We transform lives by giving individuals the tools to tell their own stories 

“SAW gave me the confidence to become the artist I wanted to be. I am very grateful for the time I spent learning, trying, studying comics, figuring out my own style, letting myself struggle, succeed and fail, working in many different mediums and learning from all the different mentors and guest speakers. The community was a big part of why this worked for me. I felt very supported by my classmates/friends when it came to the work and figuring things out… I am so happy Tom started this school. It also gave me the momentum to keep up with the drawing and how to keep it going. It was so much better than I had ever imagined. I'll forever have fond memories of my time at SAW.” - Tamara Jong, scholarship recipient

We are non-profit 501c comics school and creative community. Since 2012 over 2000 people have gone through our programs and come out the other side empowered to take charge of their next narrative.

Our donors help support scholarship opportunities for our core programs, keep our programs low-cost, and ensure the lights stay on in our brick-and-mortar school.

Our Latest Projects

• Support the improvement of our library.

$3,500 gets us 4 new double-sided metal shelves to organize our growing collection of contemporary comics.

$11,000 get us 4 new double-sided metal shelves + 16 new single-sided metal shelves to store our entire book collection.

$16,000 helps us cover the cost of the book shelves + shipping + installation.

To support Our Library Improvement Project Include ‘SAW Library’ in your donation description.

• Support SAW Buy Their Own Building.

  Over the next 3 years we hope to raise funds to purchase our own building. A SAW-owned building means expanding our in person programs, providing purpose-built studio space, creating affordable residency opportunities and reducing costs to our out-of-town students.

To support our goal of establishing a long term home for SAW, include ‘Home’ in your donation description.

Corporate, Government and Foundational Support

• 😍 The Will Eisner Foundation 😍 

• Annie Koyama

• The City of Gainesville Arts and Cultural Council / Alachua County Department of Cultural Affairs

• 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁦󠁬󠁿 Florida Arts Tag / Florida Department of Art 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁦󠁬󠁿

• The State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts

• South Arts

• University of Florida

• 🍕 Satchel’s Pizza! 🍕

😇 Orphan Annie and Sandy Benefactor Level! ($500 - $5000+) 😇

💪 Popeye and Olive Oyl Sweety Level! 💪 ($200 - $500)

Big thanks to our 2020 Go Fund Me supporters who helped us move location in 2021!

Josh Bayer Isabella Guttuso Paul Shortt and Perry Collins Dave Hotstream Kiana Stewart Tor Freeman Jill Littlewood Jennifer Spence Arthur Whelan Barry Sawicki Darlene Campbell Janice Dees Joya Serhend A Sirkecioglu Aaron Figueroa Miranda Harmon Ayelet Dor Robin Best David Bartlett Brian Riley Lillian Burgess Elise Dietrich Jennifer Sunderland Anna Mack Glynnis Fawkes Carlos Perez and Andres Gonzalez Hallie Pope Don Unger Kim Laurenti Jenny G Cat Fink Arthur Whelan Luke Kwan Nick Mullins Matthew Jeske Bruce Lipsky Larry Condra Karen Knighton Michael Rex Jacob Stalvey Katherine W-F and all our anonymous supporters!

💕Thank You Everyone!💕

the SAW Story

Everyone, every story is welcome at SAW. Anyone can come and learn. We make sure all our classes are cheap—our Year Long Comics Intensive is 1/10 the cost of a traditional art school—and we offer sliding scale and exchange-for-work options. We also aim to pay our teaching artists a living wage, and provide a comfortable, safe, accessible facilities for students.

To survive and thrive, our community-based, upstart art school needs help from comics lovers, fans of indie education, and generous souls like YOU.

Please donate! Every dollar given is tax deductible. Your gift will help fund...

• Cheap classes for kids and teens,

• Scholarships for people who have been historically excluded from recognition in comics,

• Material and printing costs for student work,

• Community events and exhibitions,

• Visiting artists workshops,

• General operational costs like rent and utilities,

• Improvements to equipment and furniture,

• And much, much more…

Our Plan

• Keep people educating people.

• Keep people's stories front and center.

• Train people to listen and to communicate.

• Honor creativity as a way to counter the forces which work to diminish us.

• Create and foster community in real space where people can uplift and empower each other. 

• Keep students in need (artistic, emotional, financial, whatever! We're all in need) coming in.

Become a regular supporter On Patreon!

To volunteer with SAW, donate books, supplies or other resources, or to make a major gift, please contact us directly.