Give to Northern Lakes Arts Association
The arts belong here. Your support helps keep them here.
Your Support Makes This Possible
Every gift helps build a stronger arts community right here in northern Minnesota.​
Your support puts artists to work, opens doors for audiences, creates opportunities for young people, and keeps ambitious arts experiences rooted in our region.
18,000
people
reached annually
Each year, thousands of people take part in NLAA performances, concerts, classes, exhibitions, youth programs, and community events across our region. Your support helps create more opportunities for people to experience the arts close to home.
150+
artists engaged
each year
NLAA brings together performers, musicians, directors, designers, teaching artists, visual artists, writers, and other creative professionals. Donor support creates opportunities for artists to make and share their work in northern Minnesota.
$100,000+
invested
directly in artists
More than $100,000 goes directly to the artists and creative professionals who make this work possible. Your gift helps turn arts funding into paid opportunities for people to create, teach, perform, and build careers in the arts.
1,890
Pay-What-You-Can
Admissions
Across 13 performances of Annie, Oklahoma! and Jesus Christ Superstar, audiences had the freedom to choose a ticket price that worked for them. Your support helps NLAA remove cost as a barrier while keeping ambitious live theater on our stages.
Ways to Give
MEMBERSHIP
Join a community of people who believe the arts belong here.
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Your membership supports artists, youth programs, performances, and access while connecting you more closely to the work you make possible.
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2027 members receive free ticket transfers, recognition in our annual member listing, and an invitation to the Art of Community Gathering.
LEGACY CIRCLE
Make a significant investment in the future of the arts in our region. Legacy Circle support gives NLAA the dependable resources to plan ahead, invest in artists, expand access, and take on ambitious work.
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Legacy Circle members receive special recognition and invitations throughout the year. Members are recognized by name, while individual gift amounts remain private.
MONTHLY GIVING
Turn your support into something NLAA can count on all year. Monthly gifts provide steady funding for artists, programs, and accessible arts experiences while making a larger annual contribution easier to spread throughout the year.
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Your total annual giving determines your membership level and benefits.
SPONSORSHIP
NLAA sponsorships support the artists, programs, and productions that bring people together across Ely and our region.
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Choose what you want to make possible: sponsor a program for $1,000, a production for $1,250, or the full 2027 season for $1,500.
Sponsorships are open to businesses, organizations, individuals, and families.
Why Give to NLAA?
We don't believe rural should mean less.
A community like ours shouldn't have to choose between artistic ambition and access. We believe northern Minnesota deserves both.
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Your support helps NLAA bring professional artists to Ely while investing in artists who already call this region home. It creates opportunities for young people to learn alongside working artists. It keeps performances within reach through free programming, scholarships, and Pay What You Can tickets. And it creates places where neighbors can gather, experience something together, and feel more connected to the place we call home.
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We can make ambitious art here. We can make it accessible. And we can make sure the people creating it are paid for their work.
That is what your gift makes possible.
Invest in the Future of the Arts:
Legacy Giving with NLAA
Make the arts part of what you leave behind.
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A planned gift to Northern Lakes Arts Association can help ensure that future generations have opportunities to create, perform, learn, and experience the arts right here in northern Minnesota.
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There are several ways to include NLAA in your long-term plans:
Include Northern Lakes Arts Association as a beneficiary in your will or living trust.
Name NLAA as a beneficiary of all or a portion of a retirement account.
Designate NLAA as a beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy.
Depending on your circumstances, other financial assets may also be used to make a future charitable gift.
You don't need to know exactly what your gift will look like before starting the conversation. If you're considering including Northern Lakes Arts Association in your plans, we'd be glad to talk with you.
To start a conversation. please email us at Ian@northernlakesarts.org or call us at 218-235-9937
NLAA does not provide legal, tax, or financial advice. We encourage you to consult with your attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional when considering a planned gift.
More Ways to Help:
Gifts of Goods & Services
Businesses and individuals can support NLAA through donated goods, materials, housing, meals, professional services, and other resources our programs need.
Employer Matching Gifts
Your contribution may be eligible for a charitable match from your employer. Check with your employer to see whether your gift to Northern Lakes Arts Association can go twice as far.