Dramatic clouds over the historic brickyard
Membership in the Bray offers everyone the opportunity to make a tangible contribution as part of the growing community around the globe that gives the Bray strength and spirit. Your annual membership support helps sustain the core of the Bray—facilities, the resident program, and daily operations.
Friends of the Bray
Friends of the Bray (FOB) is comprised of those individuals who value the work of the Bray and recognize that operating funds are central to the continued ability to support ceramic artists and serve the public through educational programs. Membership in this growing group of close friends is established with an annual, unrestricted gift of $1,000 or more to the Bray.
Friends of the Bray members enjoy:
- preview invitations to Bray exhibitions,
- periodic FOB Updates, which give inside information about the Resident Artists and current activities at the Bray,
- the Bray newsletter
- the yearly FOB Summer Gathering on the Bray grounds
Join the Friends of the Bray today and make a commitment to the continued well-being of the Archie Bray Foundation.
Robert Taunt, Jean Baucus, Virginia Donohugh, Suzanne Taunt at the FOB Summer Gathering
Annual unrestricted gifts serve the greatest on-going needs of the facilities, the artists, and the ceramic programs of the Bray. Through the Annual Fund we are able strengthen the daily operations of the gallery, the studios, and the residency program. The Annual Fund also allows us to address special needs that emerge regarding our facilities and the permanent collection.
Memberships, unrestricted Friends of the Bray gifts, and annual campaign funds support these on-going needs.
Give to the Resident Artist Scholarship Fund
As the first artists residency program in the United States devoted only to ceramics, the Archie Bray Foundation has been a conceptual catalyst for the broad network of ceramics residencies which has evolved over the past fifty years. With increased opportunities for ceramic residencies, financial support is more and more a determining factor in the residency choice for the most talented ceramic artists.
Contributions to this fund, which is managed as a quasi-endowment, provide support to underwrite Resident Artist fees and help ensure the Archie Bray Foundation maintains its leadership in ceramic art. By reducing the need for external employment, scholarship support allows residents to spend more time in the studio exploring their art and nurturing their creative voices.
Establish a Fellowship ($5,500)...
A gift of $5,500 provides a one-year stipend for a Resident Artist. Fellowship recipients are selected through a competitive process, separate from the regular residency application, and must show exceptional artistic merit and potential. The fellowship may be named to honor the donor, a member of the donor's family, or as a memorial tribute.
...or a Summer Resident Sponsorship ($1,500)
A gift $1,500 provides a three-month stipend for a Summer Resident Artist. Sponsored summer residents will be chosen during the annual Resident Artist selection process. The sponsored residency may be named to honor the donor, a family member, or as a memorial tribute.
Summer Resident JoAnne Schnabel
working in her studio at the Bray, 1995
Summertime view of the historic brickyard
General Endowment
The general endowment provides on-going funds to meet the greatest needs of the Archie Bray Foundation including facilities maintence, stewardship of the permanent collection, and operations. Through endowment growth, the Archie Bray Foundation can reduce dependence on annual earned and contributed income and more effectively meet the growing needs of the future.
Peter Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship Endowment
The Peter Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation honors the spirit of the late Peter Voulkos who began his carreer at the Bray in 1951. A truly remarkable artist who launched a revolution in postwar American ceramics, Voulkos, along with fellow Montana native Rudy Autio, was a founding resident artist at the Bray. The dynamic created during these early years at the Foundation set a standard of excellence, and firmly established the Bray as a center of artistic experimentation and creative exchange.
Peter Voulkos demonstrating at the Bray for the
2001: Clay Odyssey 50th Anniversary
Established by family and friends who understood Pete's enormous creative capacity, the fellowship is awarded to provide an annual opportunity for a special visiting artist to work at the Bray. Each Peter Voulkos Visiting Artist will work as a part of the Bray artists community continuing Pete's passion for creative exchange through shared ideas.
Montana Tax Credit
The State of Montana encourages contributions to permanent endowments held by or on behalf of Montana charitable organizations such as the Archie Bray Foundation through a sepcial tax credit. The Montana Tax Credit for Endowed Philanthropy is available to individuals who make irrevocable deferred gifts to qualified endowments. Corporations and partnerships may receive the tax credit for outright gifts or planned gifts to the same endowments.
Montana individual taxpayers making qualified gifts may receive a Montana tax credit of 40 percent of the present value of the charitable gift, to a maximum of $10,000. The tax credit for qualified gifts for corporations is 20 percent of the present value of the contribution to a maximum of $10,000. While a tax deduction serves to reduce the amount of income that is taxed, a tax credit reduces the tax liability itself therefore, every dollar of tax credit reduces one dollar of tax.
Consult with your financial advisor about how you might make a gift to benefit the Archie Bray Foundation and, at the same time, qualify for the state tax credit.
The Bray Society
The many friends of the Archie Bray Foundation support the work of the Bray in a variety of ways. Some donate their time and talents as volunteers. Others contribute directly to annual operations and special projects. But none are more important than those who ensure the future of the Bray through a bequest or other deferred gift.
Deferred gifts reflect a belief in the long-term value of the Bray and a commitment to its future. We are deeply grateful for those that have chosen to benefit the Bray in this way and recognize their commitment with membership in The Bray Society
Bray Society Member Mary Jane Davidson
Through Bray Society membership you will receive annual recognition in the Bray newsletter and will be honored at an annual Bray Society gathering. You also will receive special "insider" updates about plans for the future of the Bray. But most of all you will give us the opportunity to thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness.
pledge your support now
The Archie Bray Foundation needs your support to continue to provide an environment that stimulates creative work in ceramics for the community, the state, and Resident Artists throughout the world.
When you contribute, you will receive:
- the satisfaction of helping to provide "a fine place to work" for ceramic artists throughout Montana and the nation
- the Bray newsletter
- special invitations to all Bray exhibitions
- the opportunity to participate in community classes
- a tax deduction
You may also qualify for a
Montana tax credit for endowment
contributions.
Nighttime wood kiln firing in the historic brickyard
2915 Country Club Avenue
Helena, MT 59602
Office Phone: 406-443-3502
Fax: 406-443-0934
E-Mail: archiebray@archiebray.org