Shaping What’s Happening at the Art League

Dear Art League Family and Friends,

Several weeks ago, I was interviewed by Tom Kuser, host of “The Full Story” at WSHU 91.1 FM National Public Radio. They were taking a look at “The Arts, Surviving the Pandemic”.  Tom  heard about the Art League’s building on the market and wanted to know what’s happening.  Thanks to your support we took the building off the market, reopened classes and put some employees back to work! We are incredibly grateful to have come this far. However, there’s a lot more work to do.

What’s emerged from the pandemic crisis is the chance to return even stronger than before. It was a “now or never” opportunity to restructure the business model, make better use of the space, generate new revenue and consolidate operations.

In February and in August, 2021 we rented two large studios: one to a working artist and the other to a not-for-profit organization both with long-term leases. Both tenants, also involved in the arts, are ideal “roof mates”! Studio art classes were consolidated to run in the remaining studios on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Operating hours were reduced to thirty-five hours per week compared to pre-pandemic of sixty hours.

Covid-19 forced many people to use technology more than ever.  Hats off to Art League students who started registering for classes on the website!  Instructors for the first time are able to access their own rosters with student contact information, track enrollment, and take attendance online. What could normally take years or never to shift people to technology happened in weeks.  This translated to costs savings and efficient processes!

What amazed me most was the amount of support we received from you in the spring and annual appeals in 2020 and the spring 2021 appeal. The level of support from donors increased in some cases one hundred percent from previous donation history. The number of new donors exceeded expectations and business partners, foundations, donors and new major donors rose to the challenge.

The level of support needed to sustain the Art League over the long-term needs to grow even more in the coming months and years. I hope this update excites and inspires you to realize how your support makes a difference and how we must count on you again for the 2021 year-end annual appeal.

The Art League is the most enviable art center of its kind on Long Island serving a wide and diverse community for whom the arts are a fundamental part of life. Thank you for your loyal support.

Best always,

Charlee Miller
Executive Director

Donations can me made online at any time

Dear Art League Family and Friends,

It’s nothing short of amazing that we are still afloat a year after closing last March. Although we are operating somewhat in a very limited sense, it’s because of you that we’re still here!

Your generous donations totaled over one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars. Thanks to you, these remarkable gifts allowed us to take the building off the market, at least for now!  It’s a huge relief! However, the reality is the Art League’s precarious financial condition hangs in the balance.

The 2021 Spring Appeal must raise the next one hundred thousand dollars to cover operating expenses in order to stay afloat. Your generous donations and heartfelt communications make it clear how much the Art League means to you.  Fundraising in 2021 and 2022 will be very different from the usual appeals and events prior to the pandemic. The Art League will be in survival mode for a very long time.  With your support, we will exist under very difficult circumstances until we can truly say recovery is in our future.

Out of every crisis comes change and opportunity.  We are creating ways to better use studio space, consolidate processes and schedule classes, events and programs while reducing expenses.  Beginning soon, you will see several new in-person classes reopening with limited enrollment to maintain social distancing.  An in-person Pre-College Development workshop just opened for teens, as well as two new ceramic classes.  The gallery will remain closed for exhibitions and to the public to control building capacity.

More work needs to be done to deepen and grow relationships with our donors.  The 2020 very successful fundraising campaigns that brought in over one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars came from one third of our membership!  If you have never donated to the Art League, this is the time to show your support. If you are a student with class credits, we’d be grateful if you would consider donating your credits.

Please be as generous as you can to the 2021 Spring Appeal. Donations can be made online or you can mail a check to the Art League of Long Island, 107 East Deer Park Rd., Dix Hills, New York 11746.  If you have any inquiries please email us at info@artleagueli.org and we will get back to you. I’m looking forward to keeping you informed about what’s going on at the Art League.

Warmest regards,

Charlee M. Miller
Executive Director