For those unfamiliar, tell us a little about the Savvy Foundation and what it does?
Savvy Foundation is a 501(c)3 national non-profit organization with a vision to bring year round programming to children with an interest as well as who are gifted in the areas of music, arts, creative entrepreneurship and health and wellness. Our goal is to educate and provide opportunities for youth who would otherwise not realize the many possibilities their talent and drive opens them up to.
Our mission is to educate, inspire, and challenge individuals to reach their maximum potential while encouraging an attitude of service, compassion, and generosity. We will provide opportunities for our young people to gain practical knowledge, express themselves confidently, achieve their goals, make healthier lifestyle choices, and further serve their community. Because our primary focus is on educating our youth, we want to ensure that we offer as many opportunities as possible for them to excel.
Tell us about your background and why you created the foundation?
After being in the music industry for over a decade I decided to open a studio that gave me an opportunity to expand and work with undiscovered talent. The vision for Savvy Foundation began when I realized that the artists I was developing really needed to be educated on the industry of music and the basic rights they have as songwriters. It grew rapidly as many of my celebrity friends became aware and wanted to get involved.
When did the focus shift from solely music to encompass the other areas that you focus upon?
I was introduced to a series discussion brought by Andy Stanley to Buckhead Church called “What Breaks Your Heart.” The purpose was to identify in society something that affects you personally and that you want to see changed. I took that principal to the Foundation’s contributors, asking them what breaks their heart, what do they want changed in their society, and the platform of Savvy Foundation evolved. It no longer only focused on music, but now also arts, health and wellness and creative entrepreneurship.
In your opinion how important is technology in prepping our youth for the future?
Everything is advancing with technology in the world today. We believe in order for our youth to maintain a competitive edge and innovative mindset, they have to be prepared starting early in life. Due to the importance of the youth advancing with a constantly growing technology, we put together our Savvy Tech program taught by experts in the field that challenges our kids to excel in that area.
Savvy Foundation also leads by example. We are in development of a downloadable app that will cater to our national and international programming, events and community development.
What’s next for the Savvy Foundation?
Because the nonprofit has been successful and is so unique, Savvy Foundation has been invited by a number of city officials to duplicate our footprint and set up programming in cities across the U.S. Our organization is currently in talks of producing a line of events to help raise awareness and funds for our organization’s cause, operations and programming both nationally as well as internationally. After my last visit to Europe, I was directly exposed to the current conditions of the refugees and their attempts to get accommodated to their surrounds. We are presently in talks with one of our city partners about the development of an international exchange program with the refugees in Europe that will expose them to the culture through music, arts, health and wellness and creative entrepreneurship.
For more information on Savvy Foundation, please visit www.savvyfoundation.org.
