Question of the Week: Funding

Hey Mister!   I gotta a question for you. When you are looking for underwriters and donations, do you send out a feeler e-mail or do you send the whole kit and kaboodle?      Gotta project I am trying to make happen. It is so close, but thinking maybe I could get someone to underwrite part of it - then it would actually happen.      Thoughts ideas??      Thanks!    

It depends on what you're looking for in terms of donation amounts.  Asking for $10 donations is very different than asking for $5,000. The latter requires a different approach.  

As a general rule  - the more personal the better - there's no shortcut for that.  And the more options you give for giving the better with it clearly spelled out what they are contributing to and how it will help you.  

Blast a *yawn* *yawn* cut and paste e-mail out into the e-mail or snail mail ether and you're lucky to get a 1% response rate. 

If I got a request from you, I would most likely delete it or throw the request away myself and I know you.  Don't send anyone anything unless you've developed a relationship with them to begin with AND they are expecting to receive it. If you break this rule, it's sort of like sending a big huge can of spam, especially in the world of money. The money people are getting hit up every other day to make a contribution for the next, best, greatest thing. A couple of my business mentors always had a pile of requests on their desk from people they didn't know that grew taller each day.  

Better to spend 40 hours making phone calls than to spend 40 hours stuffing envelopes and sending out e-mails. It all goes back to old-skool rules. The politicians do it every time an election rolls around - One handshake at a time.           

For more info about "The Neon Man and Me" and other storytelling projects by me - Slash Coleman - please visit www.slashcoleman.com

Day 8: The Neon Man (Slash Coleman & PBS): Fundraising Tips

I had a long conversation with Jane Crouse today. She's a storyteller, a librarian, and a full-time student of fundraising (from what I can gather, she's enrolled in fundraising classes at Life University which I think is where most of us take classes to learn about things we feel we missed in regular school) and she passed a long a wealth of information to me.

First, in selling the 3 underwriting spots, I decided to target drug companies that deal with depression drugs, and also funeral and bereavement associations. As a librarian I figured she would have access to lists and databases that I wouldn't. Sure enough, she confirmed that hunch. She said she would start with the PDR (The Physicians Desk Reference) and once she located the correct drugs, she'd go on to find the companies. I could then pass this along to Elli who's going to be making the sales calls.

Although I put an ad out on Craigslist the other day for temporary Salespeople, I'm still on the fence about hiring more people. Part of me feels like I need a team, but Elli wanted to see how hard it would be first before I called in others. The Feb 19 deadline for the sales makes me kind of nervous, so I'm just going to trust my intuition on it.

She had a lot to say in terms of my ongoing dilemma of what to put in my "Gross Impression Gift Mailings." Jane said the most important thing she learned in fund raising is how important a personal connection is. She suggested I have my friend's son draw a picture for the package, that I include his photo and that I have my friend's girlfriend write a letter for it. But to tell you the truth it makes me really nervous. I've already stop sending checks to her from every show because I feel they remind her again and again of Mark's death. Mark's mom even suggested I stop sending the money and so now, I'm saving it all and maybe when he's older I can give him the money.

Jane also said I should send cookies. But I know how weird people are about food these days. She googled delivery cookies for me and guess what? Mrs. Fields will make cookies with a company logo with them. The price wasn't bad - $200 for 100 - which would allow me to send 2 to each of the top 50 PBS stations in the country.

For more info about "The Neon Man and Me" and other storytelling projects by me - Slash Coleman - please visit www.slashcoleman.com

Fundraising: Self-Publishing

Think you need a big publisher before you start pushing your book out in the world? Are you opposed to self-publication because you think it's all about vanity?

Think again.  

 

Gazzo is recognized as one of the world's foremost street entertainers and magicians. For over 25 years he has been performing his unique style of magic throughout the world. From the streets of Boston, USA and London, England to Cruise Ships and Las Vegas, Gazzo is held in high esteem by his fellow professionals and audiences alike.

Much of Gazzo's show uses comedy and humour as a presentation tool. He has been asked many times to share the lines and jokes that make his work both memorable and successful.

Gazzo's Read Between the Lines is a collection of over 500 one liners that can be used for most situations that you will encounter performing at any venue. This is a collection of Gazzo's one liners as well as many from various other artists. Real performers will see the keen value in this collection. A single line from the book used at the right time will more than pay for the price of the book.

Gazzo copies them on a copy machine. The book has a simple card stock cover with two staples in the middle and consists of about 36 pages. The retail price for the book is $40. You won’t find the book at Barnes and Noble, but the book is available on hundreds of sites on the internet and most performers I know have a copy.  I bought the book because the knowledge is invaluable. I paid for the knowledge, not the package.

The magician, Randy Charach, sells an e-book called “Secrets of a Millionaire Magician,” for $67. How many does he sell? Every magician friend I know owns one and they bought them when the price was over three times that amount. 

Check out Gazzo at:  http://www.gazzoshow.com/

Fundraising: The Living Room Tour

In 2006, PBS green lighted my production of “The Neon Man and Me,” to become a special. There was one stipulation. I had to raise the money myself. My first words were, “No problem.” I knew the living room tour was the perfect medium to help me raise the money.

