Crowdfunding for the Arts and Cultural Sector

Editor's Notes

• #4: The practice of asking people to donate to a cause, charity, project or initiative is not a new concept, however Crowdfunding formalises a process of fundraising for projects through the internet and social networking. Crowdfunding is the collective cooperation , attention and trust by people who network and pool their money together, via the internet, in order to support the efforts initiated by other people or organisations. A Crowdfunding project relies on a number of small donations from your community in exchange for a reward and the ability to support your project. Crowdfunding is an advantageous addition to your abilities to raise cash in large or small amounts to support a project you initiate; it can replace or support the need to apply for specialised Funding or Investment from traditional funders such as arts councils, enterprise development, trusts and foundations. Crowdfunding relies on the offline and online communities you cultivate , the crowd can exist as a community but they can also form from disparate groups around the world who share an interest in funding a person, project, event, campaign etc. The advantage of an online fundraising solution such as Crowdfunding is that the internet allows for the fast and effective flow of information around the world, increasing awareness and the pool of potential funders who can engage with what you do.
• #5: http://www.wedidthis.org.uk/projects/night-shift-pub-tour Night Shift – Pub Tour Night Shift is a series of events which aims to push the boundaries of classical concerts, with late-night performances that get rid of some of the often rigid etiquette of classical performances. The Age of Enlightenment Orchestra decided to take their concerts to pubs across London, to play two 30 minute sets of music by classical composers such as Purcell and Bach.
• #7: The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment finished their WeDidThis campaign on the 23 rd of October 2011. They raised £1,255 (£55 over their target) with 58 donations.
• #8: Supporting individuals and bands. To support the creation of EJK’s next record. EJK will use the Crowdfunding to support 10 days of Studio recording time (costing US$3,000) and to pay for additional Musicians to record for the album (costing US$2,000). Any additional funding received will go towards paying for the Mixing of the Album (US$1,000), Mastering of the album (US$400) and Duplication of CD’s (US$2,000).
• #9: Supporting Fashion Designers Raffaele has already secured sponsorship for the materials and equipment he requires to develop his own Fashion Line. He is seeking additional funding to create his own collection – and to focus on a February Showcase Catwalk Show at London Fashion Week. Some of the funding will go towards the development of the ‘Look Book’ for his Collection (paying for the model, photographer and graphic designer).
• #10: Supporting Visual Arts Projects To aide AccessArts in digitising the images it received from participants in their visual arts project. The Project aims to create an online gallery and downloadable eBook. This will help form a legacy for the project.
• #11: Supporting Artists A new illustrator seeking funds to market his work, looking for start up costs. Funds will be used to pay for marketing mail out (posters and pamphlet) , to increase awareness among art directors, commissioners and agencies who hire illustrators. The funds will cover the print and mailing costs. Additional funding will enable website development, investment in storage and marketing tools.
• #12: Community Arts projects An integrated art project with young and elderly local residents to develop a community exhibition within a rundown shopping centre in Lee Green, London. This will help to revitalise the area and improve relations between young people and elders after the recent riots. Leegate Arts have received funding from Lewisham Council through a pilot scheme ‘Repurpose’ to utilise empty shops for creative projects and have secured £350 from a music fundraiser, they are looking for an additional £400 to help fund the buying of materials for the workshop, tables, chairs and furniture to create an art studio, printing the final publication of the project and setting up the final exhibition.
• #13: Supporting Film A team comprised of BBC staff and freelancers, cast and crew are working on the film pro bono so the funding will go towards materials for practical and special effects make-up.
• #14: Supporting Museums Seeking funds to enable internationally recognised artist Gabrielle Senza to develop a temporary exhibition on one of the Gallery walls, the funds will be used to enable Senza to be on site for 10 days in August 2011.
• #15: Terra Temporalis Final Installation achieved through crowdfunding
• #16: Islington Exhibits – Click on link to see video or go to http://vimeo.com/25142656
• #17: The crowdfunding campaign finished on 13 th July 2011. They raised £610 – their target figure 13 people pledged donations. On average people donated £45.
• #18: Mozart’s First Opera – click on link to see video or visit http://vimeo.com/19132303
• #19: The Classical Opera Company finished its campaign on 27 th April 2011. They raised £10,390 . 41 people pledged donations. On average people donated £250.
• #20: Hatastic – click on link for video or visit http://www.pleasefund.us/projects/hatastic-the-green-closet-at-milan-fashion-week
• #24: Started in America, this is the first official Crowdfunding site to emerge. Designed for American projects, this may not be particularly relevant for you to use here in the UK, but does host a vast array of projects for inspiration.
