Happy Monday!
Currently my attention as come to this:
Fundraising. Can it be fun?
After running 4 fundraising campaigns from 2015-18- 3 for STUCK and 1 for Smart Cookies with Jenni Tooley….wait…make that 2 for Smart Cookies…Let’s start over. After having run 5 fundraising campaigns in a period of less than three years I was all funned- and possibly funded-out.
I am not alone.
My friend Jenny recently completed a crowdfunding campaign (and is now in post production!). When I asked her how she was feeling about having raised nearly all the money for the short film in one campaign rather than having to run a second one as originally planned, she said something like “Grateful. And I never want to do that again.”
Yep! Who wants to do that again?
Enter stage right Ela Thier and her $600 in 6 days challenge.
She'd already got me at "in 6-days". Raise money for a creative project in 6 days committing only 10 minutes a day? What?
When I joined the challenge the title of the first email included “Fun-Raising” and I thought, “I am in the right place.” Last month I was like, “nope, never again”. Now I am like…hmmmm. Can I really make fundraising fun again? Can I make it amusing again?
The funded-out part
There’s another piece of thinking in there that I hesitate to mention too…it's the voice that says "I can’t ask for more, I’ve already asked for too much!"
Poverty thinking and self doubt. Man, oh man, what stinkers! “You’re not good enough. Your work is not good enough. You owe everyone now!” The sad thing is that this kind of thinking is supported by our culture too. For example, I was on a film festival panel where I was asked a question that began with “Now that you have called in every favor you have in Dallas to get your film made…”.
Cue shame spiral.
But wait a second— who says those “favors” weren’t freely given? That money wasn’t freely given? That the project itself wasn’t worth someone else’s support? That my work is not worth someone else’s support.
Ela Thier addresses that very thing in this Challenge.
You are worth it.
Your work is worth it.
You are talented.
Hmmmm….
So I’m participating in her Challenge to disprove this notion that
There is a “favor or money” limit on my creativity.
That raising money is hard, and quite frankly, sucks!
If you are interested in joining her Challenge you can! Below is her spiel— it’s pretty hard to find excuses why you can’t do it;).
See ya' next time!
Jenni
Raise $600 in 6 Days Challenge
Raise money for your practice shoot, or any creative project, in just 10 minutes a day. Gain the skills to raise any amount.
Cost: It's FREE
Time commitment: 10 minutes a day for 6 days.
Who it's for: You. Any artist, at any level of experience (including none), who wants to learn and practice the skills of raising money for creative projects.
When: October 30 to Wed, Nov 4.
How does it work: For 6 days, I'll send you a short daily video in an email, explaining your next step. Follow my steps and you'll raise $600 in 6 days. Join our facebook group for more guidance and support.
Why do this? The skills you develop to raise $600 are the same skills you'll need to raise more, even a lot more. Whether or not you've ever raised money for a creative project before, you'll feel inspired and find yourself enjoying raising money. If you're a veteran money raiser, you might pick up a few tricks! You'll certainly learn how to train other artists in raising money for creative projects.