HOLYOKE — Enchanted Circle, a regional arts nonprofit that has worked for decades with area school districts on integrating performing arts into their curricula, has announced it is going dormant for a year.

The 48-year-old arts organization cited financial challenges, and said it aims to work during the coming year to develop improved business and financial models.

Government funds and foundation grants that had helped the organization weather the pandemic are harder to come by, interim board president Melissa Redwin said this week.

“We weren’t able to lay that strong foundation while doing programmatic work,” she said.

Struggling to pay staff, board members worked this spring on a severance agreement for Enchanted Circle’s three full-time and one part-time employees.

The nonprofit expects to maintain its 501(c)(3) status, launch a community engagement process and continue fundraising to support its reopening.

“We are dedicated to keeping the spirit of our mission alive by connecting our community partners with our roster of teaching artists who may be available as independent contractors,” the group stated in announcing the reset.

Enchanted Circle has not had an executive director since Priscilla Kane Hellweg stepped down in 2022 after 40 years at the organization’s helm. Redwin said the board aims to hire an executive director, but proposes to maintain a collaborative style of leadership going forward.

The group’s goal is to raise $300,000 over the next 12 months to cover the cost of staff recruitment, salaries and programming.

Enchanted Circle has collaborated with many schools and organizations over the years, including the launching of arts integration initiatives in the public schools of Holyoke, Amherst and Northampton.

More recently, it has focused on working with public schools and community organizations in Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield.

“We’re in conversations with our partners — what are the ways they’d like us to approach the partnership? We’re trying to understand where to put our focus and resources,” Redwin said. “Continuity of programming is our biggest concern.”

She cited the decades-long association the group has had with Holyoke public schools, and a recent meeting with Mayor Joshua Garcia, who remembered Enchanted Circle’s programs from his own school days.

“We’re hearing from parents, people telling us they’re grateful we’re doing this soul-searching,” Redwin said.

Founded as Enchanted Circle Theatre, the group became Enchanted Circle in 2020 to reflect its broader focus on different art forms, Redwin said.

The work of establishing a new business model is now in the hands of the board, which consists of Redwin, Iohann Vega, Arlene Avakian and Ogor Winnie Okoye. The group is looking for more board members, and hoping to engage volunteers and alumni to make sure the community has a voice in the process.

“We’re hopeful about what the future will bring,” Redwin said.