1. Why should I support the SMFA? Isn't it just another college of art?

All art colleges are important and all have distinctive ways of doing what works for them.

The SMFA is the only place that builds an entire program around three fundamental, fully-integrated features: (1) a wholehearted commitment only to the fine arts; (2) a deep conviction that artmaking is interdisciplinary; (3) confidence and insistence that artists will discover their voices only if their route through the curriculum is self-directed.

Put more profoundly by a 2006 graduate: "Art is unpredictable. The SMFA is the only school where students can dive into that unpredictability and choose courses according to how their work is developing. The curriculum doesn't tell the student how to plan what cannot be planned." In other words, the School bases its pedagogy on the way art comes into being—not on a definitive set of rules and directions and requirements.

2. Unique is fine, but does it work?

Think of this representative, much-abbreviated list of SMFA graduates: David Armstrong, Will Barnet, Carol Beckwith, Jason Berger, Allan Rohan Crite, Jane Dickson, Jim Dine, Ellen Gallagher, Nan Goldin, Joan Jonas, Lois Mailou Jones, Ellsworth Kelly, Philip-Lorca diCorca, David Lynch, Mark Morrisoe, Richard Scarry, Mike and Doug Starn, Cy Twombly, and Katherine Lane Weems. Take a look at the books by and about these people to see for yourself the degree of their success.

Then "Google" these more recent graduates who you will surely be hearing about in the future: Kristin Baker, Brian Burkhardt, Mark Chariker, Lalla Essaydi, Justin Faunce, Zach Feuer, Torben Giehler, Leslie Hall, Neeta Madahar, and Cheney Thompson.

Think of the hundreds of alumni who could be on this list. Think also of the hundreds of others who make invaluable contributions to the arts as parents, teachers, and community volunteers. The SMFA's unique education has always "worked," and has had a profound impact on art in America and beyond. Your gift supports and extends a vital tradition.

3. Can my gift really make a difference?

Every gift buys something important, whether it is a scholarship, an easel, ink for a press, or a few minutes of an advisor's time.

The more people who support the School regularly, the more successfully we can ask others for support. The more money the School has, the better it gets.

At the SMFA, every penny of every dollar goes to work on something that matters. Your money does not support elaborate overhead, or a large staff (this staff is one of the smallest in relation to the size of faculty and student body of any art college). It does not support one underused square foot of space. It does not even support a president's house or vehicle. It goes to work for teaching and artmaking.

4. The School is part of the well-funded, distinguished Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and closely affiliated with the well-funded, distinguished Tufts University. Why do you ask for gifts at all?

The SMFA functions as an independent college, floating on its own financial bottom.

The School receives no funding from either the MFA or Tufts. Such independence is invaluable, but friends of the School who value such independence must work to support it.

The School relies on gifts, fundraising, events, and income from a modest endowment for about 15 percent of its budget—about $3,000,000 annually. Without this 15 percent, the experience of students and faculty would be profoundly diminished. With more than 15 percent, there would be more financial aid, stronger faculty support, deeper exhibitions programming, and more rapid deployment of information technology, not to mention other things such as greater reserves for facilities enhancement and special one-time projects.

5. Suddenly, there is a lot about money. Is there more about the School?

There is always more. The School is always changing ("always evolving" is a phrase in the mission statement). Life in the arts is never finished. In the words of the same alumna who responded to the first question: "I didn't feel finished at graduation; I still had plenty to learn. But I did feel ready to leave, because I had learned to evaluate my own work and trust my judgments. I felt confident that I could continue exploring on my own; this knowledge is more valuable to me than anything."

6. How can I make a gift to the School?

Giving is easy, whether online at www.smfa.edu/give, by phone to Emily Day at 617-369-3659, or by e-mailing development@smfa.edu.