What are you investing in at Chris Babcock Art Prep?
For each student passionate about developing their skills in our custom art lessons, we cultivate more than just technique and attention to detail. We nurture a mindset of courageous curiosity and resilient imagination, both key skills needed to problem-solve and thrive in an ever-changing world. With our guidance, our art students have gone on to become successful surgeons, research scientists, archeologists, art therapists, business entrepreneurs, fashion designers and conservators of fine art paintings.
For those ready to turn their talent and passion into an outstanding portfolio, we offer our Portfolio Building Program which provides the intensive and specialized training needed to build art portfolios for admission into renowned high schools and colleges.
With our guidance, our art students have gained acceptance into
SOTA (Ruth Asawa High School of the Arts)
Urban
Lick Wilmerding
University High School
The Bay School
Sacred Heart-Convent High School
RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)
Brown University
Parsons
Pratt Institute
The Art institute of Chicago
University Arts London (Central St. Martins)
University of Edinburgh
American University of Paris
Oberlin College
Wesleyan University
Swarthmore College
Middlebury College
University of Michigan
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
University of Virginia
Courtauld Institute of Art
Chris Babcock Art Prep Sponsorship Options:
One Month Scholarship Sponsor— $275
What you are investing in: funds 4 weeks of After School Art Lessons for 1 talented, under-resourced student.
Teacher Sponsor— $500
What you are investing in: funding for 1 week of a teacher’s pay to keep the student to teacher ratio low allowing our students the individualised attention they need to grow and thrive in their art practice.
Toxin-Free Paint Sponsor—$1000
What you are investing in: pays for 10 sets of Natural Earth Acrylic Paints (95.00 per set) so our students can paint without breathing in formaldehyde and lead fumes that can lead to Lung Cancer. Chris Babcock Art Prep offers their students the opportunity to work with the only brand of paints that have zero toxins. All other acrylic paints claiming to be toxic free still have 10% harmful formaldehyde and lead in each tube due to a loop-hole the law that allows for The "Trace Amount" Exception.
Under Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, companies can claim a product is "VOC-free" or "emission-free" even if it contains hazardous substances, provided they are at "trace levels".
Formaldehyde: It is often a byproduct of preservatives used to prevent spoilage in water-based paints. Because it isn't "intentionally added" as a primary ingredient, is not be listed.
Lead Thresholds: Federal law (16 CFR Part 1303) bans paint containing more than 0.009% (90 ppm) lead. Any amount below this 90 ppm limit is legally considered negligible, allowing products with "trace" lead to be sold.
After School Scholarship Sponsor — $2,500
What you are investing in: Funds 1 scholarship for a once a week after‑school art lesson for 10 months for 1 talented under resourced student with outstanding potential in the visual arts.
Summer Art Camp Scholarship Sponsor — $4,000
What you are investing in: Funds 5 week summer camp scholarship for 1 talented under resourced student with outstanding potential in the visual arts.
Outreach to Under Resourced Middle School Artists Sponsor — $8,500
What you are investing in: Funds support community outreach work to recruit underserved students in San Francisco’s middle schools with great potential in the visual arts.
Portfolio Building Mentorship Sponsor — $12,000
What you are investing in: Funds 3 months of Chris Babcock’s compensation pay to mentor students in our Portfolio Building Program that secure acceptance at their number 1 choice of private high schools and Ruth Asawa School of The Arts. SOTA is a coveted public arts magnet high school with rigorous academics, 3 hours a day art classes, and an exceptionally challenging audition process that accepts only artists whose number 1 dream school is SOTA and have created the very best audition assignments. There is only an 8% acceptance rate at SOTA’s visual arts program. Since the Portfolio Building Program began in 2022, CBAP has helped secure acceptance for all of their students who applied to Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and their number 1 private high school choice.
Portfolio Building Scholarship Sponsor — $21,000
What your investing in: 2026-27 school year scholarship fund that will support four under-resourced talented passionate students in a focused portfolio-building cohort. Each student will receive personalized guidance from September 15, 2026 to June 15, 2027 from Chris Babcock, founder and lead instructor, to develop an outstanding art portfolio aimed at gaining acceptance to Ruth Asawa School of the Arts or their top-choice of private high school with an exceptional visual arts program.
Art Instruction Sponsor — $25,000
What you are investing in: Funds compensation pay of one California College of the Arts Graduate with five years experience teaching in the Growth Mindset style of weaving and painting techniques to children and adults.
Operations Assistant Sponsor: $36,000
What you’re investing in: Funds a part-time Operations Assistant (20 hrs/week at $30/hr) to handle billing, scheduling, and administrative tasks, freeing founder Chris Babcock to focus fully on recruiting and providing elite mentorship to our under-resourced teen artists.
How we measure impact
Attendance and retention rates
Progress in technical skills and portfolio development
Student self‑reports on confidence and emotional safety
Stories and artwork shared in annual reports and donor impact summaries
Next steps
Choose a level or tell us your interest and we’ll build a custom package with recognition and reporting that fits your goals.
We’ll send an impact proposal with timelines, expected outcomes, and sample student work from programs your gift will support.
Photo above is CA State Treasurer Fiona Ma, founder Chris Babcock at Fiona’s second fundraiser; an Evening of Weaving and Collaging to support Chris Babcock Art Prep’s mission . To read all the details, click on mission statement.
Massive Kudos to Max C. (first row of drawings above) — her three strong drawings and great audition earned her a spot in SOTA’s Fall 2026 Visual Arts Program which has a 18 % acceptance rate. Max’s work is confident and curious: bold contours, thoughtful shading, and selective detail create clear focal points. She balances space and texture so each piece breathes. Together they reveal a playful, disciplined visual voice and the technical skill that will help her thrive at SOTA.