History & Mission
The Burbank Arts & Education Foundation Mission
The mission of the Burbank Arts & Education Foundation is to engage and inspire the community to invest in meeting the diverse educational needs of every BUSD student.
The organization was created on October 1, 2020, after the Burbank Educational Foundation and the Burbank Arts for All Foundation merged to create a singular, unified voice for Burbank students.
Urgent Need for Students
Students need support now more than ever. Like many other school districts in California, BUSD faces a devastating budget crisis. Important programs and services that students need will likely suffer from lost or reduced funding. The loss may be particularly destabilizing for our most vulnerable students, whose families rely on these public-provided services.
Enhanced Support
By merging two powerful organizations, we aim to maximize our impact through more strategic fundraising efforts. The new foundation will continue to support innovation and excellence in schools, including arts education, STEM programs, student safety, wellness and other needs within BUSD.
Our goal is to provide students with the necessary building blocks to achieve academic and personal success. We empower them with 21st century skills that can be applied to any career path, and offer crucial assistance to facilitate learning.
By investing in students, we not only create more opportunities for them, we reinforce Burbank’s reputation as a thriving community dedicated to the well-being of its residents.
A History of Success
Both foundations have a long history of positively impacting and providing support to BUSD students through their robust grant-giving, advocacy, programming and community engagement programs.
Burbank Educational Foundation was established in 1982 to raise money for the BUSD. In recent years, the foundation has provided more than $437,000 in funds in support of STEM programs, teacher classroom grants, SAT Prep classes, and more, to benefit as many students as possible.
Burbank Arts for All Foundation was founded in 2006 to ensure that every student received quality arts education as part of their core curriculum. To date, Burbank Arts for All has given more than $758,000 in funds to Burbank schools supporting a wide variety of visual, media, and performing art programs, artist in residency programs, arts integration programs, professional development for teachers, facility upgrades, and strategic planning for Burbank Unified School District's Arts for All Plan.
The Burbank Arts & Education Foundation will build on each nonprofit’s success, and amplify our effectiveness as one united organization. Please join us in our mission to provide critical support for our community.
BAEF Values:
Equity – We believe that EVERY child deserves a high-quality public education.
Diversity – We believe that diversity of representation, thought, and community is critical to the success of our work.
Inclusion – We believe in creating safe and welcoming environments to all.
Accessibility – We believe in accessibility to meet the needs of all members of the BUSD community.
Collaboration – We believe in a shared sense of responsibility to invest in the future of public education in Burbank.
Innovation – We believe that innovation contributes to the creative economy of the City of Burbank. We believe that creative solutions are required to address the current educational needs.