At Ifetayo dance is just the beginning...
Ifetayo is a culturally powered social-innovation hub for children and families.
We nurture love and leaders. We blend heritage and futures.
Our special mix of African centered arts-education, community investments, and wellness propelled us from a small circle of mothers and daughters in 1989 to a nationally acclaimed sector leader in youth empowerment, cultural healing, and community development today.
" I learned to believe in myself at Ifetayo" ~Morenike, 8 years old
For 36 years Ifetayo has used African perspectives and black creative technologies to transform lives and communities. Some of our favorite wins include:
- serving more than 2000 children annually across the city from the borough that gets less than 8% of the city's funding;
- sending more than 98% of our alums to college from the borough with the most children living below the poverty line;
- offering scholarships to more than 35% of our families in the borough where 1 in 8 children are housing insecure;
- delivering more than 4,500 hours of culturally responsive teaching, mentoring & counseling preserving cultural perspectives that are threatened by displacement;
- taking youth on international cultural exchanges to Ghana, Brazil, Ethiopia, Senegal, South Africa
"Our podcasting class is actually great because we can use it to find out what's going in the community and share that with electeds so they can do something about it. We have a voice in telling our story"
~ Ishara, 15 years old
Now Ifetayo is on a new level. Just like the children, our impact is growing.
We are excited to introduce you to:
- Ifetayo Impact Studios - integrating multi-media storytelling and creative technologies track into our programs;
- Araminta Space Grants - investing $100,000 in our local economy by incubating artists & entrepreneurs in our state-of-the-art performance studios;
- Financial Education Institute - empowering youth and families with technical assistance and training on topics from investing to taxes, personal finances to business development, land stewardship to home buying;
- Sankofa Strategies Career Coaches - developing an ecosystem of insight and access through panels and coaching featuring professionals from diverse sectors from finance to health, art to public service;
- Ife Grove Wellness Resources - sharing creative therapies, cultural healing experiences, and affordable healthcare resources.
" I didn't get to grow up at Ifetayo but my daughter does and I hope her daughter will. We are embedding these strategies into their cells and into their futures" ~ Desiree, Ifetayo parent
Thank you! Ese gan! Medawasi!
Your support helps us keep youth, culture, and community are at the center of all of our wins for 36 more years. When you give to Ifetayo, you become part of our extended community and our winning multiplies.
Your gift funds:
- scholarships and career mentorship for students.
- space-grants for teaching artists and cultural-entrepreneurs.
- creative wellness and counseling for families.
Through our collective effort, Ifetayo will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of our children, arcs of wellness for our families, and trajectories of power for our communities.
Support Black Excellence
Support Black Wealth
Support Black Healing
#OurVictoryOverflows!