nniPenland Line
I I ■ I PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS • POST OFFICE BOX B7 • PFNI ANO .
In January, 2001, the Penland School of
Crafts board of trustees launched the
Preserve Penland campaign, the most ambi
tious fundraising effort in the school’s histo
ry, as a way to begin meeting the needs out
lined in the 1999 campus master plan. That
plan looked at all aspects of the school’s
physical infrastructure with an eye toward
preserving the most important aspects of
Penland’s environment and anticipating the
future needs of Penland’s educational pro
grams. The plan identified $ 18 million of
necessary capital improvements including
preservation, renovation, new construction,
and improved accessibility.
MANY GIFTS
The board established a goal of $8 million
for the Preserve Penland campaign, which was
defined as a comprehensive campaign,
rather than the more familiar capital cam
paign. This designation reflects a goal which
incorporated capital, endowment, and
annual fund gifts given during the four-year
duration of the campaign. The comprehen
sive campaign included a goal of $4.5^ mil
lion in capital funds, $^00,000 for new
endowed scholarships and $3 million in
annual operating support. The campaign,
which was chaired by Bobby Kadis and
Cynthia Bringle, will be successfully con
cluded on April 30 (the end of 200^ fiscal
year). As of April 8 the campaign total was
$9,714,286 with contributions coming
from over 1,5^00 members of Penland’s
national community. The completion of this
campaign represents an unprecedented level
of financial support for Penland and will
enable the school to tackle a number of
projects which will improve the quality of
the student experience.
Leadership gifts from board members
and others established a strong foundation
for the campaign. The school received sev
eral six-figure gifts and the largest single
gift in the school’s history, a $2 million
challenge from an anonymous donor. The
challenge required the school to secure an
equal amount in new capital gifts or com
mitments by December 31, 2004 to obtain
the match. At the deadline a total of
$2,347,000 had been raised, exceeding the
goal by over $300,000. In addition, capital
gifts totaling $2 million had been commit
ted before the match was offered, and addi
tional gifts have been made since the chal
lenge was met, bringing the total raised for
capital needs to $6,626,944.
PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS » POST OFFICE BOX 37 « PENLAND » NORTH CAROLINA » 28765-0037 » SPRING 2005
Preserve Penland: Onward and Upward
Many smaller gifts contributed to the
successful achievement of the goal as well.
Over 1,200 students, instructors, and craft
collectors responded to a national tele
phone and mail effort which yielded close
to $400,000 in multi-year and single contri
butions to help meet the challenge gift.
Several national and North Carolina
foundations also supported the campaign.
The Golden Pearl Foundation (formerly the
C. Louis Meyer Family Foundation) of
Illinois supported the construction of new
student housing. The Horace W. Goldsmith
Foundation in New York participated with a
grant to help meet the challenge gift. The
Charles A. Dana Foundation, also in New
York City, supported improvements to the
glass studio. In North Carolina, the Janirve
Foundation contributed toward the new
student dormitory. The Blue Ridge National
Heritage Area of western North Carolina
provided funding to support planning for
expansion of the school’s gallery and visi
tors center. The Blumenthal Foundation, the
Broyhill Family Foundation, the James G.
Hanes Memorial Fxmd, and the John W. and
Anna H. Hanes Foundation contributed to
renovate historic
buildings, improve
infrastructure,
increase campus
accessibility, and
improve studios.
Several individuals
and the Lenore
Tawney Foundation
of New York en
dowed new scholar
ship funds. Tawney is
a renowned textile
artist who was a stu
dent at Penland in
19^4. In all, the
campaign generated
$428,150 in scholar
ship endowment
funds.
The metals studio got a new roof this April: just one
of the studio improvements financed the campaign.
MANY PROJECTS
The State of North Carolina made a signifi
cant grant to the campaign through the
Department of Cultural Resources. A grant
from the federal Save America’s Treasures pro
gram will help renovate the Craft House. A
campaign grant from the North Carolina
Arts Council in support of new public art at
Penland helped fund a competitive design
process for a new exterior porch for the
Pines, a historic structure which includes
the school’s dining hall. This addition to the
building is being designed by architect Dail
Dixon and internationally-known sculptor
Patrick Dougherty. This structure
will be the terminus for The Pines
Walk, another project funded by the
campaign. The Pines Walk, designed
by landscape architect Sam
Reynolds, will be a gently curving,
barrier-free walkway connecting the
supply store and coffee house in the
Craft House with,the Lily Loom
House main office, the downstairs
metal and clay studios, and the Pines.
Current and former students and
staff members contributed art work for
an auction in honor of baker Pearl
Grindstaff, who has worked at Penland
since 1934. The funds from that event are
being used for improvements to Bascom
House, which was Pearl’s childhood home.
Radcliffe, a log and rock structure dating
back to the 1930s has been completely ren
ovated. Care was taken to repair the exteri
or of Radcliffe according to historic preser
vation guidelines, while the inside space has
been reworked to
create twelve double
and single rooms
including two units
which conform to
Americans With
Disabilities Act.
Already complete
is a new sixteen-bed
dormitory (Dorm
54) designed by Dail
Dixon. Other pro
jects now underway
include a four-unit
apartment building;
four resident artists
will be moving into
the building in
September. Architect
Jim Smith has completed a design for a new
wood studio which will be located near the
iron and glass studios (more information in
the next Penland Line). The campaign is
also funding improvements in every studio
(many of these projects are done already).
Another important project being funded
by the campaign is a major effort to
improve life safety in Penland’s dormitory
housing. Penland is working with architect
Jane Matthews and the local fire marshall to
bring this housing up to code. Sprinklers
are being installed in the Craft House and
the ^ines (there are sprinklers in the new
dorm and they were added to Radcliffe as
part of the renovation). Modifications are
A drawing from Dail Dixon and Patrick Dougherty’s
proposal for the Pines Portico project.
being made to improve egress, exit lighting,
and accessibility in the Craft; House and the
Pines. Late this winter crews installed a
dedicated reservoir and a series of six-inch
water lines that run directly from the reser
voir to the sprinkler systems and to three
strategically located fire hydrants.
Upcoming projects supported by the
campaign are the renovation of the Craft
House exterior and a new building for
drawing, painting, books, printmaking, and
letterpress. The first floor Northlight stu
dios (including books and paper) will be
reconfigured for papermaking and photog
raphy, including a small digital lab. Other
campaign funded projects include accessible
bathrooms and a new entryway for the
Penland Gallery and Visitors Center, the
design phase of a planned expansion of the
gallery, enhancements to the water and
sewage system, and renovations and/or
repairs to Ridge\yay, the Barns apartments,
and the Weaving Cabin.
Penland’s director Jean McLaughlin
summarized the four-year effort by saying,
“We began the Preserve Penland campaign
knowing that the future of the school
depends on addressing the very real needs
of its aging infrastructure, on the stability of
an increased endowment, and on vigorous
support for Penland’s annual operating bud
get. This campaign was designed as an
important step toward addressing all of
these areas, and the response from
Penland’s many friends and supporters was
overwhelming. Our board and staff will
work to ensure careful stewardship of these
generous gifts to preserve Penland School
of Crafts.”
—Barbara Benisch and Robin Dreyer