GivingTuesday 2026
GivingTuesday 2026 is here!
November 23rd through December 1st is the Arts Council's GivingTuesday campaign through the Cumberland Community Foundation (CCF).
Your participation is crucial to ensure our local artists continue to receive life-changing support and opportunities.
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What is GivingTuesday?
GivingTuesday is an annual campaign dedicated to boosting radical generosity in our community.
When is GivingTuesday?
CCF’s GivingTuesday window runs from November 23rd through December 1st.
How is this different from any other donation?
When you give to the Arts Council through CCF during the GivingTuesday window, your
donation will be amplified. During this nine-day window, our “Donate” buttons will redirect to our profile on CCF’s website, where you can make an amplified donation.
We would like to extend a special thank you to the following organizations and individuals for making this match possible:
● Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association
● Holmes Security Systems
● Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney
● Linda and Ralph Huff
● Daphne and Ray Manning
● Bunny and WC Powers
● Gail and Glenn Riddle
● Carol and Sammy Short
● Unrestricted Endowments of CCF
● Three anonymous donors
Where does the money go?
Your amplified gift will go directly towards supporting artists across Cumberland County, funding programs that help local talent thrive. Read on to get to know five incredible artists living and working in our community, see the work they create, and discover how the Arts Council partnered with them to advance their creative careers.
How can I give to the Arts Council?
You can make a donation in a variety of ways including:
With a credit card
Writing a check
Make your check payable to: "Cumberland Community Foundation" or "CCF"
Use the words "GivingTuesday" in the Memo line
Add The Arts Council of Fayetteville in the Memo line
Checks can can be mailed to:
Cumberland Community Foundation PO Box 2345 Fayetteville, NC 28302
Checks can also be dropped off in person at:
Cumberland Community Foundation 308 Green Street Fayetteville, NC 28301
After hours check drop-offs can be placed in the mail slot at the front of Cumberland Community Foundation's building.
All checks MUST be dated and received by 11:59pm on Tuesday, December 1, 2026 in order to be eligible for the amplification.
Making a tax-smart gift of stocks
Donating stocks, bonds, or mutual funds that have increased in value is a tax-wise approach. When you transfer ownership to the Arts Council, you may receive a charitable deduction for their full market value—and potentially avoid the capital gains tax that would otherwise arise from their sale.
Donor advised funds
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are an increasingly popular way to give, allowing you to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants from the fund over time. Initiating a grant to the Arts Council through your DAF can be an effective way to manage your philanthropic goals.
IRA Charitable Rollover
If you are 70½ years old or older, you can give up to $111,000 as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as the Arts Council without having to pay income taxes on the money. This can be particularly advantageous if you are 73 or older and required to take minimum distributions, which are otherwise taxable income.
Meet Our Featured Artists
Hannah Krieger
Cartoonist
Southeastern Artist in Residence
Audio Transcription
I'm Hannah Krieger, I'm a cartoonist. I feel like I have a lot more ownership of my work now. I feel more connected to my work thanks to having the residency here and having that physical support of the people around me and the financial support and the space to focus on my work and focus on my internal world and how to translate my ideas to art…I feel like it's mine. The imposter syndrome has kind of gone away. I feel, yeah, I feel more ownership of what I create now.
Raul Rubiera Sr
Sculptor, Photographer
Printed (2024) - Local Artist Spotlight Gallery Exhibit
Artist Support Grant Recipient
Audio Transcription
My name is Raul Rubiera. I am now a sculptor, a former photographer, and I consider myself an artist that has to be creating all the time. The Arts Council has been very instrumental, a better word essential in my development in the last ten years in transforming myself from a photographer to a sculptor. The work that I have created would have not been possible without the grants that I have obtained from the Arts Council, and now my goal is to produce work of larger scale work that can be shown outdoors. Work that can be left in place for long periods of time for people to look at.
The Arts Council has provided space for me and my wife to show our work on many occasions. Not only the exhibits that you have like 10,10,10 and the other invitational shows, but individual shows. My wife and I had a show called Printed and we both showed our work together in the space that you have dedicated for local artists and as an artist.
