Advancement
The Art of Giving
For nearly 90 years, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students on both a national and international scale. Our top priority is creating an inspiring and engaging environment to shape our students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers.
Ringling College believes in cultivating the creative spirit of our students and our community, but we know we cannot do it alone. We rely on the support and generosity of our friends, partners, alumni, and community to continue to advance Ringling’s industry-leading art and design education. We provide a supportive environment that offers the most professional resources and facilities available today. The value of this investment is undeniable – our students emerge as creative leaders who can effectively contribute their talents to the most recognized creative companies and brands around the globe.
Nine out of 10 Ringling College students rely on scholarships to meet the tuition requirements of a world-class art and design institution.
Help us make a difference in the lives of talented, emerging creatives by providing quality academic programs, professional level resources, and state of the art facilities.
For more information on how you can support Ringling College and our extraordinary students, please contact us:
Office for Advancement
2700 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL, 34234
941-309-4733
941-359-7662 fax
giving@ringling.edu
Opportunities to Give
Ringling College of Art and Design is Inspiring Creativity. In order to prepare graduates for our expanding global economy, higher educational institutions must heavily invest in academic innovation and creative thinking. Thus, our Catalyst for Creativity campaign will encompass three essential priorities: Building Creativity, Igniting Creativity, and Connecting Creativity.
Ringling College is a world-class institution where your investment will mean the difference in the future of aspiring artists and designers. Leadership Giving is a powerful statement of commitment to the education of our students. Meaningful ways to contribute include giving a current use gift or creating an endowed fund but are not limited to:
Scholarships
Scholarships bridge the gap between a cost of a college education and the resources of the college student. Education and success go hand in hand. But what if a deserving student misses the opportunity to become a successful entrepreneur, filmmaker, teacher, or artist due to financial constraints? And what about the world- how can that loss be measured?
Scholarships empower students to pursue their dreams, motivate them to aim high, encourage them to pay it forward, and prepare them for a lifetime of achievement. You can help make these dreams a reality.
More than 90% of our students qualify for need and merit based support, and most could not attend without assistance from donors. Your contribution to the Student Scholarship Fund will enable Ringling College to award scholarships to deserving students who have demonstrated significant need or experienced unexpected financial hardship.
Additionally, there are opportunities to establish an endowed scholarship at Ringling College to create a lasting impact in the lives of our students. Interest income generated annually by the endowment fund will be awarded in perpetuity as student scholarships to support deserving students for generations to come.
Our newest honor, the Masterpiece Scholarship, supports outstanding students with the innate talent and drive for art and design, but simply not the financial resources to make their dreams a reality, with a full-tuition award. To hear from these amazing students and their donors, click here.
For more information about scholarships at Ringling College, download our scholarship guide here.
Academic Programs and Student Experiences
Donors can support individual academic courses or areas of concentration, student services, visiting artists and scholars, lectures, research projects, Student Life programs, exhibitions, publications, awards, and travel grants, as well as new building resources which enable students and faculty to enrich their studies and college experience.
Sarasota Art Museum
Changing perspectives through contemporary art.
The Sarasota Art Museum, a division of Ringling College of Art and Design, serves as a catalyst for appreciation and understanding of world-class contemporary art by artists both established and emerging. A platform for education and exposure, the Museum serves as a haven of the avant-garde for audiences of all levels of experience with contemporary artwork. Having no permanent collection, the Museum maintains flexibility and timeliness through an endless rotation of transformative, relevant, and pioneering new exhibitions and programs. At its core a learning institution, the Sarasota Art Museum hosts community education programs and courses to immerse audiences in the conceptual power of contemporary art. The Museum also offers annual membership and Ambassador benefits for those interested. Donors can also support the Museum by endowing or sponsoring exhibitions or educational programming.
For more information, visit www.sarasotaartmuseum.org.
Ringling College Film Circle
The Ringling College Film Circle is dedicated to furthering the academic and artistic excellence of the institution’s Film Program, which celebrates its 15th Anniversary in the 2022/23 academic year.
When you join the Ringling College Film Circle, you help our students pursue an education that uniquely prepares them for industry careers, through hands-on experience on academic and commercial projects.
