Thank you to Tom Whiteside, Daniel Maldonado, and Adam Hyman for writing back to me, and this list, about fundraising. Your comments were helpful and reassuring. I've been a member of this list for several years, and I have to say that I have learned a lot from the many questions, the generous responses and helpful suggestions of colleagues and friends here. When I'm stuck on something, I know I can "ask on Frameworks." As a filmmaker, I'm grateful to those who founded and continue to support this vital, virtual community. I don't know what I would do without it.
Best wishes, CC On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 12:31 PM, Tom Whiteside <[email protected]>wrote: > One issue in fundraising is fiscal sponsorship. Some funding > organizations (foundations) will not give money to you as an individual but > will make a contribution to the project though a non-profit, tax deductible > (501c3) institution, your fiscal sponsor. Women Make Movies is one, the one > I’ve worked with in the past is Southern Documentary Fund. There are > others. Generally you apply to them, show that you have a valid project and > a realistic fundraising plan; if they approve your project then donations > to your project go directly to the fiscal sponsor, they hold it for you and > pay disbursements as you turn in your receipts and stick to the script (so > to speak). The fiscal sponsor charges a fee for this, roughly 5-10%. > Another advantage to fiscal sponsorship is that individual donations are > tax deductible. Mary didn’t give YOU $100 for your project (not tax > deductible), she gave it to your fiscal sponsor, and it is a tax deductible > contribution for her. A good fiscal sponsor might also be able to help you > with your grant applications, etc. – if you have a professional grant > writer that is great, but the bottom line is that well written grants are > infinitely more likely to get funded. If you want to make the kinds of > films you have to raise money for, you have to learn how to do this part of > it, or partner with someone who knows.**** > > ** ** > > Kickstarter and the like do not require fiscal sponsorship, and most > fiscal sponsors do not want to get involved with Kickstarter(s) – they > really are DIY. But your plan to make the first chapter Is a good one, and > a common approach – we invest what we can to make the work-in-progress > reel, then we show that as a fundraiser for the big project.**** > > ** ** > > Tom Durham NC**** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Caryn Cline > *Sent:* Tuesday, May 29, 2012 9:26 AM > *To:* Experimental Film Discussion List > *Subject:* [Frameworks] fundraising**** > > ** ** > > Dear Frameworkers, > > My earlier question about USA Projects (to which Gene Youngblood kindly > responded) prompts another, more general one: what *about* fundraising? > I typically make short films and mostly fund them myself, but I'm now > involved in a bigger, collaborative project. The writer/producer and I > (the producer/director) have enough money to make the first, least > expensive "chapter" of a triptych of short films. We plan to make the > first part this summer and then use it to raise money for the second two > parts of the project (the total budget is about 20K) . > > We believe that the best time to engage in fundraising is after we have > this first piece finished, when we have something concrete to show, and our > potential donors have something to look at and judge. The grant-writing > and funding cycle seems beyond us for many reasons, not least of which are > the time and energy it takes to look for funding and develop proposals when > you are trying to also make the work. I fear the more direct > "Kickstarter"-style campaign is so ubiquitous these days that potential > funders are experiencing burnout. I'm old enough that some of my potential > donors aren't frequent users of social media, so my co-producer and I are > also thinking of sending out e-mails or even letters to them. > > I would love to hear about any experiences those of you who frequent this > list have with fundraising, and the pros and cons of using social media > sites, e-mail, snail mail, and asking for money from friends, family, > colleagues. I hope these questions will be beneficial to others on this > list. > > Thank you and best wishes, > > CC > -- > Caryn Cline > Filmmaker and Teacher > New York City and Seattle, WA > vimeo.com/carynyc > > > **** > > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > -- Caryn Cline Filmmaker and Teacher New York City and Seattle, WA vimeo.com/carynyc
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