February 1, 2024

2023 Year in Review

Classes

• 2023 was our most ambitious year of classes offering 15 classes (up from 1 class in 2017).

• These 15 classes included multiple Basic, Advanced, Event A and Event B (up from 1 class in 2017)

• 3 middle school introductory classes were in Englewood with community partner A Knock at Midnight and the One Summer Chicago (OSC) program. One Summer Chicago is a city initiative, that provides youth in the most disinvested parts of the city, with employment and enrichment opportunities. FreshLens Alums, Vanessa Luna and Peter Tovar, were our extraordinary instructors.

Fundraising

2023 was our most successful year for fundraising allowing us to expand programming and plan ahead for the day we pay the Executive and Assistant Directors.

• We received $77,000 in grants

• $50,000 in private donations

• Grossing $94,000 at our benefit

• Benefit Revenues were $50,000

Equipment Donations

• Over 50 cameras were donated that will go directly to students successfully completing the program.

• Over 950 pieces of equipment were donated

• Equipment that could not be used by our students was sold on Ebay for $27,000 dollars in 2023 going back into our programming.

Other Noteworthy Successes

• In our 4 basic classes, 98% of our students earned a camera to keep

• Students surveys indicated that:

  86% improved life skills
  98% students increased creativity
  79% Improved self-expression
  91% improved self-confidence

• 2 additional students attended college and majoring in photography.

• Since 2017 we have had more than 300 adult volunteers help us achieve our goals. Thank you to our amazing volunteers!