American Craft Council
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL FOSTERS LIVELIHOODS AND WAYS OF LIVING GROUNDED IN THE ARTFUL WORK OF THE HUMAN HAND, CREATING A MORE JOYFUL, HUMANE, AND REGENERATIVE WORLD.
- Income
- $3.7 million
- Spending
- $3.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 66%
- Reserves
- 4.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 54%
- Employees
- 21
- Volunteers
- 45
- Highest pay
- $181,736, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 74 out of 100. Higher than 52% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.5 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 21% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 5% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 6% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1566% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 19 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 23 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $998,320 spent. THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL PRODUCES A SERIES OF MARKETPLACE EVENTS, INCLUDING OUR FLAGSHIP EVENT, AMERICAN CRAFT MADE BALTIMORE. IN 2025, NEARLY 16,000 TICKETS WERE PURCHASED FOR THE EVENT THAT HOSTED OVER 375 ARTISTS SELLING THEIR CRAFT. ACC ALSO PRODUCES AMERICAN CRAFT FEST ST. PAUL, WHICH INCLUDES A SMALLER MARKETPLACE COMPONENT CONSISTING OF APPROXIMATELY 60 EARLY-CAREER ARTISTS, AS WELL AS A WIDE VARIETY OF CRAFT-BASED DEMONSTRATIONS, HANDS-ON-ACTIVITIES, AND LOCALLY CRAFTED FOOD AND DRINK. ACC MARKETPLACES ARE OPEN TO ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY CREATING WORK THAT REFLECTS THE DIVERSITY OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT.
- $786,744 spent. THROUGHOUT FY 2025, ACC CONTINUED TO PUBLISH AMERICAN CRAFT AS A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE CELEBRATING THE MODERN MAKERS WHO SHAPE THE WORLD AROUND US. WITH AN ESTIMATED 70,000 READERS PER PRINT ISSUE AND OVER 100,000 UNIQUE READERS, AMERICAN CRAFT PROVIDED A LARGE AUDIENCE AND WIDE VISIBILITY FOR THE VOICE AND TALENTS OF AMERICAN CRAFT ARTISTS. COSTS TO PUBLISH AMERICAN CRAFT WERE PARTLY COVERED BY MEMBERSHIP FEES, ADVERTISING SALES, AND GRANTS FROM FOUNDATIONS. IN EARLY FY 2026, RESPONDING TO WIDESPREAD TRENDS IN PUBLISHING AND SIGNALING A NEW ERA OF ACCESS AND CONNECTION, ACC ANNOUNCED A SHIFT TO EXCLUSIVELY DIGITAL PUBLISHING TO MEET READERS WHERE THEY ARE ONLINE. THIS CHANGE IN PUBLISHING APPROACH, ACCOMPANIED BY RELATED EDITORIAL CHANGES, ARE DESIGNED TO LEVERAGE AND INCREASE DIGITAL CONTENT VIEWS (AVERAGING 2,500 WEEKLY IN FY 2025) AND THE REACH OF ACC'S BIWEEKLY NEWSLETTER (WITH A CIRCULATION OF 60,000 IN FY 2025).
- $367,450 spent. MEMBERSHIP IN THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL REACHED NEARLY 9,400 PEOPLE IN FY 2025. MEMBERS RECEIVED THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE, AMERICAN CRAFT, DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO ACC EVENTS, AND OTHER INTANGIBLE BENEFITS.
