FIREBIRD COMMUNITY ARTS
Forging the Future
The Campaign to Build Firebird’s New Campus and Expand Art, Healing, and Opportunity.
We invite partners to invest in capital expansion, program growth, and the infrastructure required for measurable, long-term impact.
Firebird Community Arts is building a permanent home in East Garfield Park, and we need partners to help bring our new campus fully to life. Firebird has successfully raised $11 million toward its $20 million Forging the Future campaign. To fully operationalize the new facility, responsibly scale programming, and ensure long-term financial sustainability, we plan to raise an additional $9 million to realize Firebird's vision.
Construction has begun on our new 12,500-square-foot building, which will expand Firebird’s ability to serve young people who have experienced trauma, violence, and systemic inequity. With your support, this campus will become a center where art fosters healing, builds life and workforce skills, and opens pathways to opportunity.
We are deeply grateful for early investments from individual supporters, foundations and partners, including a $2.5 million Chicago Recovery Grant and generous support from the Chicago Community Trust and the City of Chicago.
But we still have critical funding to raise to fully realize the promise of this campus and the programs it will sustain.
Our History
For more than three decades, Firebird has stood alongside Black and Latino youth and young adults ages 14–20, offering a safe place to create, reflect, and build new possibilities through glassblowing and ceramics. Through healing-centered artmaking, trauma-informed support, and mentorship, participants develop confidence, communication skills, workforce readiness, and a strong sense of community.
The new campus will allow this work to grow, reaching more young people and strengthening programs that transform lived experience into resilience, creative skill, and meaningful futures
$11 million
of $20 million, raised to date.
We Are Grateful for Early Support From
Chicago Recovery Grant
Chicago Community Trust
City of Chicago
What Makes This Campaign Possible
A campus built for healing, creativity, and lasting change.
01.
More young people will have access to trusted mentors and restorative artmaking that supports healing and personal growth.
02.
Partnerships with community organizations will expand, connecting participants to more holistic pathways to wellness.
03.
Programs will strengthen through trauma-informed practices and thoughtful evaluation, ensuring lasting impact.
04.
As a vibrant creative hub, Firebird will generate earned revenue and sustain its mission through expanded programming and community space.
Join Us in Bringing This Vision to Life
Studios, gathering spaces, and community.
Every element of the campus, from studios to gathering spaces and gardens, has been intentionally designed to foster creativity, connection, and belonging. This next chapter is being made possible by a growing community of donors and partners — and we invite you to join them in bringing this vision fully to life.
Together, we can ensure that the transformative power of art continues to open doors for young people, affirming the promise that trauma does not determine destiny, and that every young person has the power to define their own future.
To learn more about how you can support Firebird’s mission, please contact Tasha Levy, Executive Director, at tasha@firebirdcommunityarts.org.
Help forge the future for art and healing in Chicago.
We still have critical funding to raise to fully realize the promise of this campus and the programs it will sustain. Every investment shapes what's possible.