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Act One
Phoenix, AZ · EIN 453560706 · Form 990 · FY2021 · NTEE A25 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Medium ($1M-$10M) · act1az.org
revenue
$1.4M
expenses
$961K
net assets
$1.3M
employees
11
volunteers
12
program ratio
61%
mission · from form 990

To provide meaningful art experiences that enhance the academic and creative potential of children and families in Arizona.

profile · synthesized from sources

Act One provides access to arts and cultural institutions in Arizona for students, retirees, and under-resourced families. The organization partners with public and academic libraries statewide to offer free passes to museums and cultural venues through its Culture Pass program.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2021

what they reported doing

Program narrative the organization filed with the IRS. Ordered by program spending.

  1. #1 primary $266K
  2. #2 $36K
named programs · 1 · from sources

what they call their work

Culture Pass
Provides free passes to arts and cultural institutions in Arizona for library cardholders, targeting students, retirees, and under-resourced families.
activities · 5 groups

what they do

  • Library-Based Cultural Access Pass Program 4 activities
    • Culture Pass Program
      Provides free access to arts and cultural institutions and performances in Arizona for library cardholders, including students, retirees, and under-resourced families. The program offers over 600,000 free passes annually through partnerships with nearly 200 public and academic libraries statewide, primarily in Maricopa, Pima, and Cochise counties.
    • Culture Pass Program
      Provides access to arts and cultural institutions in Arizona for students, retirees, and under-resourced families through its Culture Pass program, offering over 600,000 free passes annually through partnerships with nearly 200 public and academic libraries statewide.
    • Operate the Culture Pass Program
      Provides free admission to arts and cultural institutions and performances for library cardholders in Arizona, including students, retirees, and under-resourced families. This program offers hundreds of thousands of passes annually through partnerships with public and academic libraries statewide, specifically in Cochise, Maricopa, and Pima counties.
    • Operate the Culture Pass Program
      Provides free access to arts and cultural institutions and performances in Arizona for library cardholders, including students, retirees, and under-resourced families. This program offers hundreds of thousands of free passes annually through partnerships with public and academic libraries statewide, particularly in Maricopa, Pima, and Cochise counties.
  • Educational Resource Provision 4 activities
    • Develop Educational Resources for Arts Experiences
      Creates and distributes educational materials to supplement and enrich arts experiences, including curriculum extensions for VR programs, activity books, field trip preparation guides, and checklists for teachers.
    • Educational Resource Development for Arts Experiences
      Develops and provides educational resources to supplement and enrich arts experiences, including activity books, coloring books, field trip preparation guides, checklists for teachers, and photo/video release forms in English and Spanish.
    • Field Trip Preparation Resources
      Provides various resources for teachers to prepare students for field trips, including a Field Trip Preparation Guide, Checklist, and photo/video release forms in English and Spanish.
    • Offer Educational Resources for Arts Experiences
      Develops and provides various educational materials to supplement and enrich arts experiences, including field trip preparation guides, checklists for teachers, and photo/video release forms in multiple languages.
  • Youth Internship Placement 4 activities
    • Internship Opportunities
      Offers internship opportunities for students enrolled in accredited universities and residing in the Tucson or Phoenix area.
    • Offer University Internships
      Provides internship opportunities for students enrolled in accredited universities who reside in the Tucson or Phoenix area.
    • Provide Internship Opportunities
      Offers internship opportunities for students enrolled in accredited universities and residing in the Tucson or Phoenix area.
    • University Internship Program
      Offers internship opportunities for students enrolled in accredited universities and residing in the Tucson or Phoenix area, providing practical experience within the organization.
  • Youth and Community Transportation Services 1 activity
    • Transportation Support for Field Trips
      Books and pays for charter transportation for groups attending field trips and reimburses schools for the cost of transportation to and from field trips.
  • Uncategorized 15 activities
    • Act One Ambassadors Program
      Operates the Act One Ambassadors Program, engaging educators across Arizona to promote Act One's programs to other educators, students, and the broader community. This includes an Ambassadors Teacher Advisory Board that advises its programs.
    • Act One Ambassadors Program
      Operates the Act One Ambassadors Program with educators across Arizona who promote Act One's programs to educators, students, and the broader community.
    • Act One Ambassadors Teacher Advisory Board
      Operates the Act One Ambassadors Teacher Advisory Board to advise its programs.
    • Arts Immersion™ VR Experiences
      Offers two Arts Immersions™ VR experiences: "Freedom of Expression" and "Weaving Our Story," which include interactive elements and educational materials for students.
    • Facilitate Arts Field Trips for Title I Schools
      Provides free arts experiences to students from Title I schools in the Phoenix and Tucson regions by organizing and funding field trips to live dance, music, theater, and museums. This includes covering admission costs, booking and paying for charter transportation, or reimbursing schools for transportation expenses.
    • Facilitate Arts Field Trips for Title I Schools
      Provides free arts experiences to students from Title I schools in the Phoenix and Tucson regions by organizing and funding field trips to live dance, music, theater, and museums. This includes covering admission costs, booking and paying for charter transportation, or reimbursing schools for transportation expenses.
    • Field Trip Support for Title I Schools
      Provides educational arts field trips for Title I schools, covering admission and transportation costs, and has provided hundreds of thousands of students access to live dance, music, theater, and museums in Phoenix and Tucson for almost 15 years.
    • Provide Virtual Reality Arts Immersion Experiences
      Offers on-site virtual reality field trips, known as Arts Immersions™, to Title I students, bringing custom cases with VR headsets and Wi-Fi hotspots. These 60-minute experiences, such as "Freedom in Expression" and "Weaving Our Story," explore Indigenous artistic practices, public art, and cultural heritage, facilitated by VR Specialists and supported by digital curriculum extensions and activity books.
    • Provide Virtual Reality Arts Immersion Experiences
      Offers traveling Virtual Reality Arts Immersion™ field trips, such as "Freedom in Expression" and "Weaving Our Story," to Title I schools. These experiences bring custom cases with VR headsets and Wi-Fi hotspots, facilitated by VR Specialists, to provide interactive arts education exploring Indigenous artistic practices, public art, and cultural heritage. Digital supporting materials and curriculum extensions are also provided.
    • Run the Act One Ambassadors Program
      Operates a program with educators across Arizona who promote Act One's programs to other educators, students, and the broader community, and advises its programs through the Act One Ambassadors Teacher Advisory Board.
    • Run the Act One Ambassadors Program
      Operates the Act One Ambassadors Program, engaging educators across Arizona to promote Act One's programs to other educators, students, and the broader community. This includes an Ambassadors Teacher Advisory Board to guide program development.
    • Subsidized Arts Field Trips for Title I Schools
      Provides free or heavily subsidized arts experiences, including live dance, music, theater, and museum visits, for students from Title I schools in the Phoenix and Tucson regions of Arizona. The program covers admission fees, and books or reimburses the cost of charter or district transportation.
    • Traveling Virtual Reality Arts Immersion™ Field Trip
      Offers a traveling Virtual Reality Arts Immersion™ field trip as an alternative to in-person field trips, accommodating up to 45 individuals per class and four groups per day.
    • Virtual Reality Arts Immersion Program
      Operates a traveling Virtual Reality Arts Immersion™ program that brings custom cases with VR headsets and Wi-Fi hotspots to Title I schools. The program offers 60-minute VR experiences, such as "Freedom in Expression" and "Weaving Our Story," which explore Indigenous artistic practices, public art, and cultural heritage, facilitated by VR Specialists. Digital supporting materials and curriculum extensions are provided to enhance the educational experience.
    • Virtual Reality Field Trips
      Combines technology and arts for virtual reality field trips, with Season 2 exploring Indigenous artistic practices.
financials · form 990 · fy2021
revenue
Total revenue$1.43M
Contributions & grants$1.41M99%
Program service revenue$11K1%
Investment income$10K1%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$961K
Program expenses61%
Admin / overhead20%
Fundraising19%
Salaries & benefits$435K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.56M
Cash$626K
Investments$0
Liabilities$286K
Net assets$1.27M
Liquid reserves7.8 mo
3 years on record · 2019–2021 · YoY revenue +55.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2021