- $199,355 spent. OTHER PROGRAMS AND EVENTS: CRAFT LABS-THE CRAFT LAB WORKSHOP SERIES IS A FREE, VIRTUAL, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY FOR ACC MEMBERS. CONVERSATIONS ARE ALSO RECORDED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS TO VIEW AT THEIR CONVENIENCE. FROM ENGAGING CONVERSATIONS FEATURING MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE CRAFT INDUSTRY TO PRESENTATIONS ON PRACTICAL SKILLS AND METHODS, ACC'S CRAFT LAB WORKSHOP SERIES OFFERS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR PRACTICING ARTISTS AT EVERY CAREER STAGE. LEARN DIRECTLY FROM EXPERTS ON TOPICS AS WIDE-RANGING AS PHOTOGRAPHY, FINANCIAL TOOLS, AND MARKETING FOR ARTISTS. FORUMS -AS A FREE, PUBLIC OFFERING, AMERICAN CRAFT FORUMS FEATURE ONLINE DISCUSSIONS WITH ARTISTS, WRITERS, CURATORS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS, AND MORE DIVERSE VOICES WORKING TOGETHER TO MOVE THE CRAFT FIELD FORWARD. OBJECT STORIES-HELD IN CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, OBJECT STORIES ARE LIVE STORYTELLING EVENTS THAT BRING TOGETHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO TELL STORIES ABOUT HANDMADE OBJECTS THAT HOLD DEEP MEANING FOR THEM. WITH AN EMCEE TO KEEP THE EVENT MOVING, FIVE TO SEVEN STORYTELLERS BRING HANDCRAFTED CONTEMPORARY OR HISTORICAL OBJECTS ONSTAGE AND TELL A SHORT STORY ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE. EARLY CAREER ARTIST PROGRAM- ACC PROVIDES INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT CRAFT-CENTERED LIVELIHOODS, INCLUDING INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ARTISTS AS THEY BEGIN BUILDING THEIR CAREERS. SINCE THEIR FIRST ITERATIONS IN 2015, OUR OFFERINGS FOR EARLY CAREER ARTISTS HAVE CONTINUED TO EXPAND AND EVOLVE. IN 2025, ACC INTRODUCED A CONSOLIDATED, MEMBERSHIP-BASED PROGRAM WITH A MENU OF OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO NURTURE THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF AMERICAN MAKERS. BY COMPLETING A SHORT, FREE APPLICATION, THE EARLY CAREER ARTIST PROGRAM INVITES ACC MEMBERS WHO IDENTIFY AS EARLY-CAREER ARTISTS TO GROW THEIR CAREER AND PRACTICE BY ACCESSING A VARIETY OF RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES DESIGNED TO HELP CRAFTSPEOPLE PROFESSIONALIZE THEIR PASSION. THE EARLY CAREER ARTIST PROGRAM INCLUDES ACCESS TO DISCOUNTED EMERGING ARTIST BOOTHS, AN EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER, AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. ULTIMATELY, THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES A CRITICAL ENTRY POINT FOR CRAFTSPEOPLE ENTERING THE FIELD AND DEEPENS THE POOL OF ARTISTS WHO CAN ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES AT THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL BY OFFERING TRULY TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR EARLY-CAREER CRAFTSPEOPLE. AT THE END OF 2025, THE EARLY CAREER ARTIST PROGRAM INCLUDED 150 CRAFTSPEOPLE.
- $181,869 spent. THE ACC LIBRARY & ARCHIVES' 20,000 PRINT PUBLICATIONS, 4,000 ARTIST FILES, FOUR ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS, AND ROBUST DIGITAL COLLECTION PROVIDED A WEALTH OF RESOURCES FOR CRAFT HISTORIANS, STUDENTS, WRITERS, CURATORS, COLLECTORS AND ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE. IN FY 2025, THE LIBRARY WEBSITE RECEIVED OVER 252,200 PAGE VIEWS FROM NEARLY 18,000 WEB VISITORS. ACC'S LIBRARY & ARCHIVES AND RELATED PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS, FOUNDATIONS, AND GOVERNMENT FUNDERS. IN FY 2025, ACC ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD SEEK A PARTNER TO MAKE THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC WHILE SUSTAINING EXCELLENT STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES. FOLLOWING A THOROUGH, THOUGHTFUL, AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS, ACC SELECTED THE CENTER FOR CRAFT IN ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA AS THE NEW HOME OF THE ACC LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES. THE SELECTION WAS CELEBRATED IN A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT IN EARLY FY 2026.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1957.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.