WRITING THE FUTURE: STRATEGIC THINKING AND FUNDRAISING FOR LITERATURE AND

PUBLISHING ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

by Sue Kay

Tbilisi, Georgia

26-27 March, 2012

www.bookplatform.org

Creative ways of fundraising for the work you want to do...

Exchanging top tips

Creative fundraising ideas:

•Culturally congruent – familiar and different enough…•Persuading friends, supporters, customers, users to spend more in new ways•Paying for or selling something in a new way

Some ideas from the UK …

with attendant health warnings!

×

Five categories...

• Crowdfunding• Exploit your assets• Pop-up movement• Alternative currencies• Attention-grabbing events or

activities

Crowdfunding...

...individuals buy ‘shares’ or ‘units’ in new work, projects or commissions

...donors/investors gain rewards in return for seeing the work or project completed

How does Unbound work?

• Authors pitch their ideas direct to readers on the Unbound site

• If you like what you read, you can pledge money to help make the book happen

• Different levels of benefit depending on sum pledged e.g. hardback, signed copy, invitation to launch, lunch with author...

• Everyone who supports an author gets their name printed on every edition of that book and access to the author’s shed while they write the book

• Refund if target not reached

Exploit your intellectual or physical assets...

• ...spin-offs e.g. merchandising• ...consultancy/ services based on core

strengths or areas of expertise

Join the pop-up movement...

• ...set up a low cost outlet, participation or exhibition space in an empty shop or office

• ...help rejuvenate a business area, shopping street or community

Alternative currencies...

• ...using a members-only ‘currency’ for ‘buying’ and ‘selling’ goods and services

Dream up some attention-grabbing, money-generating events or activities...

• Sponsored or challenge activity• Storytelling sleepovers in your museum or

shop• Calendars• Clothes-swaps• 50:50 initiative• One-off appeal• Hold an auction• A bucket ...

Sponsored or challenge activity

Story-telling sleepovers

Calendars

Clothes swaps

50:50

One-off appeal

Hold an auction

A bucket

And now, some creative fundraising ideas from Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine

for literature, library, translation and publishing organisations in the UK...

Over to you!