DCAT Programming - Coming Soon.

The Dallas Center for Arts & Technology (DCAT) is a planned multi-faceted neighborhood-based resource in southern Dallas that will:

• Immerse youth in the arts after school;

• Deliver living-wage workforce training to adults;

• Provide free childcare for children 0-5;

• Offer vital information and services to a community that otherwise have limited access to the opportunities these programs provide. 

• Advocate for a community on a personal and policy level

Why?

In southern Dallas, 36.3% of households and 41% of children are living in poverty. Over 50% of these households are single mothers. The median household income falls well below the overall Dallas County median household income of $50,270 and, in some areas, the median household income even falls below $20,000. The unemployment rate is more than triple that of Dallas county and less than 30 percent of students graduate from high school prepared for success in college and/or a career.  Our southern Dallas communities have consistently fought poverty for generations and are deserving of solutions that are permanent and life changing.

DCAT will work directly to change these statistics.  It will be more than a place for accessing education, employment and childcare - it’s goal is to uplift the neighborhood while simultaneously embracing the culture and values of the communities that live there.

Background

DCAT is a Social Venture Partners Dallas collective impact replication of the Manchester Bidwell Education Model, that was established in Pittsburgh in 1968 and has grown to become a nationally recognized model for disrupting poverty.  To date, it has been successfully replicated in eleven cities across the nation.  The National Center for Arts & Technology (NCAT) was established as a division of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, to support communities that seek to replicate the Manchester Bidwell model.  

While Manchester Bidwell replications vary from city to city, its replication always embodies the belief that a positive environment shapes lives and creatively fuels enterprise, so a beautifully designed, dedicated physical space is essential.  These spaces serve as a beacon for revitalization in the communities they serve.  

Coming to Dallas

Manchester Bidwell’s founder, Bill Strickland, came to speak at SVP Dallas’ annual conference bigBANG! in October 2015, introducing Dallas to the concept and benefits of a Center for Arts & Technology (CAT).  

Following Mr. Strickland’s visit, an SVP Dallas steering committee was formed, and a feasibility study was conducted to assess whether the Dallas community could open and sustain a Center for Arts & Technology.  The study determined that there was a need for this type of Center in Dallas.  It also determined that the Dallas market does have additional capacity for the types of programs that a CAT provides.  Southern Dallas was identified as an area that would support replication of the model.  When choosing a specific location, it was determined that the Center would ideally be in an identified RECAP area (Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty), with close access to public transportation/DART.

SVP Dallas serves as the fiscal sponsor and is incubating the DCAT replication. SVP Dallas has extensive experience in collective impact implementation having recently incubated and launched After8toEducate, a first-of-its-kind, public-private collaborative designed to provide housing, education support and social services to unsheltered high school students enrolled in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). Best practices learned from this implementation will inform SVP Dallas’ role in the planning and implementation of DCAT.