FUNDING FOR THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES & GETTING CREATIVE
Grants Contributions
Fiscal Sponsorship Thinking outside the box
With Jenni Rebecca Stephenson, Fresh Arts
Money is ALWAYS the issue. So, where do you find it?
Art Sales/commissions Performance/recording contracts Residencies Apprenticeships (Princess Grace Foundation) / internships
(Getty Trust) Professional development programs In Kind Support Grants (Foundations or City, State, or Federal Funding) Corporations (art/artist as business expense) Contributions (Individual) Monetary Rewards- like Hunting Prize (fairly rare) Fellowships (usually recognizing career accomplishments) Fill in the blank... Innovate!
$$$
This presentation will touch on:
Local funding opportunitiesFiscal Sponsorship
Contributions
Crowd funding
It won’t solve all your problems, and it won’t dive too deep into the How To’s… Fresh Arts hosts workshops covering those
details. We encourage you to check them out!
Grants…Grants usually come from private foundations or from governmental
agencies. (Direct)
OR from contracted organizations who function as a gateway for other (often governmental) funding- i.e. Houston
Arts Alliance. (Indirect)
*There is usually more indirect support available for individual
artists than direct.
Some local, state & national opportunitiesLocal
All disciplines:• Idea Fund• Houston Arts Alliance Individual
Artist Grant
For visual artists:• Hunting Prize• The Big Show • Artadia Fund
For writers:• Poets & Writers• NANO Prize• Barthelme Prize
For musicians:• Ima Hogg Competition
Local, State & National Funders
• Houston Arts Alliance• Texas Commission on the Arts• National Endowment for the Arts• Foundation for Contemporary Arts• Creative Capital• Map Fund• Mid-America Arts Alliance• National Dance Project • United States Artists.org (Artists
must be nominated)• Puffin Foundation• The Awesome Foundation for the
Arts and Sciences
Individual Artist Grant from HAA
The City of Houston is one of the only cities in the country that offer grants to individual artists. They do this through their partnership with the Houston Arts Alliance with funds generated by the Hotel Occupancy Tax.
Understanding the guidelines is very important– like the tourism component.
This last grant cycle, HAA made grants to 22 individual artists totaling $185,000 in funding.
The next anticipated grant period for IAG funding is in Spring 2013. Guidelines being tweaked now, so make sure to attend any workshops that are offered.
The program’s goal moving forward is to increase awareness of the program, with the anticipation of funding between 35 and 50% of applications.
Identifying Other Grant Opportunities
There are MANY clearing houses for grant information
Pro? They weed out the less desirable opportunities.
Con? Their information can be incorrect or outdated.
A few examples:
• Mira’s List• Glasstire Classifieds• Fresh Arts’ Field Guide (artistfieldguide.org)• ArtDeadlinesList.com• ArtandArtDeadlines.com • NYFA Source (NYFA.org)
Before you apply…Consider timelines, requirements and your
intent.
Are you searching for a grant to fund a specific project you already have in mind? (Is it time-sensitive?)
Are you open to the project parameters dictated by the funder?
Grant cycles can be as long as 1-2 years ahead.
Example… Individual artist grants from Houston Arts Alliance
GRANT TERM: March 1, 2012–December 31, 2012
Dec 2011: Application & Materials Due
Feb 2012: Project/Fellowship Panel Review
March 2012: Award Notification
March 2012: Contract, Artist W-9 & Venue Confirmation Due
March 2012: 1st Payment
June 2012: 2nd Progress Report (2nd Payment)
Sept 2012: 3rd Quarter Progress Report Due (3rd Payment)
Feb 2013: Final Report Due (Final Payment)
TIMING OF PROJECT & GRANT PAYMENT (BUDGETING) IS KEY.
Keep in mind that frequently funding is received AFTER the project is completed,
which means the up-front investment (materials, etc.) is YOUR responsibility.
Research!
Obtain a contact person for funding sources
Develop a relationship with funder & contact them in ways they prefer: Don’t know? Ask!
Review previously funded projects (Have they already funded a project EXACTLY like yours?)
Some funders post previously funded proposals!
For help crafting the actual proposal…
Grant Space (The Foundation Center) http://grantspace.org/Skills/Developing-Proposals
Fresh Arts (Spacetaker) Artist Resource Library http://www.spacetaker.org/artist_resource_center
Fresh Arts’ ARC Workshops:
• Crafting Project Descriptions for Artists (Oct 23rd @ 6pm)• Grant Proposal Clinic (Date TBD)
Eligibility
This is HUGE for individual artists!
Pay careful attention to requirements:
Some won’t fund degree-seeking artists.
Some won’t fund “interpretive” artists.
Some fund only specific aspects of projects.
Some require 501(c)3 status…
What to do about that 501(c)3 status?
Fiscal Sponsorship…is one option.