Membership in the Film Circle provides funds in support of scholarships, film and branded entertainment projects, and helps ensure that students are trained using industry-grade equipment in the state-of-the-art Studio Labs Soundstage and Post-Production Complex.
Film Circle members enjoy behind-the-scenes engagements with our Film students, visiting artists and industry professionals, like film screenings, master classes, meet & greets, discussion programs, and observing the production process first-hand.
For more information on how you can support emerging artists and designers, the Sarasota Art Museum, the Ringling College Film Circle, and a variety of other opportunities for Leadership Giving contact:
Lora Wey, CFRE
Assistant Vice President for Strategic Philanthropy
941-359-7674
lwey@ringling.edu
Planned gifts are an investment which can be made today with extraordinary returns for tomorrow. They offer an opportunity to build a legacy that’s personal and meaningful through a variety of easy to establish vehicles such as bequests, gifts of stock or life insurance policies, IRAs, or real estate – just to name a few. Planned gifts ensure the high quality of education at Ringling College will thrive for many years to come.
For more information about creating a Planned Gift click here or contact Anthony Cancro, MBA, senior development officer at
941-309-4732.
We welcome sponsorships for our Ringling College community events and programs. Each event offers our sponsors incredible exposure and exclusive access to our various friends, patrons, and communities.
Your sponsorship can underwrite any of Ringling College’s exciting events, such as art exhibitions and openings, golf tournaments, and our annual themed scholarship fundraiser, An Evening at the Avant-Garde. Additionally, we have a variety of sponsorship opportunities of countless engaging events through Sarasota Art Museum, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Englewood Art Center. Regardless of the event you wish to support, know that your partnership is greatly valued!
For more information regarding sponsorships, contact:
Logan Julien
Assistant Director for Fundraising Events
941.893.2864
ljulien@ringling.edu
Ringling College greatly values annual and recurring gifts, which are used to bridge the gap between tuition and the costs incurred to deliver a world-class art and design education. Unrestricted funds are designated where the need is greatest and are essential to providing support for academics, faculty, and students. Annual gifts can be made one-time or set up as a monthly recurring gift and designated to support a variety of needs at Ringling College including, but not limited to:
- Where the need is greatest (unrestricted)
- Scholarships
- Studio and Digital Arts
- Sarasota Art Museum
- Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
- Englewood Arts Center
For more information about Annual Giving contact Lora Wey, CFRE, Assistant Vice President for Strategic Philanthropy at 941-309-4041.
Your generosity helps inspire a community of creativity and the next generation of aspiring artists and designers. We are grateful for your support.
Many companies sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. You can double and in some cases triple the amount of your gift. To find out if your company has a matching gift program, click on the link above and enter the employer’s name.
Click the link above if you would like to initiate a grant recommendation from your Donor Advised Fund.
Attend a Signature Event
Avant-Garde 2025
Avant-Garde is Ringling College’s premier fundraising event of the year, showcasing Ringling’s incredible students. A themed gala event, all proceeds from the annual celebration support student scholarships, so we can continue to transform the lives of these aspiring artists and designers.
Golf Tournament
Every fall, Ringling College of Art and Design hosts their Annual Golf Tournament, helping to raise money for student scholarships. Golfers enjoy a beautiful day on the course, with lunch, an auction, and an awards program, with all funds raised helping to empower students to pursue their dreams, motivate them to aim high, encourage them to pay it forward, and prepare them for a lifetime of achievement.
Trustee Scholar Awards
The Trustee Scholarship is Ringling’s College’s highest honor. Awarded annually, this scholarship recognizes one fourth year student from each academic department and Student Life who best exemplifies dedication, originality, brilliance, ambition, and talent, as well as service to the College and the community.
Art Bash
The Sarasota Art Museum’s Art Bash event includes cocktails, canapés, and entertainment, followed by a seated dinner, auction, music, and dancing. Art Bash proceeds support SAM’s world-class exhibitions and educational programming featuring new work by local, national, and international artists – allowing us to serve as an inspiration and resource for members of our community and visitors from around the globe.