Our Impact in 2025 and the Work Ahead in 2026
Thank you for helping make 2025 a remarkable year of growth, creativity, and connection. Your support strengthened every one of our initiatives and reminded us how powerful this community truly is and now, we’re excited to evolve. Together, we fulfilled key goals across our programs—and now we’re ready for an exciting new chapter.
In January, Saffron Communities becomes Saffron Arts & Culture, a dedicated 501(c)(3) organization expanding our ability to create meaningful arts experiences and deepen community partnerships. This evolution reflects not just our mission but the vision you’ve helped us bring to life. While we await IRS approval, all contributions remain tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Intersection for the Arts.
Across our three core initiatives, 2025 brought significant expansion, new collaborations, and inspiring creative achievements—momentum we are eager to build upon in 2026.
This year, we continued honoring personal narratives through creative expression, hosting five pop-up fundraising exhibitions and adding 78 new Art Boxes/Stories to our permanent collection. At UC Merced, we launched our first college-level course curriculum in partnership with the art department, supporting a series of campus exhibitions continuing through Spring 2026. We also piloted our first high school curriculum at Castro Valley High School, culminating in a December exhibition at the Adobe Art Center.
Looking to 2026, we will continue exhibitions at UC Merced and introduce a new, intergenerational family course at the Merced Multicultural Art Center. Courses at three Northern California high schools will culminate in a May exhibition and symposium at the Petaluma Arts Center, featuring Stories + Art Boxes from our permanent collection alongside new student creations. Additional courses at three to four more high schools are planned for Southern California, along with a course at Otis College of Art and Design.
For more on The Origin Stories Project, check out this short video from Jason Chu.
Through the Inspired Students Mural Initiative, we partnered with artist Charlo Garcia Walterbach to complete seven murals, engaging 1,138 students and expanding into new districts in Petaluma and Denver. Since the program began, we have partnered with five districts, 16 elementary and middle schools—including nine Title I schools—and served more than 8,200 students continuing to foster student voices, school pride and community engagement.
In 2026, we will create new murals at five new elementary schools, three in Castro Valley, one in Oakland, and one in Denver, with program expansion into Southern California beginning in the fall.
The Creative Collective presented four exhibitions at WTRSHD First Street Art Gallery, featuring Kathy Pallie, Serena Hazard, Ashleigh Sumner, and Donna Larsen. These exhibitions expanded artist visibility, community engagement, and creative collaboration.
Next year, the Collective will produce four new WTRSHD exhibitions, introduce pop-up exhibitions in new partner communities, host Artist Studio Tours in California and beyond, and launch two International Arts and Culture Tours in Spring and Fall 2026.
Your generosity powers everything we do.
As we prepare to expand our programs in 2026 from school murals to college courses to community exhibitions, we’re counting on supporters like you to keep these opportunities accessible, inclusive, and truly transformative.
A gift today helps us reach more students, amplify more stories, and build creative communities across the state. Every contribution fuels the next chapter of Saffron Arts & Culture.
As a reminder, all year-end gifts made before December 31 are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Intersection for the Arts, and directly support our 2026 programming.
If you’re able to make a year-end contribution, your support will have a real and immediate impact on the young people and artists we serve.
Click above for digital donation options. To donate by check, please make payable to “Intersection for the Arts” with “Saffron Communities Initiatives” in the memo line, and mail to:
1446 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94102, Attn: Willie Caldwell
Thank you for being part of the Saffron Communities family. Your partnership strengthens our community, and together we’ll turn the year ahead into a celebration of creativity and possibility.
Warmly,
Elaine, John, Mark, Evelyn, Lorna, Kelly, Kathleen, Bryan and Bill
The Saffron Communities Team