The Center for Craft Creativity & Design Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Schedule 0 (period july 1, 2024 - june 30, 2025) the center for craft is currently engaged in a strategic plan titled craft matters (2023-2027), at its heart is the vision of a culture where communities celebrate and embrace the centrality of craft in everyday life. The center for craft supports the preservation and innovation of craft by providing grants and fellowships that offer funding, networks, and peer- to-peer learning nationwide; exhibitions in our downtown asheville gallery that illuminate 21st-century practices of craft; and public programs that tell the story of how and why craft matters. The center for craft's grant programs are keystones in developing the national craft ecosystem, supporting emerging and established craft artists, scholars, educators, and organizations nationwide. In fy25, the center received 2,137 grant applications and awarded 941 grants totaling 1,982,748. Now permanently endowed, the center for craft's windgate-lamar fellowship has awarded 2.985 million to 199 emerging craft artists with exemplary skills in craft since the program's inception. In the past year, the center has successfully implemented a regular schedule of grants, exhibitions, and associated programs, despite setbacks from hurricane helene and reduced federal funding opportunities. In fy25, the center for craft worked with over 50 artists through exhibitions and over 75 artists through programming. The center supported 47 artists with 555,000 in grant programs for emerging artists, mid-career teaching artists, and a residency for wnc artists. In response to the needs of local artists following hurricane helene, the center awarded an additional 903,000 in grants to 849 artists through the craft futures fund. Launched in 2024, the new alumni network program - an initiative to deepen and strengthen our work with artists and our ability to support and connect them - now has over 260 active members. In june 2025, the center awarded 10 alumni unrestricted micro-grants to support travel and material purchases, as a continuation of the center's investment in our alumni's work beyond their initial awards. Furthermore, we have sought ways to amplify our alumni in our exhibitions and programs, creating a more integrated and ongoing support system for our awardees beyond their initial funding. The center supports innovative research and craft scholarship through the craft research fund and craft archive fellowship. A visionary program dedicated to supporting scholarly craft research in the united states, the craft research fund is the center's longest-running grant program. The craft archive fellowship, which promotes archival research on underrepresented and non-dominant craft histories in the united states, received 260 applications and awarded 6 grants totaling 30,000 this year. The center for craft has become a vital community resource in western North Carolina, serving visitors annually through top-notch programs. Free to the public, our galleries offer exhibitions and an engagement studio, where visitors can explore craft publications and other hands-on activities that catalyze discovery and learning about craft for all ages, backgrounds, and interest levels. In fy25, the center welcomed 11,542 gallery visitors, exhibited the work of 54 artists, and hosted 1,448 virtual program attendees. Over the past two years, the center designed and produced a new materials collection. Through hands-on exploration and observation, audiences may explore materials commonly associated with craft to deepen their understanding. The materials collection was funded by the institute of museum and library services and supported, in part, by the center for native health. The center for craft's historic 1912 facility also offers over 10,000 square feet to host programs, meetings, and events in classroom, conference, and coworking spaces ("cowork"). The center for craft is a destination and resource for visitors and the local community by fulfilling the cul

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
• Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 98; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.17; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings