Artist Speak: Artist Tithing

"The only kind of tithing I had heard of was what my uncle did at church and what many business books recommended. I never could understand the rationale though. How could I give 10% of everything I made away to someone else when I barely had enough money to pay the bills some months? When you’re barely getting by, tithing may not seem like the most logical step to take in terms of your career, but that’s why I’ve included it in this section.

When I created “The Neon Man and Me,” I decided to give 10% of every dollar that came in from the show to my friend’s family. It only seemed right. I was, after all, benefiting from a story that only partially belonged to me. 

On paper though, it didn’t seem to make much sense. Before the show started paying for itself, I was still using money from my day job to pay for the production. It seemed more logical to put all the money from the show back into the show.

I did it anyway and it’s interesting that something magical happened every time I sent a check off to my friend’s family. I attribute much of my success to this form of giving. I’m not sure how it works, but it does."