Rebuild The Grotto: Support Asheville Artists

When I first mentioned the idea of a GoFundMe for 'The Grotto' after hurricane Helene, I was met with pushback from some of the glassblowers. Some of them saying "There's other people that need their needs met first." I reminded them that it's also imperative that the community start thinking about the sustainability. The heart of our sweet little town is built on cuisine, music, and ART. Which they are very much a part of! --Chelsea Guest

It's important to recognize what artists bring to the table and pour back into our community. We are ready to rebuild, but we cannot do this alone. --The Grotto

In times when basic needs are difficult to meet, it will be people like you who make survival of our community possible. In the heart of Asheville, North Carolina, hundreds of artists are affected with dozens of art spaces completely destroyed. Many buildings made toxic and completely inaccessible by contaminated flood water unleashed by hurricane Helene.

For many years the 'Grotto' was an art space that has been a garden of creativity, a nexus for community gatherings, and a beacon shining out against all adversity. This studio has been a place for dozens of people marking chapters in life where dreams began, struggles faded away, where long standing relationship and visions of the future began and were made stronger.

Please consider helping our small group of talented artists to rebuild their studio and prepare for the next phase of recovery after the disaster caused by hurricane Helene. --JJ Forest

The human beings involved and affected:

Jonathan Layne

Harley Morales

Thomas Speer

JJ Forest

Paul Gramigna

Casey Davenport

**Edit**

IMPORTANT!!!! Please read before donating

If you see a”tip” added to your donation when you go to check out, do the following as I have no control to eliminate the “tip” but you can!

To set the tip to 0% when donating on GoFundMe, follow these steps:

1. Start the donation process by entering the amount you’d like to give.

2. On the payment page, look for the section that says “Tip GoFundMe” or something similar.

3. You’ll see a dropdown menu or a sliding scale with a default percentage (like 17%). Click on the dropdown or use the slider to adjust the tip amount.

4. Select “Other” or drag the slider to set the tip to 0%.

5. Complete your donation as usual with no additional tip.

This should ensure that no tip is automatically added to your donation.