Raise The Bar & Mat Bevel Company: Supporting Quality Youth STEAM Programming For Rural Communities.
The Raise the Bar Team who supports Mat Bevel Company’s work and youth programming for rural communities.
In 2009, Jennifer Tersigni founded her company Raise the Bar Consulting to provide support for nonprofits that are doing great work in communities. The company offers growth and transformation strategies to help organizations thrive through three core areas of support: fundraising and revenue growth, organizational development, and transitional leadership solutions.
This year Raise the Bar Consulting was the first to donate on June 1 during Mat Bevel Company’s (MBC) ‘Plant The Seed’ fundraising campaign. Founder and CEO Jennifer Tersigni says, “I was inspired to support Mat Bevel Company’s STEAM world-building program called The Universe Within this year because it’s benefiting youth in the rural communities of Santa Cruz County. Growing up in a rural area myself, I understand the challenges faced in America’s rural communities firsthand. In fact, my childhood is one of the transformative experiences that led me to work in and for the nonprofit sector.”
Jennifer has long supported MBC’s vision to build cultural enrichment and opportunities for youth through arts and science education, not just because it’s needed, but because she believes what the nonprofit offers is extraordinary and visionary. She explains, “Their work inspires children (and adults) and creates a sense of awe and wonder, like a spark that lights the creative fire.”
Jennifer has been a fan of MBC Founder Ned Schaper’s work dating back close to 25 years. At the old Mat Bevel Institute, she witnessed people of all ages and stages of life being inspired. The property offered a format of art that was mesmerizing, the kind few people had ever seen. Jennifer adds, “Folks would leave the shows and talk for days about their experience. It was amazing.”
When the Mat Bevel Institute building was torn down in the mid 1990s, she never imagined that someday MBC would purchase its own property, and that the nonprofit would also open a satellite location in rural Patagonia, AZ.
Jennifer says, “Few artists and innovators make such a move, truly offering access to those who might not have it otherwise. What an incredible gift to Patagonia and Santa Cruz County to have access to such creative programming, usually reserved for urban centers. I was once again inspired by MBC’s transformation to build something bold, visionary, and new. I decided to make a sponsorship gift to support MBC’s vision of providing cultural enrichment and opportunities for youth through arts and science education, especially in underserved rural communities.”
Jennifer believes that every child, regardless of their background, deserves access to transformative experiences that inspire creativity, critical thinking, and resilience.
Raise the Bar Consulting, much like MBC, has planted many seeds over the years that have led to significant growth and opportunities for youth, families, and communities. Its current and past work with noteworthy partners like LPKNC, SARSEF, Arizona Youth Partnership, Institute for Better Education, Literacy Connects, Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, Beads of Courage, and many others have allowed them to be a small thread in the tapestry of support for the arts, science education, and youth development.
Jennifer says, “As we celebrate our 15th anniversary and expand our work with schools, we are excited about new ways we plan to partner to support youth, arts, and education—nurturing hope, instilling confidence, and fostering a sense of belonging that will last for generations. The opportunity to philanthropically support organizations like MBC feels good, builds dreams, enriches lives, and helps others. After all, it wasn’t that long ago when some of us were those very kids in a rural town where someone else did the same for us. Now, it’s our turn to pay it forward.”
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT JENNIFER AND RAISE THE BAR CONSULTING!