Resources for Donors

RISD recognizes the importance of community support in realizing our vision for excellence in art and design education.
RISD community
RISD is grateful to all who support it. Our community is essential as RISD sets the global standard of excellence for art and design education. Learn more below about what matters most to you.
Alumni
RISD’s alumni are more than 30,000 strong and live in communities around the world. Many generously donate time, energy, passion and financial support to RISD. Alumni are vital partners in supporting such RISD priorities as financial aid, faculty and academic programs, and enhanced studio spaces, as well as in forming creative networks that build art and design communities around the world.
Visit the alumni website
Learn how you can volunteer
Search for new opportunities at RISD Careers
Explore the intersection of design, business and culture with RISD Executive Education
Keep learning with RISD Continuing Education
Join RISD Museum or give a membership as a gift
Families
RISD families come from many different cultures, but they share a commitment to ensuring that RISD students have the best possible experience in the studio, in the classroom and in their lives on and off campus. The support of RISD families provides a margin of excellence that helps students build their foundation for lifelong success in their creative lives.
Discover giving opportunities that support students
Make a gift to the RISD Fund
Learn about the Families Association Leadership Council and other ways to volunteer
Hire RISD students and graduates
Join RISD Museum or give a membership as a gift
Learn more about Social Equity and Inclusion at RISD
Students
Every year, approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students come to RISD from around the world. Students are a creative force here—making new works of art, designing new tools, building community, advocating for social change and asking hard questions. Each generation of students enriches RISD and helps it to grow and thrive.
Students make vital contributions to RISD’s annual fundraising efforts by becoming callers for the RISD Fund. Phonathon students call alumni, parents and friends to connect them with current events, answer questions about life on campus and obtain financial support for the RISD Fund.
If you love RISD, have great conversational skills and a team-work mentality, apply here. For more information, contact the RISD Fund at giving@risd.edu or call 401 454-6469.
Learn more about Social Equity and Inclusion at RISD
Find employment and internships at RISD Careers
Faculty and staff
Faculty and staff invest time and talent every day to make RISD the best it can be. They help to educate tomorrow’s creative leaders, create a welcoming environment, inspire innovation and transform lives. Numbering more than 1,000, faculty and staff are integral to the RISD community, and their commitment advances RISD’s mission.
Make a gift online.
Donate through payroll deduction.
Did you attend RISD? Visit the alumni website.
Learn more about Social Equity and Inclusion at RISD.
Corporations and foundations
RISD’s Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations secures private support for institutional priorities by building and fostering relationships with corporations and foundations. We work with businesses, industry associations, and foundations to identify RISD programs and priorities that provide opportunities for meaningful partnerships through a mutual vision.
Corporate partnerships
RISD offers a wide range of opportunities for corporate partnership, such as sponsoring research or exhibitions at the RISD Museum, funding internships, participating in Design Portfolio Reviews or supporting Presidential Fellowships for exceptional graduate students. Continuing Education offers global online learning while RISD’s new Expanded Education offers corporate education programs centered on creativity. Our Project Open Door (POD) and Continuing Education’s regional learning programs provide opportunities to fund RISD’s work in the community, through adult continuing education programs and youth academic-year and summer programs, and through POD’s summer, weekend, and after-school programs targeting urban core city public high school students.
Foundation support
The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations proactively seeks grants to support institutional priorities, typically falling into these categories:
- Academic programs
- Facilities renovation/upgrade and equipment support and donations
- Undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships
- Consortial initiatives
- Continuing Education scholarships
Resources for corporate and foundation partners
RISD is proud to partner with a wide variety of foundations and corporations who play an important role in advancing our mission. Find below opportunities to learn more about and partner with our creative community.
Contact information
If you represent a corporation or foundation interested in partnering with RISD, we encourage you to to contact us to explore the possibilities for engaging with and supporting our robust community of student and faculty makers.
Bridget Wiffin
Executive Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Institutional Advancement
Phone: 401 427-3028
bwiffin@risd.edu
For inquiries about internships and hiring students or alumni contact:
Kevin Jankowski
Director, Career Center
Phone: 401 454-6619
kjankows@risd.edu
Career Center Website
For inquiries related to strategic partnerships and academic partner agreements contact:
Sarah Cunningham
Vice Provost, Strategic Partnerships
Phone: 401 454-6298 x6298
scunning@risd.edu
Strategic Partnerships Website
For RISD faculty and students inquiries related to research grants & fellowships and government grants contact:
Soul Brown
Director, Research
lbrown03@risd.edu
Frequently Asked Questions
What is RISD's Tax ID?
RISD's tax ID: 05-0258956
Get in touch
If you would like to learn more about the many ways you can give to RISD, please contact us:
toll-free: 844 454-1877
phone: 401 454-6325
giving@risd.edu