who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
Bernadette Carroll Executive Director 40 $121K
board members · 11
  • Al Priem — Treasurer
  • Chris Houk — Board Member
  • Christina Burroughs — Chair
  • Frances Grossman — Board Member
  • Hilary Smedsrud — Vice Chair
  • John Clifford — Board Member
  • Judy McDermott — Board Member
  • Mac Perlich — Secretary
  • Priscilla Marquez — Board Member
  • Russ Perlich — Board Member
  • Shoshana Tancer — Board Member
relationships · 52

who they work with

  • 40 Arizona arts and cultural institutions Partner — Collaborates with over 40 arts and cultural institutions to offer Culture Passes.
  • Amerind Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Arcosanti Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Arizona Department of Education Partner — Source for tracking Title I data.
  • Arizona Heritage Center Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Arizona Opera Partner — Partnering performing arts group for field trips.
  • Arizona Theatre Company Partner — Partnering performing arts group for field trips.
  • Arizona libraries Partner — Partners with nearly 200 Arizona libraries to provide the Culture Pass program.
  • Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Cave Creek Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Chandler Center for the Arts Partner — Provides performance passes available at participating libraries.
  • Children's Museum Tucson Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Children's Museum of Yuma County Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Cochise County Libraries Partner — Partners with Cochise County Libraries to offer Culture Passes.
  • Cosanti Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Desert Botanical Garden Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Desert Caballeros Western Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Dr. Beth Maloney Government — Executive Director of Act One, primary contact for board membership, pro-bono services, and internships.
  • Gilbert Historical Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Live Theatre Workshop Partner — Listed as an arts partner offering dance, music, and theater programs.
  • Lowell Observatory Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • MOCA Tucson Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • Madison Center for the Arts Partner — Provides performance passes available at participating libraries.
  • Madison Center for the Arts Partner — Students from Title I schools are taken on field trips to this center.
  • Museum of Northern Arizona Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
  • National Center for Education Statistics Partner — Source for tracking Title I data.
  • National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Received a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
  • Phippen Museum Partner — Featured as a January 2026 Arts + Culture Spotlight partner.
  • Phoenix Art Museum Partner — Cultural institution accessible via Act One's Culture Pass.
+ 22 more