Our $125,000 Fundraising Goal: Why It Matters

Our 2025 fundraising goal of $125,000 from donors, sponsors, and grantors are designed to do one thing:
ensure DAC enters 2026 with the stability, momentum, and capacity to continue building a thriving creative economy in Coastal Delaware.

This funding is not about starting something new.
It is about protecting and strengthening what is already working — the programs, spaces, and systems that are producing real outcomes for artists, youth, and our community.

Where We Are Now

We are proud to share that we have already raised $85,000 toward this goal — 80% of the way there.

The Final $40,000 We Need in 2025

To close the year strong, we are raising:

• $25,000 through Holiday Donor Speakeasy Events

• $15,000 through individual year-end giving

This final stretch is essential. It provides the flexible operating support that allows DAC to:

• Stabilize and retain our artist workforce leadership team

• Maintain and grow the Emerge and Artist Rising pipelines

• Continue offering sliding scale access so no child or emerging artist is turned away

• Support artist stipends and experimental exhibitions at the Artpothecary

• Weatherproof the West Side Creative Market and add a permanent awning structure to extend its season and accessibility

• Meet a major December 31 grant benchmark that strengthens DAC’s the long-term sustainability

What We Achieved With Your Support This Year

• Launched the Emerge 2025 Artist Pilot, investing $40,000 directly into artist workforce development

• Sent 91 youth through Artist Rising, culminating in an exhibition where every child sold work

• Held our strongest Creative Market season ever, with 144 artists generating $300,000+, bringing total artist sales to over $1,000,000 since 2021

• Made the Market fully ADA accessible through donor and foundation support

• Transformed the Artpothecary into a public-arts exhibition space and launched 16 Fresh Art Friday shows

Why Your Support Now Matters

We have the programs.
We have the participation.
We have the results.
We have the community momentum.

What we need now is the final investment that carries this work into 2026 with confidence and stability.

Your contribution doesn’t just fund art.
It funds artists building careers, children discovering possibility, and a creative economy rooted in access, dignity, and belonging.

This is the moment to finish strong — together.