Ways to Give

Why Give to the Art Colony?

Your support helps provide transformative art experiences that change people’s lives. The generosity of our supporters underwrites one-third of our operating costs.

As one young student said, “molding clay lets me shape the world I see – having a vision in my mind and creating it exactly. I can’t do that anywhere else in my life.

The Art Colony is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which means that your donation is tax-deductible.

Donors who give $60 or more automatically become members and will receive unique benefits. Membership is valid from one year from the date of donation.

Below are some of the other ways you can support our mission and the work that we do.

Donor Advised Funds

You can support the creative work of the Grand Marais Art Colony through your donor-advised fund (DAF).

DAFs can be easily set up through a community foundation or your financial institution to serve as a flexible charitable giving vehicle. For more information about how to establish a DAF, contact your local community foundation or financial advisor. Our Federal Identification Number (EIN) is: 41-1518414.

Endowment Fund

Support the legacy and the future of the Art Colony through a gift to the Birney Quick Memorial Endowment Fund.

Established in honor of Art Colony founder, Birney Quick, this fund honors his legacy and provides sustained support in perpetuity for the Art Colony. The Endowment Fund is professionally managed at the Saint Paul Minneapolis Community Foundation.

In Honor and In Memory

Looking for a meaningful way to honor a loved one’s memory or to commemorate a holiday, birthday, wedding, retirement or other special occasion? Giving a tribute gift is the perfect way to celebrate a loved one while supporting the artistic work and mission of the Grand Marais Art Colony.

How it works

Give your donation either via our website or by sending a check to:

  • Grand Marais Art Colony
  • PO Box 626
  • Grand Marais, MN 55604

Please include a note outlining the details of your tribute and who it is in honor of, or email the information to: info@grandmaraisartcolony.org

When you give in memory or celebration of someone, we send a tribute certificate, letting them know about your gift. If you prefer, you have the option to remain anonymous.

Once we’ve processed your gift, we’ll send you an acknowledgment letter that serves as your tax receipt.

Will my gift recipient see how much I donated in their honor?

No. When you make a tribute donation, the amount of the gift only appears on the acknowledgment letter/tax receipt we send directly to you. Your gift recipient receives a separate letter or confirmation that does not include the amount.

Legacy Giving

Help preserve our legacy through planned giving.

A planned gift is a lasting investment in the Grand Marais Art Colony, advancing our mission and ensuring our ability to provide arts programming as we have done for more than 75 years. We invite you to leave a legacy for tomorrow by considering one of the planned giving opportunities below.

Leave a gift in your will

Gifts by will are one of the Art Colony’s most important sources of support. Unrestricted gifts give us the greatest flexibility to use funds where they are most needed.

Name the Grand Marais Art Colony as a beneficiary

Naming the Grand Marais Art Colony on a retirement account or life insurance policy is a simple way to provide for GMAC’s future without writing or re-writing your will.

Gifts that provide income

Charitable annuities and remainder trusts allow you to provide income for yourself or loved ones while supporting GMAC’s work.

Providing for heirs and GMAC

Charitable lead trusts provide a stream of income to support GMAC’s work while preserving assets for your heirs.

Qualified Charitable Distributions

If you’re 70-1/2 or older, you can donate up to $100,000 per tax year directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to charities like the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) are a great way to support our creative work by allowing your dollars to go further: QCDs may be excluded from your taxable income and qualify towards your required minimum distribution.

If you’d like to make a QCD gift, your financial institution should make the check out to “Grand Marais Arts, Inc.” and identify you as the donor by name and address.

They can mail the check to: Grand Marais Art Colony, PO Box 626 120 3rd Ave W Grand Marais, MN 55604

Royalties

Are you an author, musician, photographer or actor? Your creative talents can contribute to the world in so many ways. That includes helping the Grand Marais Art Colony cultivate and foster others who are exploring the arts.

By donating your residuals and royalties to the Grand Marais Art Colony, you’ll be joining our students, instructors and artists in residence in the creative work they do every day.

Want to find out more about matching your talents with ours? Call us at 218.387.2737 or email us at info@grandmaraisartcolony.org. We will be happy to support you in your effort.

