Our 2025 Campaign: A Year to Build On

A 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization

Artists and Friends, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible, allowing you to make a meaningful impact while receiving valuable tax benefits.

Our Goals for this campaign

We are seeking to raise enough donations to cover one year of essential operating expenses, ensuring that our cherished space continues to thrive as a beacon of creativity and community. Your support can provide for:

Utilities and insurance to keep our landmark property functional and welcoming.
Annual maintenance and care for our unique building and all of its intricacies.
Modest stipends for our dedicated team, who bring their personal warmth and energy to keep us going.

Your Role in This Story

Your donation is not just a gift—it’s an investment in a thriving, connective, and creative Driftless region. Together, we can accomplish so much:

One of the grants we are currently applying for has matching requirements, and your donation to this campaign could help us to qualify for a matching grant - potentially doubling your gift!
Keep our unique spaces alive with music, art, and wellness.
Help us continue to be a serious cultural amenity for our region.
Ensure that future generations experience the magic of this place.

Be Part of the Legacy

Please pledge your support today to help sustain our vibrant community center. Whether through a one-time gift or a three-year pledge, your contribution creates a ripple of impact that reaches far and wide.

This fundraising platform allows for us to receive most all manner of digital payment options. If there is another payment method you prefer, we can accommodate you, we can even receive most cryptocurrencies by request.

Of course, you can always just write a check or put some cash in an envelope and drop it off in our mailbox, or feel free to ring the doorbell and come in and say hello too.

Nourishing Our Community Together

We are feeling grateful for a fantastic 2024 and looking forward to an even more amazing 2025! We'd like to take a few moments to recognize this rich and bountiful culture we have had the pleasure of hosting in our building this past year, as well as mention our needs for 2025 and how you can help us going forward.

Our Mission

At Artists and Friends, Inc., our aim is to nourish the well-being of this community by being a vessel for a perpetual renaissance in the realms of art, science, wellness and education. We propose to do so by focusing on the rehabilitation of historic properties, and to make these properties available as a platform for individuals and organizations vigorously engaged in activity for the wellness of both humanity and the natural environment of the Driftless region of Southwest Wisconsin.

Artists and Friends, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit, was founded in May of 2012 by a small group of creative and dedicated locals who wanted to see the historic building at 401 E. Jefferson thrive as a facility in service to community.

Moments We Treasure

This past year, our spaces have overflowed with warmth, creativity, and connection. On any given day, all three floors of our building might be brimming with life simultaneously. We have taken great pride in our programming coordination, to allow multiple programs to be happening at once, bringing a sense of vibrance and abundant life within. Just in this past year, we’ve welcomed gatherings as diverse as:

