By: Lindsey Hayakawa, CERF+ Advancement Coordinator
The First Decade: 1985 – 1995
The story of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund began with the “passing of a hat.”
Glass artist Josh Simpson remembers returning each year to the American Craft Council’s Northeast Craft Fair in Rhinebeck, New York in the early 1980s. “All of us had not seen each other for a whole year—and we would discover that somebody’s barn had burned down, or somebody else had been in an auto accident, or someone’s van had been broken into and they had lost all their crafts.”
As a way to support fellow craft artists who couldn’t participate in the fair, “we would pass a hat,” said Carol Sedestrom Ross, a clothing designer and craftsperson, who at the time was the president of American Craft Enterprises (ACE), the marketing arm of the American Craft Council (ACC) that ran the Rhinebeck Fair. This spirit of mutual aid at the ACC’s fairs was a way to support craft artists who were missing due to a personal emergency or disaster.
“It was Carol’s idea to try to do something that was more concrete—and more organized—so that we could help artists who were in trouble,” Josh said.
“In 1984, when it was time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Rhinebeck Fair, an ACC trustee, Mary Nyburg, and I were talking about what we could do that would be ongoing, in a memorial to the 20 years of the fair,” said Carol. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could institute this ‘passing of the hat’ so that craftspeople could feel that there would always be someplace where they could go?’”
At the time, Josh was also on the board of ACE. At the next meeting, Josh suggested that ACE sponsor an independent fund that would be able to respond quickly and with more resources whenever a craft artist experienced an emergency.
Josh said, “A month later, I got a call from Carol.” Carol had contacted a legal aid lawyer and asked him to incorporate CERF. “The lawyer needed the names of the officers, so Carol offered me as President, herself as Secretary, and two other members of ACE’s board as Vice President and Treasurer.”
With Josh Simpson as president, CERF’s original board committed to raising $50,000 before making the organization’s first loans to craft artists facing emergencies.
“I thought, ‘Well this is cool, we’ll just raise $50,000 right off the bat and have a fund that will help artists forever,” said Josh. “It was just wonderful to be full of energy and totally naive.”
On June 20, 1985, CERF held an auction during the 20th anniversary of the first ACC Northeast Craft Fair. According to American Craft magazine, 250 artists donated artwork for the auction, which raised nearly $20,000. Those funds launched the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.
Carol, Josh, and artist Marylyn Dintenfass incorporated the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in New York in 1985. A few years later in 1987, the organization made its first loans to craft artists, which were generally between $250 and $500 each.
Soon after, Lois Ahrens became CERF’s first executive director. Lois helped build CERF into a much more visible and significant organization. She brought in the organization’s first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which enabled CERF to increase its maximum loan amount to $1,000. With help from the board, Lois developed partnerships with suppliers and show producers to offer benefits, such as booth-fee waivers and discounts on equipment and supplies for craft artists.
In March 1996, Cornelia Carey became CERF’s executive director. Before joining CERF, Cornelia served as the Grants Officer at the Vermont Arts Council and as the Program Director at the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
“We’ve come a long way because of the craft community’s belief in and support for this work,” said Cornelia. “We’ve maintained our commitment to the individual craft artists, and to our grassroots beginnings: assistance is always personal, individualized, and fast.”
During the first decade of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the spirit of mutual aid of craft artists was realized and became the foundation of the organization. Mutual aid is in the Craft Emergency Relief Fund’s DNA. The staff, board, and supporters of CERF+ continue to move this philosophy forward today by committing to generosity, inclusion, and care in all aspects of its work.
The Second Decade: 1996 – 2006
From 1997 to 2008, Executive Director Cornelia Carey and the Board of Directors of the CERF developed many of the policies and programs that became the foundation of the organization.
In 1997, CERF board members attended a two-day Strategic Planning Retreat in Tucson, Arizona, to focus on expanding and long-term planning for CERF. During that retreat, “We started a planning process… We did some work on Board roles and responsibilities… We drafted a new mission statement. We looked at the external environment for CERF, and what the opportunities and/or threats were,” Cornelia wrote in a follow-up board report. That same year, Cornelia and the board adopted the Carver Model of Board Governance, and from these planning sessions, the primary purposes of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund were identified to provide craft artists with immediate emergency assistance, emergency prevention services, and additional long-term support.
