Why Give
Throughout our 150-year history, SAIC’s entire community—alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, foundations, corporations, and government entities—has established a strong tradition of support and giving. This support helps deserving students to attend and thrive at SAIC. It helps expand SAIC’s academic reach and influence with new, innovative courses and collaborations. It provides SAIC faculty with opportunities for research and professional development as well as state-of-the-art teaching resources to enable them to stay ahead of the curve in the world of contemporary art and design.
Hear from our alumni, parents, and friends on why they give to SAIC:
Andrew Holmquist
mAtT Nichols
Nurturing the Next Generation
SAIC parents and families are important members of our community. Their support is crucial to the ongoing academic and artistic success of SAIC students. In addition to providing encouragement to students to further their education, SAIC parents and families understand the importance of curiosity, creativity, and the instinct to look at the world in new ways. They are wholly dedicated to their students’ passion for art and design, and they often go above and beyond to support SAIC’s role in that journey.
SAIC Receives $1 Million Gift From the Bluhm Family for New Scholarships
The Bluhm Family, a longtime supporter of SAIC, has donated $1 million to establish the Bluhm Family Scholarship Fund, which will provide need-based scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students.
SAIC’s Parents Council Helps Support Healthy Minds and Bodies
SAIC’s Parents Council awarded a grant to the School’s Wellness Center to improve the emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing of students.
Parents of SAIC Alum Establish New Professorship and Fellowship in Art History
SAIC received a $2.5 million gift, the largest ever from parents of an SAIC alum, from the Mohn Family Foundation to support a first-of-its-kind professorship and fellowship within the School’s Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism.
Inspire Visionary Ideas
SAIC’s Corporate Partners program are community leaders who engage with our world-class art and design school to advance culture and innovative thinking. Through scholarship support, sponsored classes, research partnerships, or expert exchanges, our Corporate Partners are advancing SAIC’s impact on the cultural and intellectual landscape of the places where faculty, students, and alumni live and work.
“True Partners Consulting has been honored to support the work of SAIC's outstanding fashion students through our sponsorship of The WALK runway show and scholarship gala. We are proud to partner with such talented students through our support of SAIC programs.”
“Each year, we have a [Goldman Sachs Scholars] luncheon with the students where we talk about their goals for the year. I am always impressed by the quality of the students’ work and their determination to make an impact on the world through the arts.”
“We have collaborated with SAIC Fashion students for window displays in our Michigan Avenue boutique, and we have provided jewelry and crystal elements for the students’ fashion collections. I can’t express just how meaningful it is to support emerging design talent at such a highly regarded design school.”
“Mesirow Financial is inspired by the next generation of artists and influencers studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. We are proud to be a long-time sponsor.”
“Cotton Incorporated is excited to be working with the sophomore Fashion students at SAIC through the Languages of Cotton project. These students are the next fiber, fabric, and fashion decision makers in the industry.”