What is Youth in Business?

Youth in Business (YiB) is a program at Jubilee Arts that cultivates the entrepreneurial leadership skills of high school aged youth by providing hands on experience operating an art-based business. Through the Youth in Business design collective, youth learn how to run a successful business as a team, selling high quality art products to achieve cooperative financial sustainability for youth owners. Youth are supported in leadership development within the program in addition to career and higher education planning.

 

What are our core values?

Commitment to programming that focuses on:

  • Cooperative economic empowerment
  • Personal and professional identity development
  • Youth voice

 

Who can participate in YiB?

High schoolers living in west Baltimore. Priority given to high schoolers in Druid Heights, Upton, Sandtown.

 

What art-making processes do we use to create our products?

Design — Youth work collaboratively in small teams to create designs. We learn graphic design on programs like Adobe Suite, industrial production and screen printing and ceramic techniques. We do a lot of production by hand (canvas tote bags, ornaments) but have had to outsource our designs on t-shirts because we don’t have the facility to do bulk orders yet.

Ceramics — Youth learn ceramics skills and create products such as mosaic flower pots, decorated mirrors, house address signs, clay mugs, bowls, plates, and ornaments.

Business — Youth learn professional workforce and leadership skills such as Myers Briggs personality styles, marketing, communication, networking, cooperative economic theory, sales strategy, budgets, inventory management and financial literacy. Youth owners are mentored through the process of creating concepts for designs, setting prices, booking events to sell their products and negotiating as a collective how to divide the profits and reinvest in their business.

 

What happens to money earned from sales?

Youth run the business so 100% of revenue goes back to us. We have collectively decided how much we invest back into our business to cover supplies and how much we take for our pay. Profits are split evenly among the group. Youth also make a monthly stipend that is funded through grant money.

 

Who supports YiB?

Funders:

  • Urban Children Foundation
  • MICA Office of Community Engagement
  • Youth As Resources
  • Family League of Baltimore
  • Baltimore Community Foundation
  • Presbytery of Batlimore (Self-Development of People)
  • Gutierrez Memorial Fund
  • Community Development Block Grant​

 

Community Partners:

  • Baltimore Office Promotion and the Arts
  • Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
  • MICA Place
  • Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
  • Greater Baltimore Urban League
  • Woodberry Crossing
  • Hoyt Cinema
  • HIBRED Workforce Solutions
  • Baltimore Youth Organizing Project
  • No Boundaries Coalition
  • American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
  • Towson University
  • Walters Art Museum
  • Open Works
  • Coppin State
  • Beltway 6 Movie
  • Reservoir Hill Improvement Council
  • St. Peter Calver Church
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)