Cornelia and the CERF board began developing strategies for fundraising, communications, and staffing that centered around emergency assistance, prevention education, and long-term support. In the years that followed, staff grew in response to the increase in requests for assistance, growth in educational services, and the expansion of CERF’s website and communications.
The Craft Emergency Relief Fund published and distributed its first newsletter, cerfnews, in the fall of 1999. It was sent twice a year to build greater awareness of the assistance and services that the Craft Emergency Relief Fund offered.
CERF board and staff designed creative ways to fundraise for the organization, such as the Hands for CERF collection and CERF charms. CERF charms were created and donated by artists and sold to support the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. Hands for CERF was an encased collection of 25 miniature hands on display at the CERF booth at SOFA Chicago (now known as Intersect Art and Design) in 1999, and a raffle for the Hands for CERF raised $9,800.
In the early 2000s, CERF continued to expand its staff and programming to better serve craft artists and launched several programs: Quick Loan, Phoenix Loan, and Supplier Program. The Supplier Program involved CERF partnering with craft suppliers and manufacturers to provide supplies and equipment to craft artists recovering from disasters and emergencies. The no-interest Quick Loans provided up to $3,500 in immediate assistance to craft artists to cover essential needs such as rent, groceries, and utilities. The Phoenix Loans provided up to $8,000 to artists to rebuild their businesses. CERF also launched its signature program, the Disaster Relief Grant Program, which provided up to $1,000 to support craft artists recovering from climate-related disasters.
In 2006, CERF was continuing program expansions while responding to those significantly affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As part of this response, CERF contributed to the organizing of the National Coalition for Artists’ Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER), a voluntary, cross-disciplinary task force of a dozen national arts leaders active in disaster preparedness. These efforts focus on supporting arts organizations and individual artists through advocacy, research, readiness, relief, response and recovery.
For the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the second decade was a period of dramatic growth in organizational capacity, services to the field, and visibility. Nearly 20 years later, the board and staff of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund still serves craft artists with creativity and compassion. The Craft Emergency Relief Fund continues to evolve and build upon the partnerships and programs established during the second decade of the organization’s life.
The Third Decade: 2007 – 2017
Between 2008 and 2018, the staff and board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund embarked on a decade-long journey of research and reflection to shape the organization’s future. The staff and board noticed that climate-related disasters occurred with increased frequency and severity. They saw how the 2008 economic recession challenged craft artists and their practices. In recognition of these crises, CERF conducted research studies to better understand how to meet the changing needs of craft artists and their communities, which affirmed a new focus on helping craft artists prepare for emergencies and disasters before they happen.
Following Hurricane Katrina, CERF strengthened the emergency relief program while also emphasizing the necessity of preparedness. CERF adopted a holistic model of care, which integrated the four phases of emergency management–readiness, relief, response, and recovery. This momentum fueled continuous work to increase readiness resources involving professional development, legacy planning, and business insurance. The work of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund grew to encompass both a proactive and response role by helping artists prepare for and recover from emergencies. To acknowledge the organization’s expanded responsibility to help craft artists prepare for emergencies and disasters, CERF adopted the ‘+’ and became CERF+, the renowned organization we know today.
Demonstrating its commitment to preparedness, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund launched the Studio Protector and its companion website in 2009, followed by the Readiness Grant program in 2017. According to Cornelia Carey, the Executive Director at the time, the Studio Protector is an “artist-designed [and] artist-tested wall chart, with vital checklists to guide artists in preparing and responding to emergencies.” The Readiness Grant program (now known as the Get Ready Grant program), provided grants to support craft artists in safeguarding their studios, protecting their careers, and preparing for emergencies.
The Craft Emergency Relief Fund celebrated its 25th anniversary with a series of festivities in 2010. In January, Craft in America and the Freehand Gallery honored CERF+ in Los Angeles, California. The event featured an online auction, which raised nearly $17,000 for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. In July, the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California (ACGA) and the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation hosted a special sale benefiting CERF+ which featured artwork donated by ACGA artists in Palo Alto, California.
