Penland School of Craft supports individual and artistic growth through creative practice and discovery. Thanks to the contributions of generous supporters like you, we are able to provide transformational workshop experiences, residencies, scholarships, events, exhibitions, community programs, and more for thousands of students and visitors every year. Your support keeps creativity alive at Penland.
“You don’t have to worry about anything but learning and making at Penland, which I have never experienced anywhere else.”
–Maleeha El Sadr, Penland student
Ways To Give
Cash and Checks
Make a cash donation or make a check out to Penland School of Craft at PO Box 37 Penland, North Carolina 28765-0037.
Gifts of Stock
Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds or other securities allow you to make a substantial gift to Penland at minimal cost. You will receive a tax deduction based on the value of the security on the date of the gift.
When making a gift of stock, please contact (or have your broker contact) Beth Shupe or Laura Laughridge (see below) that a stock transfer is pending. Notification should include the name of the donor and any restrictions on the gift. It would also be very helpful to us to know the name of the stock and number of shares to be transferred. Once notified, Beth Shupe will track all transactions in our brokerage account for the receipt of the gift.
Let Us Know You’ve Initiated Your Gift If you’ve made a gift through your DAF, stock transfer, or QCD, please take a moment to fill out this short form.
Penland’s Circle of Hands
The simplest way to be a part of Penland’s future is through a bequest to the school, but you may be interested in a gift that provides you with an income for the rest of your life. Making planned gifts can provide a number of advantages, including current and future income tax deductions and effective estate planning options. Gifts may be made in your name or as an honorarium or memorial for another. You may designate specific media interests or programs that you wish to support with your gift.
Be a part of Penland’s future. To share your interest in our Circle of Hands, please call the development office, 828-765-2359, ext. 1206, or email [email protected].
IRA Charitable rollover (QCD)
A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows individuals who are 70 ½ years old or older to donate up to $100,000 total to one or more charities directly from a taxable IRA instead of taking their required minimum distributions. The money is a direct transfer from your IRA custodian to Penland.
Since the IRA assets come directly to Penland, you don’t report QCDs as taxable income and don’t owe any taxes on the QCD, even if you do not itemize deductions. Some donors may find that QCDs provide greater tax savings than outright cash donations for which charitable tax deductions are claimed.
To make a QCD to Penland, contact your IRA custodian to assist you with completing the necessary forms.
Let Us Know You’ve Initiated Your Gift If you’ve made a gift through your DAF, stock transfer, or QCD, please take a moment to fill out this short form.
Donor Advised Fund (DAF)
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a tax-efficient way to support Penland’s mission. Help sustain craft education, provide scholarships, and ensure artists have access to this community by recommending a grant to Penland from your DAF. Contact your fund administrator or reach out to us to learn more.Â
Let Us Know You’ve Initiated Your Gift If you’ve made a gift through your DAF, stock transfer, or QCD, please take a moment to fill out this short form.
Gifts to the Penland Annual Fund ensure every corner of campus thrives. Your generosity makes an impact in areas such as:
Exceptional studios: Well-equipped and well-maintained spaces designed for diverse creative practices in a safe and inspiring environment—all with unbelievable views.
Campus improvements: Donor support funded glass studio ventilation, climate control in many studios, safer walkways, and automatic door openers—improving comfort, safety, and accessibility.
Expanding scholarship access: A complete overhaul of our application system led to a 300% increase in our scholarship pool—from 650 in 2018 to 2,050 in 2024.
Our scholarships expand access to craft and make transformative creative experiences accessible to all.
With help from a wide variety of sources, Penland has been able to provide programs of consistently high quality while keeping fees at a reasonable level. However, many talented and dedicated craft students are still unable to attend Penland without some kind of financial assistance. Scholarship assistance comes from scholarship auctions of student and instructor work, annual giving, and endowments that provide a permanent source of scholarship funds.
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