named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Community Engagement Tea
Collaborative tea and arts programming held in NYC community gardens, featuring poetry, paper-making, storytelling, and traditional arts to foster community connection and mindfulness.
Golden Tea
Multi-sensory tea experiences for seniors designed to encourage connection, conversation, storytelling, and intergenerational learning.
Mentorship Program
Training program for NYC GreenThumb community gardeners to learn and share tea practices within their local communities.
Nature Tea
Seasonal public events in NYC green spaces that bring people together through tea, arts, and music to celebrate nature and diverse cultures.
Odes to Common Things
Community art initiative integrating poetry, music, paper-making, and other arts into tea programming, inspired by Pablo Neruda and aimed at exploring shared human experiences.
activities · 6 groups
What they do
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Community-Engaged Public Art Projects 2 activities
- Facilitates community tea events in collaboration with community gardensProvides creative arts and tea programming in partner community gardens across New York City through collaboration with NYC Parks GreenThumb, including poetry, paper-making, and storytelling activities to promote creativity, mindfulness, and cross-cultural connections.
- Features artists and cultural contributors onlineHighlights individual artists through spotlight profiles on its website, contributing to cultural engagement and visibility for creative practitioners.
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Hosts seasonal tea experiences in natural and public settingsOrganizes recurring seasonal tea events (spring, summer, autumn, winter) in NYC public green spaces and natural settings to bring together diverse communities through tea, arts, music, and mindfulness. These events are part of ongoing programming and have been held annually, including in 2023 and 2024.
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Senior Social & Enrichment Programming 1 activity
- Provides tea and arts programming for older adults in senior centersDelivers curated multi-sensory tea experiences to older adults in senior centers, designed to foster connection, conversation, storytelling, and shared learning through tea, mindfulness, and creative expression.
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Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
- Supports community artists through art initiatives and exhibitionsRuns the "Odes to Common Things" community art initiative, collaborating with artists and collectives to explore shared human experiences through art, and curates traveling exhibitions in diverse spaces to foster interdisciplinary connections and reflection.
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Horticultural Education and Community Gardening 1 activity
- Trains community gardeners in tea practices for community engagementOffers mentorship training for community gardeners, particularly through NYC GreenThumbs, to equip them with tea practices that facilitate community gatherings. Has trained three cohorts of 8–10 mentees.
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Uncategorized 3 activities
- Conducts research on tea history and cultural traditionsDocuments and presents historical and cultural research on tea, including 11th-century references to tea in Persia and the evolution of tea practices in regions such as Morocco and Germany.
- Offers public cultural and educational tea programsHosts experiential sessions exploring regional tea traditions (e.g., East Frisian tea customs, Moroccan green tea evolution), shares personal and historical narratives around specific teas, and presents educational content on tea history and cultural significance through public events and online features.
- Provides curated tea experiences for private and corporate eventsOffers tailored tea experiences for private events, conferences, and business meetings, extending its cultural programming to non-public settings.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$107K
Contributions & grants$51K47%
Program service revenue$44K41%
Investment income$1740%
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$105K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits—
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$36K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$33K
2 years on record · 2024–2025 · YoY revenue +76.2%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
paid leadership · 2
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| WENTING ZHANG | DIRECTOR/OFF | 32 | $19K |
| EDUARD BOGUSLAVSKY | DIRECTOR | 4 | $100 |
board members · 4
- ANNE PY — DIRECTOR
- ERIKA HOULE — DIRECTOR
- RENA TUCKER — DIRECTOR
- ROBIN LAMPMAN — DIRECTOR
relationships · 33
Who they work with
- 6/15 Green Community Garden Partner — Host site for tea and arts events in Brooklyn.
- 61 Franklin St Community Garden Partner — Host site for tea sharing events in Brooklyn.
- Ben Schultz Partner — Hosted an experiential session on East Frisian tea traditions.
- Bernadette Cay Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- Brookfield Place New York Partner — Collaborates on event photography and programming, as evidenced by credited photo content.
- Brooklyn Community Service Partner — Partner organization involved in implementing the Golden Tea program.
- East New York Farms Partner — Host site for tea sharing and arts programming in Brooklyn.
- East Side Outside Community Garden Partner — Host site for ikebana and collective arts events in Manhattan.
- Eduard Boguslavsky Partner — Contributed a story on the relationship between elephants and tea cultivation in a jungle community.
- Fifa Atef Partner — Authored a personal essay on the coexistence of coffee and tea in Yemeni culture.
- Friends of Brook Park Partner — Host site for nature and tea programming in the Bronx.
- Hamilton Madison House Partner — Collaborates on hosting Golden Tea sessions for seniors.
- Hill St Community Garden Partner — Host site for community poetry and tea events in Staten Island.
- Immigrant Social Services Partner — Partner organization involved in implementing the Golden Tea program.
- Ines Sun Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- Kristina Bajunaishvili Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- La Finca Del Sur South Bronx Farmers Partner — Host site for ikebana and tea workshops in the South Bronx.
- Maggie's Magic Garden Partner — Host site for community tea and poetry events in East Harlem.
- Maker Space Partner — Host site for raku, haiku, and tea events in Staten Island.
- Michele Brody Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- NYC GreenThumb Partner — Collaborates with NYC GreenThumb to train community gardeners in tea practices for community engagement.
- NYC Parks GreenThumb Partner — Collaborates with TEA ARTS AND CULTURE INC to deliver creative arts and tea programming in community gardens across NYC.
- New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Public funder supporting the Odes to Common Things program in partnership with the City Council
- PSS Parkside Center Partner — Partner organization involved in implementing the Golden Tea program.
- Pablo Neruda Partner — Artistic inspiration drawn from Pablo Neruda's Ode to Common Things, particularly his celebration of tea and everyday objects.
- R.A.I.N. Partner — Partner organization involved in implementing the Golden Tea program.
- Serena Stucke Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- TETSU COLLECTIVE Partner — Featured artistic group in a spotlight profile
- Yuko Nishikawa Partner — Featured artist in a spotlight profile
- artists Partner — Collaborates with artists on programs and events.
+ 3 more
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Arts-Integrated Experiential Learningmethodology: arts-integrationBy integrating poetry, personal narrative, and regional cultural traditions into tea programming, the organization deepens engagement and appreciation for everyday experiences because multi-sensory, story-driven immersion makes abstract cultural values tangible and personally meaningful.
- Cultural Practice as a Vehicle for Social Activation and Common Groundmethodology: cultural-practice-as-common-groundBy embedding tea-centered arts and rituals in community spaces, the organization cultivates social connection, intergenerational storytelling, and activism because shared cultural practices serve as accessible, unifying experiences that highlight everyday significance and inspire collective action.
- Tea Ritual as a Framework for Connection and Resiliencemethodology: tea-as-ritual-for-mindfulness-and-connectionBy using tea as a shared ritual practice, the organization fosters mindfulness, interpersonal connection, and community resilience because the intentional, sensory-rich experience creates space for emotional grounding and mutual support in response to social isolation and stress.