Diversity Statement

Providing an open and welcoming environment for everyone

Founded in 1975 at the request of Mayor Tom Bradley in celebration of the Bi-centennial, the Valley Cultural Foundation was established to provide free musical programs in the West San Fernando Valley.  In 2015, after almost 40 years of commitment and dedication to our community, we knew it was time for a reevaluation of whom we were actually serving within our community.

We came to the conclusion that though our free programs were a significant part of our community they were only catering to one demographic and no longer aligning with our vision for the organization. In order to continue our positive impact on the San Fernando Valley, we needed to take our changing and growing communities into consideration for all future events.

Our free community programs are not only the core of our organization but our vision for the future.  It is important for us to ensure that the programs we share with our audience resonate with more than a single demographic.  We want to encourage a diverse audience to come together and be part of an experience. 

It is our belief that the programs we create now will encourage an increase in representation of different demographics within the organization and community, leading to a larger impact in the San Fernando Valley overall.

It is our belief that the programs we create now will encourage an increase in representation of different demographics within the organization and community, leading to a larger impact in the San Fernando Valley overall. Our goal is to include all walks of life in our programs and diversity across all races, religions, cultures, ages, socioeconomic levels and more in our audience. It is the mission of the Valley Cultural Foundation to support live entertainment programs and events in the arts, embracing cultural diversity of talent, community, business, and education.

As one of the largest community leaders in the arts, it is our goal to diversify attendance at our events, which will be done in two (2) ways. The first will be to lower the age demographics of attendees and second is to moderately change the ethnic composition that makes up our audience. These changes will result in transforming the organization to be in step with the community.

To achieve these goals, we will provide an open and welcoming environment not only for artists but for staff and board members as well. Our hope is to give a voice to all those who have yet to be heard within the entertainment industry while encouraging increased participation within the community and younger generations.

Ultimately, it is VCF’s goal to provide an umbrella for diverse programming throughout the community. We plan on doing so by including original artists, Emerging Artists, Arts education support and funding, and providing stronger community engagement, all commingled underneath one dedicated organization.  We want our Diversity Statement and policy to bring about a positive change to the organization, and we look forward to sharing what we have learned.