Tuesday Lunch Program: Delicious Asian fusion meals served with love every Tuesday, bringing neighbors together over food and conversation.
Thoreau College: Taking over our gallery and offices, during the weekdays, our beloved local micro-college has brought significant warmth and movement to the building.
Driftless Folk School: Driftless Folk School has expanded on their offerings at The Commons, including book binding, spoon carving, knitting, broom making, Permaculture and much more.
Youth Initiative High School: 2024 saw another successful season of productions from the theatrical department at YIHS.
One Spirit Rising: The meditative and medicinal explorations of this inter-spiritual community, celebrating the common roots that nourish all faith practices here every other Sunday.
Spring of Life Institute: Our basement is slowly transforming into a profound historical ethno-botanical museum, curated by an herbalist with over 30 years experience in wildcrafting, with a special focus on Goethean observation as well as medicinal practices from ancient and indigenous cultures. Spring of Life offers classes, workshops and apprenticeships.
Fire Cloud Pottery Exhibition: We were so pleased to host the graceful and grounding works by Fire Cloud Pottery, whose use of historical techniques and natural clay harvested from our region, was a harmonious accent to our Gallery space.
Vibrant Performances: From our joyous Winter square dances, to stunning classical concerts such as a concert of the works of Arvo Part and another amazing concert by an international Spanish and Classical Guitar trio, to the historical folk music of Larry Long and Fiddlin Pete Wattercott, to the transformative performance by Eurythmy Spring Valley, our theater has been alive with heartfelt enchantment.
Educational Programs: In addition to hosting Spring of Life, Thoreau College, Driftless Folk School, and Youth Initiative High School, we have many other educational activities, such as The Changing of the Gods Film Series: A thought-provoking monthly film series sparking dialogue on history and world events, Yoga, Eurythmy and Tai Chi classes, many study groups on a variety of subjects, and scholarly gatherings like the Threefold Driftless Conference, and the staggering 9-day 4th Annual Viroqua Anthroposophy Festival, both of which drew participants from across the globe.
Thanksgiving indeed: Nearly 50 of our cherished community members gathered with us for our annual Thanksgiving Potluck, which is always a very special event. In addition to this event and the ongoing Tuesday Lunch Program, we have a lot of connections around food. We are the proud home of Driftless Co-option, our region's great organic food buying club, who stores and distributes their goods from The Commons. We also have our lovely Vegan Potluck, which is a delicious monthly gathering. Recently the Weston A Price Foundation has been holding their regional chapter meetings here, which is another great event for trying new foods and meeting like minded people.

There is simply too much to mention it all, and this is only a reflection on the last twelve months. These moments, big and small, remind us of the immense potential of our shared space to inspire, heal, and unite.

What We Face

Our beloved building became a central feature of the skyline of the old town square of Viroqua back in 1897. The stained glass in our Theater is original to that opening date in December of 1897. There have been many renovations over the years, as the building changed hands. Some of these renovations have less than desirable effects.

Our Board of Directors has a keen interest in historical buildings and now consider The Commons a Rehabilitation site, as defined by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Some of our highest goals for the building include have the foundation fully repaired using regionally sourced limestone mortars, having all of the stained glass windows fully restored by local artisans, and having the entire exterior refinished - from a new coat of paint to a full repair and finish of all soffits and fascia, and someday we also hope to fully renovate and restore our grand entrance lobby.

One of the members of our Board is also a Building Biologist, and he has been helping us discern what the potential biological impact of certain building materials and construction practices are when designing our renovation projects. His input has been instrumental in helping us identify and mitigate concerns about mold, particulates, radon, electrical wiring errors and many other potential factors in the environmental quality of the building.

Just in the last few years, we have managed to fund several smaller renovations which have made the inside much more beautiful. We replaced the old drop ceiling in the Gallery with antique replica tin ceiling, we've replaced many fluorescent lights throughout the building, we painted the theater a stunning "theater red", we've fully refinished the walls and wood floors in three office spaces, we've built a new accessibility ramp, and much more!

Operating and upkeep of our historic home is a labor of love, and it comes with challenges. Our financial needs are focused on four key areas:

Building Care: Heating, powering, and maintaining a structure as old and precious as ours is costly. Repairs and restorations are ongoing, but each step brings us closer to a sustainable future.
Staff Support: to facilitate essential roles, bringing even more energy and care to our work.
Programming Excellence: Bringing world-class artists to our stage requires financial guarantees that ticket sales alone cannot always cover. With a stable budget, we can offer these transformative experiences to our community.
Visionary Restoration: From foundation work to stained glass preservation, we have a list of dream projects which honors the legacy of this building and its role in our community’s future.

When it comes to Visionary Restoration, we know this is a never-ending budgetary wish list and so we intend to continue applying for grants and to stage a series of capital fundraising campaigns to help with this list. However, these first three challenges are what we would like to focus on now.

Thank you so much!

Happy Holidays and best wishes!

from the Board of Directors

Artists and Friends Inc
dba The Commons
401 E Jefferson St.
Viroqua, WI 54665

608-638-3210

Our 2025 Annual Donor Campaign

Grateful for a wonderful 2024 and striving towards the future