To me, the most important thing is to have my work seen. Not that I sell it or not sell it, but to have it seen. I love to hear people just stand there and talk about my work and then, you know, get an impression of if I am getting an emotion out of the viewer, which is my main intention.
I don't like naming my work, but I do. But I don't like it because it tends to make people see it from one point of view. While to me the work is what it means and what it is to somebody is very personal. You look at a piece of work and you react to that piece of work, and you see what you want in that piece of work. And I don't like forcing you as a viewer to my idea of what the piece of work is.
Carlos Castilla & Amanda Virelles
Musicians and Educators
Artist Support Grant Recipients
Audio Transcription
Amanda Virelles
My name is Amanda Virelles. I'm a pianist and piano professor.
Carlos Castilla
My name is Carlos Castilla. I'm a guitarist and guitar teacher.
Amanda Virelles
The Arts Council has provided us with a number of grants, both as a duet, and also individually, to create projects that otherwise [we] would have not been able to afford. And so that, monetary support has been very, very important for us to be able to produce recordings of high quality. Recently, Carlos received second place at The American Prize, which is a very important national competition. The recording that he submitted was done with the support of the Arts Council. Also right now we, as a duet, are a finalist for another competition. We're still waiting for the results of that one. But again, it has been a tremendous support to us. They [the Arts Council] are always welcoming our ideas and our projects. It has been a great support since we arrived in Fayetteville 13 years ago.
Carlos Castilla
The support that the Arts Council is important, you know, definitely it's important. It helps to get things done from the logistics point of view. But to me, the most important part is having a deadline. The CD that we recorded together, Strings for guitar and piano, is now competing at the American prize.
And the one that won second place, which is my solo CD, Guitar 21. Both were sponsored by the Arts Council. But it is important to be constantly reminded by them. ‘How are you doing? What are you, What do you need from us? Where is the project at this point within the timeline?’
Carlos Castilla
Okay, so it is, it is nice to have that because, as busy as we are, if we didn't have that deadline going, it would be. It will take forever, you see. So that's also, knowledgeable people that are behind you. That's an important thing about the Arts Council, you see, that are understand and appreciate and give value to what you do.
And not having that, we probably wouldn't be here in Fayetteville if it wasn't for that. It's nice to have it, even if we don't apply to any grant in any given year or something. It is nice to have the Arts Council in town.
Amanda Virelles
The fact that there is somebody there, whether it's a person or an institution, that is giving that extra set of eyes to what you're doing is very important and very valuable. We value the support, both monetarily but also the critiques and the input and the feedback that we get from our work. So it's been invaluable to have them behind us.
Bre'Anna Washington Weatherford
Literary Artist
Creative Impact Cohort Member
Audio Transcription
I feel like it's been a beautiful snowball effect of my experiences with the Arts Council. So I went from hosting the Kindred Visions Book Club to this most recent experience, which is actually winning the Creative Impact Cohort grant this year. Oh my goodness. I feel like it's the next natural step in my creative career at this point. But when you apply for something - to actually win it, it's this deep affirmation. It’s like, ‘Yes, I know what I'm doing is purposeful and valuable, and I want to bring it to this community.’ And for them to see it and affirm it and [for me] to manage funds to bring awesome things to the community. That's a really big level of trust, right?
Being able to host my self-publishing workshop with the backing of the Arts Council is a dream come true because that's what I want to do for any community that I'm in. Create more literate communities and not just to read books…but cultural literacy, social-emotional literacy. Being able to be literate in-self so that you can connect with your community.
So that's a significant contribution to the wellness of being a community. And what the Arts Council has provided for me.
We can’t do this without you.
Your support directly elevates the creative community, empowering artists who enrich life across Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Bookmark this page for updates on GivingTuesday and to be prepared to support the arts
from November 23rd - December 1st.
Every dollar makes a difference.
If you have any further questions about GivingTuesday or how to donate, feel free to contact Josh Murray, our Director of Community Grants & Development, at joshm@theartscouncil.com or 910-460-5723.
Thank you!
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