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 SponsorshipContributionsCrowd 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)

EligibilityThis 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!

www.fresharts.orgwww.facebook.com/fresharts

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