Definition (from Wikipedia):
“…the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups engaged in activities related to the
organization's missions; typically involving a fee-based contractual arrangement between a project and an established non-profit.”
National* organizations who offer fiscal sponsorship
services: Fractured Atlas www.fracturedatlas.org/
The Field www.thefield.org/
NYFA www.nyfa.org (New York Foundation for the Arts) / Artspire www.artspire.org
*Be careful here! Some (not all) funders want fiscal sponsor in same state as the granting institution.
The hoops you have to go through:
Most sponsorship applications require resume, project description, budget, work samples
Fiscally sponsored projects must have “charitable” component
All contributions filtered through your fiscal sponsor (Usually 7-10 day turnaround.)
To apply for grants, you either apply individually (with a letter of affiliation) or through a special grant system set up by the fiscal sponsor
Side-by-side Comparison of The Field, Fractured Atlas, & NYFA
Annual Fees(Membership)
% of Donations Taken
Ease of Use
Taxation Grants Benefits
The Field$250
5-8% after $10,000
Easy: Detailed P&L, but no receipts (artist paid directly)
1099 to artist
No minimum
Pro development & services in NYC/Review appeal letters & proposals
Fractured Atlas
$95 6%
Detailed P&L; receipts required
1099 to artist
Must raise $1,000 to apply / customized portals
Pro dev online; Limited fundraising assistance; Access to health & liability insurance
NYFA(Artspire)
$100 (if accepted)
8% flat fee
Detailed P&L; receipts required
1099 to artist
No minimum
Free proposal review
The benefits of Fiscal Sponsorship
Access to grants/services designed for the individual artist (particularly The Field/Fractured Atlas)
A degree of legitimacy (depending on the fiscal sponsor)
Ability to apply for more grants
A TAX DEDUCTION for your contributors
Speaking of Contributors…
Patronage is NOT dead. Patronage is simply directed to
individual/personality-driven nonprofits, rather than to unaffiliated
individuals.
Ars Lyrica
Fundraising = Friend-raising
Fundraising, whether for a nonprofit or for yourself, is about RELATIONSHIPS.
Start with your friends.
Your friends, family, and colleagues are the foundation for a support network. Their
support can also be used to leverage OTHER funds.
THREE EXAMPLES: Photographer David Brown raised $8,000 to fund
his trip to France for Lens Culture FotoFest Paris to meet with curators & photo editors
Local band Two Star Symphony raised over $7,000 to fund studio time to record the score for their collaboration with Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre
Collaborative of artists (including Houston’s Troy Stanley & Amberry Jam) raised just under $10,000 to build a temporary sculpture at Burning Man
All almost entirely from individual contributions!
What do these projects have in common?
Money was raised for a very specific purpose
All are generally regarded as creating new, innovative work
All have received significant press coverage
All parties went above and beyond a simple email appeal & leveraged existing relationships
2-3 projects leveraged crowd-funding tools
From Glasstire:
Prompt: A New Hope-- Kickstarter!
• It's great. Artist as entrepreneur. (65% of vote)
• It's digital panhandling. (25% of vote)
• Vox populi, vox dei. (5% of vote)
• To boldly fund where nobody has funded before!(5% of vote)
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding
Popular Options:Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com IndieGoGo www.indiegogo.com Crowdrise www.crowdrise.com/online-fundraising
Crowdsourcing is less direct & can make the artist/donor relationship more comfortable.
What crowdfunding does
Showcases the campaign in a public forum
Expresses the fundraising need
Presents the fundraising goal
Aggregates & showcases fundraising activity
Incorporates social media, allowing donors to engage with & share your fundraising message
How crowdfunding works
All campaign info lives on crowdsourcing site
You design giving levels & corresponding “perks” for donations
All donations, receipts & campaign updates filtered through site
Crowdfunding site retains a portion of the proceeds (% to site, % to any 3rd party processors, etc.)
Funds disbursed after campaign is completed to your Paypal or bank account
A comparison…Kickstarter vs. IndieGoGo
% of donationBenefit for
giving If you fail…
Kickstarter
5% (plus CC fees) Agreement b/w artist & funder
All $ returned to funders
IndieGoGo 4% if goal met; 9% if goal NOT met
Tax deduction* +Artist/funder agreement
% of funds retained
* Tax deduction available if a campaign is tied to a fiscal sponsor, like Fractured Atlas.
Be specific.
Patrons want to know the scope & specifics of the project.
Visuals and examples speak volumes.
A defined project and goal is both actionable and attainable.
Remember: Crowdfunding sites are only a tool… all fundraising rules still apply
Get creative! And set yourself apart…
Leverage a successful campaign into a consistent strategy to cultivate an ongoing
network of supporters and advocates.
And remember, whether it be grants or donations, consistency & persistence are KEY.
Keep trying!
Thank you for listening!
This is a truncated version of Fresh Arts’ popular workshop: Funding Strategies for Individual Artists.
For more details, come see us at the Artist Resource Center!
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