• #33: Sites like wedidthis will run campaigns for a month Crowdfunder will run campaigns for 30, 45, 60 or 90 days. Sponsume will run a campaign for a maximum of 90 days.
• #36: You need to tell people exactly what your budget will be used for. Postage, printing, packaging etc. Ask for slightly more then you think you will need. How many people do you think you could inspire to fund your project How much do you estimate that people will fund on average?
• #37: For instance, if your project is going to cost you £1,000 and you ear mark £250 for the distribution/delivery of rewards, then ask for a little bit more, say £1400. Next you want to look at how many people you already have engaged, in this instance I will say 50 committed supporters to the organisation I work for. And if I estimate that people will pledge an average of £20, that means I will need 70 individual pledges to meet my target, that would mean promoting and campaigning for 20 new people to support my project. (This also means I may well be developing 20 new supporters for my organisation.
• #38: Simple – focus on the core of the idea Unexpected – you need to grab people’s attention Concrete – make sure the idea can be understood and remembered Credible – is your idea believable Emotional – help people to see the importance of your idea Stories – empower people to use an idea through narrative.
• #40: This is essential to the success of your Crowdfunding project, a visual, audio and creative approach to fundraising will really capture people’s attention and interest. It is also a great way of your funders to share the project with their friends and family, people are much more likely to watch a short video then read text off a website
• #41: Interviews – you, your audience, your participants. Animation – using your creativity and your networks. Photography stills and audio – easy option with big impact. See Tip Sheet – Creating an Online Video
• #42: Rewards are an essential part of the Crowdfunding campaign. A reward is an offer that you make as a thank you for the individual who supports your project through a donation.
• #43: Rewards are an essential part of the Crowdfunding campaign.
• #49: Creating a tangible legacy for the funders and the project.
• #53: The only way that Crowdfunding work is if you tell people about it.
• #54: Crowdfunding sites will carry out a degree of campaigning on your behalf, through eNewsletters and their social networking channels.
• #55: Sector Media – you are more then likely going to find supporters within the arts and cultural sector, so make sure you target sites which specifically attract those who support the arts and culture. Through Northings, we will be able to promote to the audiences of the Highlands, Islands, North East and beyond.
• #60: Other people’s websites – so in this case the Open College of the Arts help to promote the Access Art Visual Encyclopedia campaign as this fits very closely with their own area of work, as well as offering a captured artistic student community.
• #62: Other people’s blogs – connect with blogging media which focus on your community and sites which focus on your area of work.
• #65: Use your social networking platforms – connect with your captured audience as well as make it easy for them to share your content.
• #70: Update your Crowdfunding site – use the update space provided to give those who do donate and those who might come across your project at a later date some progress reports. Keep people feeling like they are in the loop and that you value their contribution much more then the 30 seconds it takes for them to pledge and for you to thank them.
• #74: http://www.pleasefund.us/projects/truth-fears-no-questions No content – no funding.
• #75: Projects fail if… You don’t express clearly the nature of your project – you are asking for people’s money to do what exactly? Additional information is hard to come across – you have to create trust between you and your potential funder, don’t forget to assert your credibility. You don’t tell anyone about it – you have to work to get people to commit funding to your project, don’t expect the cash to roll in once you have hit upload! There is a lack of communication between yourself and your new funders – if you don’t communicate with your potential and actual funders, you are only hurting yourself and the project. You don’t follow up on rewards – you don’t want people to think they were conned. Your project doesn’t fit with the parameters of the Crowdfunding site you choose – the sites will attract the right people to donate to the right causes, make sure you read up about the site and look at the projects which have achieved success and those which haven’t. You choose not to produce a video – if it is not your talent then find someone within your community who can, directly communicating what you are doing and the reason why peope should give their money to you is essential. If you can’t communicate your project visually, maybe Crowdfunding is not for you. You forget to build and nurture your online and offline community around your project – Be creative in the ways that you reach out to your audeinces. You promise what you can’t deliver – that will be your reputation over. You focus on the negative – we are all facing hard times particularly the public sector, so people don’t want to hear you moan about not getting funding from the Arts Council etc, rather they want to invest in positive ideas and support something great.
• #77: Your first steps towards Crowdfunding. Follow these steps to create your first Crowdfunding project.
• #78: Your first steps towards Crowdfunding. Follow these steps to create your first Crowdfunding project.