After creating an Action Plan for both the creation of a documentary film and then the subsequent tour through living rooms I went to work. I found a film student off Craigslist who would shoot the film in exchange for exposure, and after learning how to edit the video myself, and making a 30 minute DVD, I set up the Living Room Tour for the documentary film entitled, “Glow.”.

The idea for my Living Room Tour for Glow was simple. I asked my local fans if anyone was interested in hosting the film in their house or apartment. Hosts would invite over 10-15 guests who would donate $10 - $25 to watch the film. After the film, I would discuss what I was doing, perform a selection from my show and provide a Q&A. Over the course of nine months, I ended up raising all the necessary funds. It wasn’t exactly easy. I was touring with the documentary film alongside my other tour. Every weekend for nearly nine months, I was taking the DVD into a new living room and watching it on a television with various hosts and their friends.

During that time, I also continued my media goals, landing my quest in the news very a number of times. As a result, PBS was so impressed with my desire to succeed, that they lowered the amount they were requiring me to raise.

Fundraising: Using Craiglist

In 2002, I took my one man show “Love in Boxes,” from Northampton, MA to Portland, OR. I arrived at the theater space in need of volunteers to help me assemble the stage set which consisted of hundreds of cardboard boxes. A few weeks before my arrival, I posted an ad on Craigslist seeking volunteers. When I arrived at the theater, my volunteers were there.

Educated, rockin’, creative, weird, artsy, and passionate are just some of the words I would use to describe the volunteers I’ve used since then.  From housewives looking to get out of the house, to foreign exchange students looking to connect with others to people who are truly passionate about volunteer work in their community, Craigslist can bring you volunteers, and more importantly volunteers who will work for free.

Most people are willing to donate their time for little more than the spirit of contribution, or extra practice in their field. A film maker with a new camera may want a reason to try it out. A photographer looking to get more experience with head shots may need the extra practice. I’ve also used Craigslist volunteers in the past when:

• I needed a film made.
• I needed a music video made.
• I was seeking legal advice regarding a performance contract.
• I needed publicity photos for my new show.
• I needed a stage manager, ushers and a cigar girl for my burlesque show.
• I needed a T-shirt designed.

Fundraising: The Student Loan Book Blues NoMore

If you’re like me, you may have a somewhat intimate relationship with that money hungry queen of student loans, Sallie Mae. Like a jealous lover she’s always looming at the end of my month waiting to take any extra money I make.

When I began to sell my chakra paintings at $5,000 each, I decided to offer my student loan payment book out in lieu of payment directly to me. And so, when I sold the first painting in the series, instead of receiving a check, I received something better, a respite from my relationship with Sallie Mae. Along with a signed agreement, the buyer took my payment book and kept it for four years making the $217 payment each month.

Fundraising: The Family Fundraising Letter

When I was accepted into massage school, I needed to come up with $3,000 for tuition. I needed the money in two months. My Action Plan was titled, “Family Fundraising Letters.”

My plan involved writing a personal request for money and sending it to friends and family members. The letters, which were addressed personally to each potential contributor, blended a professional request with a personal appeal. Without sounding like a sales pitch, I included: what I was doing with my life, why I thought a massage career would be beneficial to my own well being and valuable to our family, and then a request for a donation or a loan.

Potential contributors could either make a donation or a loan. Loans would be paid back with no interest over an agreed amount of time after graduation. To include everyone, (from Uncles with jobs to Cousins with piggy banks) I gave contributors the option to give by check in each of the following dollar increments: 5 / 25 / 50 / 75 / 200 / 500 / 1000 / 2000. With the letter I also included a SASE.

Within two weeks the envelopes started arriving back. Some contained money, others contained only congratulations and good luck. Three weeks before the deadline, I called anyone who I hadn’t heard from. By the time school started, I had raised all the necessary money.

The Family Fundraising Letter is a good technique to use when you have a specific plan in place for a product you want to create and a plan in which to repay the money. Notice that I didn’t just ask for donations, the loan option allowed those who wanted to “invest” in my career in a more traditional way to do so. 

Keep in mind that the Family Fundraising letter is generally a one shot deal, which means you only get to use it once. In other words, you won’t be able to send out a Family Fundraising Letter every time you have a potential project.

Fundraising: Feeling Stuck?

If you’re a musician trying to create a CD, by the time you pay for studio time, session musicians, cover art, and CD replication, it can put you anywhere from $3,000- $8,000 in the hole and that’s a low end CD creation. Even with a great day job, most artists don’t have that kind of money in a savings account. For those seeking funding from a potential investor, there’s virtually no assurance that the CD will sell well enough to warrant an investment.

And so, most artists feel stuck when it comes to raising money. The only option they think they have is in the form of grant money. If you’ve ever looked into grant possibilities, then you know the grant monster is a difficult beast to conquer. Often, deadlines occur a year in advance and require applicants to jump through tons of hoops even before they submit. For most grants you practically have to be a financial wizard to apply and many, though not all are awarded to mid and late career artists who have an established record in their field.

Have you raised money in creative ways? If so, I’d love to hear your comments.