We’re Back!
Dear FX Community,
Over the summer, First Exposures’ relationship with our fiscal sponsor came to an end. Because a fiscal sponsor provides the support necessary for us to operate as a nonprofit, this transition meant we had to temporarily pause our programming while we worked to identify a new partner.
Today, we’re excited to say: We’re Back!
As of today, we can officially say that we have found a new fiscal sponsor and are excited to be back in action! We are thrilled to be partnering with Independent Arts & Media, a staple in the Bay Area arts community supporting nearly 400 organizations and projects for over the last 20 years. We are honored to have their partnership in supporting our mission and helping us grow the community that is behind what we do to serve our local youth.
BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP AT THIS CRITICAL MOMENT!
This summer's pause in operations didn’t just impact our programming; it also left us unable to run our annual Summer Campaign or do any other meaningful fundraising. That means we are entering this new year with a significant funding gap.
Thanks to generous members of our community, we have raised enough to restart classes with a shortened program this fall (more on this coming soon) and end the calendar year as we always do with Envision – our annual free community portrait event – in December.
But the future is in your hands! We need your help in reaching our goal of $50,000 by Nov. 1, 2026. This will go towards ensuring that, come spring, we can offer the same high-quality photography-based mentoring that we have been known for for the last 33 years.
When we say that this work would not be possible without the support of our donors and community partners, we literally mean it. Our “Scatter Light” Young Artists in Residency program, which recently held its capstone exhibition at Christie’s SF, is fully funded by a private donor. Their generosity and belief in our work allows us to offer an amazing program to emerging young artists in pursuit of advancing their skills and careers. Donations from individuals like them and you directly enable this type of experience to happen.
Your generosity will make a world of difference in ensuring the young people who come to us this year to develop their confidence and discover themselves through photography and mentoring are able to have that same transformational experience that so many youth who have walked through our doors before them have had.
We are super excited for this fresh start and can’t wait to say hi to our mentees, mentors, parents, partners, and more who make up our wonderful FX community!
Sincerely,
Erik, Rebeca, Larry, Jaime, and the FX Advisory Board
