A Message from the Executive Director

Dear Art League Family, Friends and Supporters,

Your heartwarming cards, emails and letters inspire us to work harder every day to recover from the financial, emotional and physical devastation of the pandemic. Thanks to you, we are halfway to reaching the goal of raising one-hundred-thousand dollars needed to survive the worst health and economic crisis in generations.

We’ve developed a 2020-2021 strategic and continuity plan aimed at survival. As long as Covid-19 remains a threat, lurking to shut down businesses and schools, infect populations and take the lives of otherwise healthy people, we are extremely limited to restoring the Art League to pre-Covid-19 operations.

It’s my hope when you read our survival plan below, see how far we’ve come and what we’re doing, you will support the Art League’s 2020 Annual Appeal to reach the goal. Donations can be made online here or send a check to the Art League of Long Island, 107 East Deer Park Road, Dix Hills, NY 11746. Inquiries can be sent to info@artleagueli.org.

Art League’s Strategic, Continuity Survival Plan 2020-2021

• Art League closed March 12, 2020, entire faculty and staff furloughed or laid off
• First of businesses to be approved and issued government assistance loans and grants in April
• Banks and creditors agree to deferred payments and moratoriums
• Building put on the market for sale May 2020
• April “Count Me In” & “Artists of the Day” campaign raised $50,000 by September!
• Students generously donated $21,000 in class credits, in addition to $50,000 raised
• Introduced revenue generating virtual classes in July 2020
• Several virtual art teachers back to work in July!
• Ambitiously prospecting tenants to lease space at the Art League instead of selling the building
• Sponsorships & Foundations contributing to survival
• Facebook fundraisers established by Art League advocates
• Revenue generating studio painting classes opened September 2020
• Several more teachers back to work in September!
• Ace Canvas & Tent Company donated 20’ x 30’ tent, children & adult classes in the tent in October
• Several more teachers back to work in October!
• Revenue generating ceramic open studio classes in October
• Even more teachers back to work in October!
• Virtual revenue generating Professional Development Day November 3, 2020
• More teachers back to work in November!
• New Income generating private, semi-private, shared studio rentals starting November
• Virtual state-of-the-art website exhibitions, including tours
• Volunteer program 2020-2021
• 2020 year-end Annual Appeal earmarked to raise $50,000!

The 2020 Annual Appeal and the work we are doing behind the scenes, is the most crucial and critical path in the process of survival. I’m writing from a place of encouragement and anticipation of your support. We are looking forward, in earnest, to overcoming the crisis and bringing back a post-Covid-19, refreshed and cherished Art League. Thank you in advance!

My Warmest Regards,

Charlee Miller
Executive Director

Dear Art League Family & Friends,

To say these are difficult times, would be an understatement. The repercussions of this awful virus have had devastating affects not only our physical health, but also our economic health. The Art League wishes you and yours a speedy return to good health and prosperity as we move forward, and offer sympathies to friends and families of those who have suffered the greatest of loss.

Going forward is the only option, and with 2020 almost in the rearview mirror we dare to hope for a not-too-distant future where we can all regain a sense of normalcy. As you may all know by now, the Art League of Long Island has made the difficult decision to place the building on the market. This does not mean that the Art League is closing down, it just means we are going forward towards another chapter in our 65-year history as the not-for-profit art center you have all come to know and love, for some almost like an extension of your own family. As sad as it is to contemplate a move from this absolutely amazing building, we must remember this has not been our first physical location and that we have been able to thrive since 1955 through our ability to be nimble and capitalize on the good times and weather the bad times. So, what will happen while the building is on the market?

Starting in mid-September we are carefully phasing in in-person painting classes which are only open to students previously enrolled in those classes. Those students have been invited to register via direct email from Program Manager Andrea Manning. We plan to gradually add more in-person classes and open studios as we continue to assess the logistics and the impact of the CDC’s safety guidelines. Also starting next week, we are offering virtual classes via ZOOM for Denis Ponsot’s Fundamentals of Watercolor, Sungsook Setton’s East Asian Brush Painting, and Mary Nagin’s The Basics and Then Some drawing class. We expect to offer more virtual classes throughout the fall. Registration for virtual classes is open to all and will take place online only, as the office has extremely limited hours and staffing. Which takes us to the next thing…

Development of our new registration website began in January 2019 as our current 10-year old registration site has become obsolete. The pandemic delayed our long-awaited activation of the new registration website/new database and we are happy to announce that the virtual classes listed above will be the first classes available on the new e-commerce portal. This site is so much more customer friendly and easier to navigate and has removed many of the back-end obstacles that prevented us from offering more classes earlier. It allows purchases for classes, memberships, events, and donations to seamlessly integrate into a new database system. Also underway is the launch of the new main site at www.artleagueli.org, launch date yet to be determined. More details on the registration portal appear in the news segment below.

In closing, a hearty thank you to all who have supported the Art League in our greatest need during the past six months. So many of you have shown your support through direct donations (easier now, with the new e-commerce portal), by donating class credits (email us at ABernhardt@artleagueli.org), donating artwork to our “Count Me In” Artist of the Day features (more info on that below), and crowd funding through a Facebook Fundraiser (we are registered on FB through Network for Good!). We are just about at 40% towards reaching our fundraising goal. We must reach $100,000 over the next couple of months to recover just some of the losses incurred by the COVID-19 shutdown. We are still in a precarious position and need your help today. If you have not already given, please take a moment to do so. Judging from past readership, we hope that of the 2,200+ readers who will see this message can donate just $25 today, we will be very close to reaching our fundraising goal. Donations can be made online or checks can be mailed to the Art League of Long Island at 107 East Deer Park Road, Dix Hills, NY 11746.

Again, thank you for your patience, understanding, and support as we navigate through these uncertain times. A brighter future awaits…

Warmest Regards,

Charlee Miller

Executive Director

Art League of Long Island