The festivities culminated during CERF+’s 25th Anniversary Celebration Reunion at Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. The two-day event featured a silent auction, artist-led workshops, a dance party, and a visioning of the next 25 years for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.
In 2016, the American Craft Council (ACC) presented the Craft Emergency Relief Fund with the Award of Distinction for the organization’s significant contributions to the craft field and its commitment to sustaining its leadership role.
Today, the ‘+’ in CERF+ symbolizes abundance and interconnectedness. “The ‘+’ in CERF+ has come to reflect the many facets of the craft community,” says Ruby Lopez Harper, Executive Director of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. “It’s about adding to a tapestry, a village of support and service–more connection, more resources, and more ways to help craft artists flourish.”
The Fourth Decade: 2018 – 2025
As the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) completes our 40th anniversary celebration and recognizes 40 years of serving craft artists, it’s remarkable to see how each chapter of the organization’s history has built upon the one before it. The past decade, in particular, has marked a period of transformation—transitions in leadership, overcoming challenges, and reaffirming CERF+’s unwavering commitment to artists’ well-being.
In 2018, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund continued to refine and expand its support for craft artists. The release of the Studio Safety Guide and accompanying poster offered clear, accessible resources to help artists create safer work environments—an essential part of a sustainable art practice.
A year later, in 2019, CERF+ deepened its connections in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Board members and artists, including Diana Dávila and Jaime Suárez, helped guide recovery and preparedness workshops in communities rebuilding after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. With support from FEMA, the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, and the Reichhold Center for the Arts, CERF+ partnered with Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) to offer hands-on training on emergency response and salvaging water-damaged materials. These efforts embodied the spirit of mutual aid that has always defined the Craft Emergency Relief Fund since its inception.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund once again rose to meet an unprecedented challenge. The organization launched the COVID-19 Relief Grant program to support craft artists facing sudden hardship due to the pandemic—helping them cover essential needs like housing, food, and healthcare.
In 2021, after 25 years of dedicated leadership, Executive Director Cornelia Carey announced her retirement. That same year, CERF+ began a process of strategic visioning led by Lindsay Hoffman, exploring how the organization could evolve to meet the changing needs of the craft field. As Lindsay observed, “If grassroots mutual aid was the theme for CERF+’s early years, Field-Building may be the overarching theme for the past 15 years.”
The following year marked a turning point. In November 2022, Ruby Lopez Harper was appointed Executive Director of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. Ruby brings over 15 years of arts and disaster management experience to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. Before joining CERF+, Ruby most recently served as Vice President of Equity and Local Arts Engagement at Americans for the Arts (AFTA), and as Grants and Services Director at the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC). At Americans for the Arts, Ruby led development and implementation of an organization-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion framework to unite and resource equitable practices across 10 departments. At the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Ruby oversaw the organization’s grant-making processes, procedures and guidelines, as well as enhancing support for individual artists through the Individual Artist Fellowship program.
Under Ruby’s leadership, CERF+ in partnership with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) and supported by the Windgate Foundation, led the expansion of the Native Craft Artist Readiness Program (NCARP). NCARP is a six-month capacity building program that provides Native and Puerto Rican artists with training, resources, and financial support to build sustainable art practices. In 2023, CERF+ became a fully remote workplace—a shift that reflects the organization’s national scope, as well as a commitment to generosity, inclusion, and care for staff.
In 2024, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund began a new chapter. The organization announced an updated mission, strategic vision, and guiding principles—affirming its dedication not only to education, emergency relief, and preparedness, but also to advocating for a thriving and sustainable craft community. That same year, new FEMA rule changes under the Biden-Harris administration expanded eligibility for federal disaster assistance to self-employed artists and entrepreneurs—a policy shift that CERF+ worked on tirelessly for years.
From its founding by craft artists in 1985 to today’s expansive network of support, CERF+ stays rooted in mutual aid and invested in the well-being of artists, while envisioning a future where creativity and security coexist.
If you would like to share your story with CERF+, please complete this form.
