Portland Child Art Studio

What it reported doing in 2025

The Portland Child Art Studio (PCAS) Educational Program supports the perceptual development of children ages 3-14 through artistic learning. Our educational program is also committed to increasing equitable access to quality arts education by providing full scholarships to underserved families. 2025 was our fourteenth consecutive year of operation, offering classes for preschool, after-school, and homeschooled children as well as focused art clubs, free art workshops, and art-based group events. PCAS classes offer children the opportunity to experience an immersive art environment, learning about and working with a wide range of mediums including illustration, painting, plaster, ceramics, paper-mache, recycled sculpture, printmaking, and more. PCAS is a process-based child art studio focused upon the unique experience of making art for each individual child and using pedagogical research inspired by the work of Rhoda Kellogg. In 2021, PCAS relocated to a new studio space at the base of a low-income housing building in downtown/NW Portland, known as the Vibrant building. This move positioned PCAS to make a real impact in increasing equitable access to quality art education and enrichment. Since our inception in 2012, PCAS has provided 39,141 art experiences and 256 full scholarships, as well as countless partial scholarships through sliding scale options. In 2025 alone, PCAS provided 18 full scholarships and 3,282 art experiences to kids through classes, workshops, and group events. This number includes the 450 free art class experiences provided to kids specifically from the Vibrant building in which we are located, a low-income housing building that provides housing for families experiencing homelessness. PCAS has worked continuously in collaboration with Vibrant staff to establish a permanent and expansive art program for kids living in the Vibrant and the surrounding low-income housing buildings. PCAS also celebrates children's art in our community by maintaining an exhibition gallery window, visible from the street to all passerby and regularly features specific pieces made by children in the neighborhood.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.7%; rating input score 87
• Program expense ratio: 90.3%; rating input score 90

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 32.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings