Matching Gift Fund to Support Interns & Apprentices
Cultural Coalition is excited to share that we have received an anonymous matching gift donation in support of our Interns & Apprentices Program!
With the pause on federal grants, planned funding for these positions has been delayed, and possibly completely cancelled. We may not know for sure what the status is on our applications until the end of the summer at the earliest.
Thanks to a generous donor who is passionate about uplifting the next generation of arts professionals, we have the opportunity to raise $4000 by the end of May in support of keeping these positions throughout the summer months. This means that if you MAKE A DONATION of $5 during the month of May, it will be matched – raising $10 for Cultural Coalition’s Intern & Apprentices Program. A gift of $10 turns in $20, and so on!
This is a very important moment for all of us who care about supporting the arts, celebrating diverse cultures, and ensuring the next generations have the tools and experience they need to continue this work of cultural preservation. As an arts non-profit, Cultural Coalition is able to reach over 38,000 individuals in communities all over Arizona thanks to support from individual donors like you!
Make your gift online through PayPal using the button above or send a check made out to:
Cultural Coalition, Inc at P.O. Box 378, Mesa, AZ 85211
Our Intern & Apprentice Program has enabled us to have a student worker intern, Aly Masaquaptewa, this last school year that filled a much needed position within our organization – Arts & Community Engagement Coordinator. She originally began as a volunteer at MIKIZTLI the year before, and has been volunteering, giving back to her community for many years. Her contributions to Cultural Coalition over the last year have been invaluable. She jumped into each of her responsibilities with confidence, new ideas, and an openness to learn more. She helped streamline processes and procedures to be more efficient. She took on the roles of our Volunteer Coordinator, Artist Liaison, and Gallery Coordinator. Each of these roles were new to the organization and Aly helped to create job descriptions and expand the responsibilities to ensure they were supporting the goals and the mission of our programs and events, leaving a roadmap for the organization to continue the success of this position.
Cultural Coalition’s is proud to be part of her journey and hopes to be able to keep her position in order to keep supporting our community! She recently graduated from Mesa Community College with her Associates in Music Business, receiving the Chancellor’s Civic Leadership Medallion for her volunteerism and work with non-profits. Let’s continue to support this next generation of leaders in our communities!
Aly shared her reflections on the importance of volunteering and her time with Cultural Coalition:
“When I began my education at Mesa Community college in the spring of 2020 I was trying to figure out what I could do to help my community during that time of crisis. I decided to begin my education in American Indian studies to better understand the challenges my people have faced and continue to face. I was met with the reality that the community is always in need. I began by sharing art that would highlight challenges in the Indigenous community with pro-voting art, and vaccination PSA’s. I felt a great amount of pride and joy being able to motivate and engage my community. A few years later after trying to figure out what I wanted to do as a career, I began pursuing music business.
One of my early opportunities in music was volunteering with an organization called Headcount to register people to vote at a music festival in Las Vegas. Getting to interact with people from all walks of life and educating them on their rights to vote motivated me to continue to find ways to better my community. Not long after that I was introduced to an organization through the Mesa Community College’s Music Business faculty. Musically Fed is a non-profit that donates catering from the touring crew of concerts to shelters in the area. Volunteering with Musically Fed has taught me so much about the struggles in our community, how feeding those in need is also saving our planet, and about how to foster a career in the music industry while still helping in the community.
My career would take me to an internship with a local non-profit organization, Cultural Coalition. I began my role as Art & Community Engagement Coordinator where I would assist with community events, festivals, outreaches and artist bookings. A large part of my job would be to recruit and train volunteers. Going into the role I didn’t realize how much I would love recruiting and engaging with our volunteers. Being a volunteer of other organizations myself, it became a rewarding experience. I was able to learn how to lead a team and work towards creating a rewarding experience so that people return to volunteer their time. Having returning volunteers makes me feel fulfilled and that I am really making volunteering a memorable experience.
Through my connections at Cultural Coalition, I was able to volunteer my time at M3F music festival where I oversaw the check-in of volunteers and volunteers stationed at the box office. M3F Fund is a foundation that was founded by Wespac Construction that funds Arizona nonprofits such as Cultural Coalition and other organizations such as Rosie’s House. The music festival was created to raise money for the M3F Fund. Many different corporate volunteers donated their time to the cause. It was also another chance for me to once again organize and lead volunteers as a volunteer myself. It gave me the opportunity to use my experience working at music festivals and my love for volunteering.
Over this last year I have learned the importance of volunteering in my community and encourage others to volunteer as well. Being a volunteer and managing volunteers has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life so far. I hope I can continue to learn more about nonprofits and continue making a difference in my community. I want to emphasize community engagement in my career as I move into the music Industry.”