<div><strong>Help Sustain Project Onward:</strong> Keep 60+ Artists Creating in Chicago
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For over 20 years, Project Onward has been a vital creative home for artists with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities in Chicago. But today, we’re at a sensitive moment and could use your help. Your support can help sustain our studio, so we can continue to thrive for another 20 years and beyond!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Who We Are</strong>
</div>
<div>Since launching in 2004, Project Onward has worked as a studio and gallery for over 100 adult artists creating in a wide variety of media. We provide workspaces, materials, and mentorship free of charge, as well as helping members navigate practical challenges - offering counseling and support with transportation, housing, and managing benefits.
</div>
<div>Some artists in our community are self-taught, others formally trained—but all are deeply committed to their practice. Many live on limited incomes and would not otherwise have access to the resources we provide. At Project Onward, they are not defined by their challenges but by their artistic visions.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In this studio, our members:
</div>
<div>-Develop confidence and independence as artists
</div>
<div>-Build artistic careers through sales and exhibitions
</div>
<div>-Form lifelong friendships
</div>
<div>-Make connections with the broader community
</div>
<div>-Challenge preconceptions about people with disabilities and mental illnesses
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why We Need Support Now</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Like other small arts organizations across the nation, we’ve struggled after several critical grants were lost and, over time, many hardworking staff were let go. In addition, we’ve made hard choices, including closing our ceramics studio. We’re also actively working on solutions that will strengthen our sustainability - new grants, partnerships, and sales strategies. We’re confident about the studio’s long-term future. But in the meantime, we could use support to maintain the level of excellence that we’ve offered our artists and the broader community for the past 20 years.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>How Your Support Helps</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your donation directly funds:
</div>
<div>-Studio rent and operational costs
</div>
<div>-Art materials, tools, and technology
</div>
<div>-Exhibitions, programming, and public engagement
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our ultimate goal is to raise $25,000 to support the next six months of operations as our long-term funding strategy gets underway. Your generosity ensures that our studio remains a consistent and supportive space for our artists during this transition.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If Project Onward’s mission resonates with you, we invite you to:
</div>
<div>-Make a donation of any size
</div>
<div>-Share this campaign with your community
</div>
<div>-Help us continue creating opportunities for artists to thrive
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your support has a real and lasting impact. Art has the power to connect people, challenge perceptions, and inspire change. Thank you for helping us continue that work.
</div>

Alec Basler

Anonymous

Sally Schwartz

Rebecca Rohde

Patricia Rank

Anne McDermott

Julie Erdmann

Alan Almario

McNamara Jones

Mary Gough

Alyssa Sands

Brian Caplice

Cecilia Luxem

Lucas Osselaer

Jacqueline Cantu

Lara Lebeck

alexus serrano

William Dobie

Krista Evensen

Make an Impact with Project Onward

Just $635$ to go! Make an impact.

Make an Impact with Project Onward

Just $635 to go!
Make an impact.