & Creative Consulting Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online & Hybrid Creative Writing Workshops (EDAMAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

Keywords

• Arts education curriculum
• Creative consulting services
• Community healing programs
• Mindfulness training programs
• Neuroarts research

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Creative Consulting: Organizational and brand consulting services using creative expression as a catalyst for positive change. Grounded works with organizations to develop authentic approaches that are value-aligned and culturally responsive.
2. Educational Curriculum Licensing: Bringing the Grounded Learning Experience to schools, communities, and organizations. Includes implementation support and training for educators.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grounded creates immersive art experiences informed by deep community engagement that become pathways for transformation. It sells a 10-module Grounded Learning Experience curriculum to K-12 schools, Creative Consulting Services to organizations and brands seeking culturally responsive creative solutions, and licenses a Healing through Creative Practice curriculum to correctional systems. The work combines arts-based practices with mindfulness techniques and is validated through a multi-year research partnership with Virginia Tech's Embodied Brain Lab.

Product overview

Grounded is a Memphis-based arts organization offering a portfolio of creative products and services centered on arts, mindfulness, and community healing. The core offerings include documentary films (Me and the Light, As I Am, April), an immersive art experiences/curriculum (Grounded Learning Experience with 10 modules), and art installations (Hello from the Other Side, Bullets to Bells, Color of Freedom, What Do You See?). These are complemented by related music offerings (Move to Touch Joy), youth development programs (Ambassador and Fellowship Programs), and a healing-focused prison curriculum (Healing through Creative Practice). Creative consulting services round out the offerings. A three-year neuro-arts research partnership with Virginia Tech's Embodied Brain Lab provides scientific validation of the program's impact on mental and social health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grounded Learning Experience A 10-module curriculum promoting the power of creative expression to help students and educators process and respond to daily life. Modules touch on mindfulness, fundamental psychology, understanding human emotion and chronic stress, harnessing creative expression to build empathy, resilience, and connecting with community through authentic collaboration. Licensed to K-12 schools with implementation support and training for educators.
• Creative Consulting Services Consulting services using creative expression as a catalyst for positive change. Engagements start with deep listening to learn about organizational goals, challenges, and opportunities, then develop authentic, value-aligned, culturally responsive creative solutions for organizations and brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,700 people have participated in Grounded programming and curriculum experiences
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Virginia Tech Embodied Brain LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year research partnership with Dr. Julia Basso exploring how arts-based practices can improve biopsychosocial health across the lifespan at both behavioral and brain levels. Early findings show arts engagement acutely improves mental health, social connection and increases brain activity. Findings presented at 2024 Society for Neuroscience Conference.
• Impact JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince January 2020, Impact Justice gathered data to assess and evaluate Grounded's education initiative. Research team collaborated with Grounded's leadership to develop a logic model identifying and tracking programmatic goals and outcomes. Comprehensive evaluation has yielded consistent outcomes every year.
• Crosstown High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerXQ Superschool in Memphis, TN that completed the Grounded Learning Experience during winter 2022-2023. Video documentation shows students engaging in creative writing, visual arts, music engagement, movement, and mindfulness to build coping skills.
• California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealing through Creative Practice (HTCP) curriculum section focused on mindfulness, peace and justice is being shared with 33 prisons. Participants can receive a one-week sentence reduction.
• Quiet, Lunarsol, Question Culture, Atelier SouthkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership consortium for Healing through Creative Practice curriculum development, partnering with Grounded to share mindfulness, creative writing, music, and visual arts curriculum with prison system.
• For FreedomsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFor Freedoms sponsored a billboard campaign encouraging civic engagement featuring provocative images and questions related to Grounded's creative work and film 'Me and the Light'.
• John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtskeyOthersKennedy Center appointed multiple Grounded team members (Amanda Lucidon, Valerie June, Lil Buck) as Turnaround Artists. Valued institutional partnership providing platform for performances including 'Me and the Light'.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Steppenwolf runs a major theater-based arts engagement and education program in Chicago serving youth and schools. It is comparable to Grounded's arts-education work at a much larger institutional scale, representing both a benchmark and an adjacent major-arts-education model.

Broad incumbents

• Committee for Children: Committee for Children publishes Second Step, the most widely adopted SEL curriculum in U.S. K-12 schools. As an established incumbent, it competes for the same district SEL budget that Grounded targets, but with a far broader portfolio and national distribution.

Direct peers

• Inner Explorer: Inner Explorer delivers a daily, audio-guided mindfulness practice program for K-12 classrooms. It is comparable to Grounded in targeting student mindfulness and emotional regulation through school-based implementation.
• Mindful Schools: Mindful Schools provides mindfulness training, curricula, and educator certification programs to K-12 schools. It overlaps directly with Grounded's Learning Experience on integrating mindfulness into school environments.
• Free Arts NYC: Free Arts NYC provides arts-based mentoring and creative workshops to underserved youth in New York City. It is comparable to Grounded's youth-focused arts engagement and creative-expression programming for at-risk populations.
• Creative Forces (NEA Military Healing Arts Network): Creative Forces is an NEA-backed initiative delivering arts-based therapies to military, veterans, and their families dealing with trauma. It is comparable to Grounded in using arts engagement as a clinical and emotional-healing intervention for trauma-affected populations.
• Hospital Audiences Inc. (HAI): HAI brings arts engagement programs to underserved audiences including youth in detention, homeless shelters, and community settings. It is comparable to Grounded in combining community-driven arts programming with vulnerable-population outreach.
• MindUP (Goldie Hawn Foundation): MindUP is a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program for K-12 schools developed by the Goldie Hawn Foundation. It is directly comparable to Grounded's Learning Experience in combining mindfulness practice with classroom curriculum to improve student well-being and resilience.
• Calm Classroom: Calm Classroom provides scripted mindfulness and breathing exercises for K-12 teachers and students. It overlaps with Grounded's Learning Experience on classroom-based mindfulness and emotional regulation practice.

Regional players

• Imagine Memphis: Imagine Memphis is a Memphis-based nonprofit mobilizing community imagination and creative placemaking. It is comparable to Grounded in being Memphis-rooted, arts-driven, and focused on community transformation, though without a K-12 curriculum focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wearegrounded

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 Grounded