Dear community,

October has begun. The leaves in the Valley are changing to their bright end-of-year colors. The design studio is humming with the 2026 Design/Build Semester Program, and we’re making sawdust in the woodshop and swinging hammers on the jobsite. Mornings are crisp and cool, but hauling timber warms the hands quickly enough.

The change of seasons, project deadlines, planning for 2027, and counting the time to the end of the year in weeks all bring on an exciting energy to campus. But also a sense of urgency: our ability to do this work depends on support - your support.

Like any design decision, Yestermorrow's business model is built on tradeoffs. We choose to teach traditional crafts with modern tools and science, in the birthplace of the design/build movement, in a way that no other place in the world teaches it. Like many schools and education programs, Yestermorrow programs cost more to run than the tuition covers. Nearly 70% of our operating revenue comes from tuition - and support from donors like you must make up the difference and sustain our programs, year after year.

Last year, your support helped us serve 370 unique students, deliver over 4,100 instructional days, and award over $160,000 in tuition assistance — keeping this education within reach for anyone who wants to build.

Many of you reading this have given before. Maybe it was this year. Maybe it was last year, or maybe it's been a few years. To all of you, we say thank you. We ask you to consider making another donation. And we remind you all that Yestermorrow has shifted its fiscal year-end to December 31. Your gift needs to reach us by December 31 to count toward our end-of-year goal. 

Every gift, at every size, lets us continue this work. Please, give now, in whatever way works for you:

• Give monthly. A recurring gift, even a modest one, gives us steady support we can plan around all year.
• Give online. One time or monthly, by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, or Venmo, via GiveLively.
• Give by check. Payable to Yestermorrow Design/Build School, mailed to 7865 Main St, Waitsfield, VT 05673.
• Give through a donor-advised fund (DAF). Recommend a grant using our EIN, 03-0278594.
• Give from your IRA. If you're 70½ or older, a Qualified Charitable Distribution isn't taxed as income and can count toward your RMD.
• Give stock or cryptocurrency through every.org, or contact us directly for our brokerage information.
• Check if your employer matches charitable contributions, which could double the impact of your gift.

Give Now →

Every gift helps us continue to offer our existing unique programming and to pilot new innovative classes, like 2026’s Intro to Stereotomy and Framing to Finish Certificate. Every gift supports our ongoing work to complete our demonstration houses and to launch new initiatives, like adding workforce and job-readiness credentials. Every gift increases our ability to expand access to programs for affinity groups and historically underserved communities, to bring design/build education to more students.

We can’t do any of this work without your support. 

Please consider a gift of support to Yestermorrow between now and December 31. 

Design/Build has always been a collaborative process. Thank you for building this with us.

Sincerely,
Yestermorrow’s Senior Leadership Team

Norm Staunton, Development Director
Chrissy Bellmyer, Operations Director
Aron Michalski, Finance Director

And the entire Yestermorrow Board and Staff