Scholarship Funds

Art accessibility is a major value at the Art Colony. We are deeply grateful to our supporters who contributed to our scholarship funds. These funds are in constant demand and therefore need be replenished. The average scholarship request is $250. Scholarship funds are made possible solely through the donations of generous supporters. Give the gift of art – it will make a big impact in another’s life.

Byron Bradley Financial Need Scholarship

Named for Grand Marais Art Colony co-founder Byron Bradley. An art scholarship recipient himself, this talented man worked hard to nurture the artistic ability of others in any way he could. This scholarship fund provides tuition scholarships to those with financial need to study at the Grand Marais Art Colony.

David Hahn Memorial Fund

This fund was established in honor of David Hahn, who taught youth art classes for many years at the Art Colony. This Fund underwrites the costs for art activities during MEA weekend every October as well as covering expenses related to other youth arts programming including but not limited to scholarships, instructor fees, procurement of niche supplies and materials.

Eric Thomas Youth Scholarship

This fund was established in honor of Eric Thomas, a local man who grew up taking Art Colony classes and developed a deep appreciation for North Shore art and the local community.  This scholarship is funded in Eric’s memory in order to support and encourage Cook County youth to engage in the arts and take Art Colony classes.

Belvo-Jorgenson Fund

This fund was established in late 2022 in honor of Hazel Belvo and Cynthia Jorgenson as part of the Art Colony’s 75th anniversary. Dividends from this scholarship are used to assist artists-in-residence.

Stock Transfers

Making a gift of stock is a simple and powerful way to support the important creative work that the Grand Marais Art Colony is doing every day. It also offers you a number of financial benefits:

  • You can easily donate appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds
  • The total value of the stock upon transfer is tax-deductible
  • There is no obligation to pay any capital gains taxes on the appreciation

If you have any questions about the two-step process for stock donations below, contact us at 218.387.2737.

Stock donation instructions

Step 1: Complete your transfer Contact the institution where your stocks are held and let them know you’d like to transfer the shares to the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Cetera Investment Services LLC
400 First Street South Suite 300
St. Cloud, MN 56301

Contact person is: Stacy Anderson
Phone #: 1-800-720-5848, option 1, ext 4

Account number: 2KV15000

DTC number: 0701
Office & IE#: 2KV – 78V

Should you require it, GMAC’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) / Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN) is 41-1518414

Step 2: Let us know about your gift. Stock donations transferred to our account aren’t accompanied by donor information. We want to be sure we can acknowledge your gift and send you a tax receipt, so please be in touch regarding your gift details, which include the name of the stock, the number of shares, and the date of transfer.

Sustaining (Monthly) Membership

As an Sustaining Member, you play a vital role in ensuring that we are able to provide our programming with less disruption.

Sustaining Members provide a regular monthly gift that is automatically transferred from a credit card or bank account, and can be adjusted or suspended at any time. No matter the amount, your sustaining support has a serious impact: knowing we can count on receiving your gift every month makes it easier for us to sustain our current programs and to be prepared for unexpected costs pivoting as required.

Sustaining Membership support makes it possible for us to minimize our fundraising costs so that we can put more of our resources directly into providing quality programs and excellent services.

How does it work?
It’s simple: Each month, your contribution is transferred to GMAC from your credit card or bank account. You can increase, decrease, or suspend your gift at any time by logging into your account or calling us at 218.387.2737.

Workplace Giving and Matching Gifts

Matching gifts and workplace giving programs can double or triple your donation, giving us more of the resources we need to make our programs happen. Some company programs even match donations made by spouses, retirees, and board members. The Grand Marais Art Colony may not accept matching gifts from all employers due to our Corporate Gift Acceptance Policy. We’ll reach out and let you know if the match cannot be completed.

What if I already donated before I learned about the matching program?

No problem. If you recently donated online, by mail, or phone, your employer may still match your gift to the Grand Marais Art Colony. Give us a call at 218.387.2737 or email info@grandmaraisartcolony.org

Set up payroll giving

In addition to matching programs, many companies let you set up automatic, tax-deductible donations that come directly from your paycheck. It’s a no-fuss way to regularly donate, and it gives us the reliable support we need to run our programs.

We would warmly welcome your support for these initiatives. Please contact us at:

info@grandmaraisartcolony.org or 218-387-2737

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