Letter From The Executive Director: January
How Do We Protect What's Working?
A new year invites reflection—and renewed commitment to bring our mission to life. Uncertainty has shaped the last few years but at We Care Arts, it hasn’t stopped the momentum we are building. Together we’ve grown beyond COVID-era survival.
- Our programs both on and off campus are growing (just 1 program’s initial 2025 data is showing a 16% increase).
- Our mission-driven staff is stronger and better trained (with over 80 hours of annual training!).
- Our community of supporters like you continue to grow (+20% in 2025). You are not just showing up but are also proactively helping us amplify our mission across our community.
And yet, I would be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge at the start of this new year that we are standing at a delicate moment: closer than ever to long-term stability, but not quite there yet. When the need keeps rising and the margins stay thin, progress can feel both thrilling and fragile.
So, as we step into 2026, one strategic question rises early and clearly:
How do we protect what’s working before uncertainty becomes disruption again?
In 2025, Montgomery County voters renewed the local levy that supports behavioral health and developmental disability services which is a meaningful sign of community commitment. At the same time, that renewal held funding at 2019 levels, while the cost of doing business and the needs in our community have continued to grow. Both ADAMHS and Montgomery County DODD faced significant governmental financial strain, creating real uncertainty and often limiting services for providers like We Care Arts across the region.
Meanwhile, demand has not slowed.
Last year alone, We Care Arts provided tens of thousands of hours of arts programming free to the participants across the Greater Miami Valley, many of whom would otherwise have no access at all. Despite the uncertainty, our classrooms are filling. Our staff has grown but so has the responsibility they carry. This tension between expanding impact and unstable resources is not unique to us.
As Behavioral Health News shared, “2025 has been a year full of uncertainty…
We are at a pivotal inflection point: profound need, … and a policy environment in flux.”
That word, inflection point, matters. Because inflection points can bend toward access and equity or toward cuts, closures, and widening gaps.
Here’s the hopeful truth: We are close.
- Close to stability.
- Close to sustainability.
- Close to a future where inclusive arts programming remains available to adults living with developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, and mental health diagnoses, designed to help empower their healing and build community.
What bridges that final gap isn’t just the one-time large gift. Instead, it is recurring consistency.
- $10/month — Create
Art supplies that turn uncertainty into expression. - $25/month — Belong
A supported seat in a class where routine, dignity, and community matter. - $50/month — Sustain
Steady staffing and programs that don’t pause when funding fluctuates. - $100/month — Anchor
A stabilizing force that allows We Care Arts to plan forward with confidence.
You don’t need to change your priorities.
You don’t need to stretch beyond what feels right and is meaningful to you.
You just need to choose steadiness—because steadiness sustains impact.
With consistent monthly support,
2026 can be the year We Care Arts moves from “almost there” to truly secure.
So today I want to invite you to:
👉 and help ensure We Care Arts continues to grow, serve, and stand strong together for the artist-clients who count on us.
Together, we care.
Together, we keep going.
So, how do we protect what’s working before uncertainty becomes disruption again?
For many folks like you, the answer begins simply and sustainably: steady, monthly support.
As I shared above, a new year invites reflection and renewed commitment. With hope as our guide and momentum on our side, I can’t wait to see what the months ahead bring as we create, build belonging, sustain progress, and anchor our future together.
Happy New Year from all of us at We Care Arts.
Katie Neubert
Executive Director
