The CRAFT Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to curating culturally inclusive ecosystems throughout the world of arts and entertainment by transforming formal training and industry practices while promoting equitable access.

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This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in our CREATE A FUTURE Campaign—our first-ever fundraising initiative. Together, we’re raising $100,000 and engaging 150 donors to help strengthen our foundation and sustain the work that uplifts artists of the global majority.

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Your support will help fund:
 

• CRAFT Operations – All CRAFT Team have been volunteers or consultants. We hope to hire 2-3 part-time employees that can sustain the necessary work of The CRAFT Institute. 
   

• The International Black Theatre Summit – A Think Tank, global network, and biennial convening that gathers scholars and practitioners working in theatre, film, television, and related media and tech to strategize the future of Black storytelling across platforms throughout the continent of Africa and the Diaspora. We have gathered in 2018, 2021 (virtually), 2023, and most recently, in Ghana in 2025. We are raising funds for 2027.
   

• The Writers Retreat – An intimate, in-person residency for Black Screenwriters. Over three days on Martha’s Vineyard, four selected writers receive one-on-one mentorship from industry professionals, with dedicated space to develop their feature film or TV pilot in a supportive, culturally resonant environment. With exception to the application fee, all expenses are covered by CRAFT.
   

• Echoes of Us – A series of curated monologues from writers spanning the African diaspora that depict diverse expressions of the Black experience and dramatize interconnections of who we are, directed by Michelle Shay. Development, curation, and staging for Echoes is a collaborative co-production model that aligns with The International Black Theatre Summit’s mission to strategize the future of Black storytelling for the first decade of the next 100 years. 

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• The CRAFT Internship Program – A new model designed to bring together one student from an HBCU and one student from an Ivy League institution through an 11-week Broadway Producing Internship in New York City. In addition to the practical fieldwork, CRAFT will provide an infrastructure for intentional professional development, including mentorship.

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Now more than ever, our work would not be possible without you. Thank you for your consideration and we appreciate your commitment to CRAFT.​