Crowdfunding
National and State Resources
Seattle, King County, and Washington
Portland and Oregon
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is making an appeal
to many people to back your project. Sometimes backers may be content with a
small gift (a project t-shirt, for example); at other times they want
to invest and claim a portion of any profits. When you think about it,
crowdfunding really isn’t new. Ancient (pre-internet) practices included “taking
up a collection” paying for projects “by subscription” and money raised by a
“public appeal.” In 1713, Alexander Pope recruited 750 subscribers to back his
translation of 15,000 lines of ancient Greek poetry into English. Backers got a
mention in the acknowledgements plus a copy of the finished work.
What has changed is that any one project can reach a wide group of interested
backers located anywhere in the world.
According to the best estimates, crowdfunding sites are channeling over $34
billion a year to artists of every sort and also people faced with sudden and
unexpected expenses. Estimates are it will grow to a $300 billion worldwide
industry by 2025. There are 191 US-based crowdfunding platforms and about half
of all fundraising efforts reach their goals. With so much cash—and passions at
stake—practice due diligence and read the fine print very carefully.
The basic strategy is: refine and focus your project and fundraising goals,
research relevant platforms, pick one, create you page, then spend lots time on
social media spreading the word and shipping rewards.
Here are the major details to be
on the lookout for:
1. Fundraising Tools
To fund your project you need to get
your appeal in front of people likely to support it. Some questions: How robust
are the platform’s Twitter and Facebook applications? Can you directly send
appeals from the platform via email? Is there a community of users forum on the
platform where you can pose questions and learn about the experiences of other
users? How good is the platform’s library of resources? Are there tools, blogs,
and tips for strengthening your appeal?
2. Customer Support
Behind every platform are teams of
support staff and owners. Do they list a phone number or only email support?
When you call, do you get a person or recording? Is there a chat window open
when you are looking around the site? How well does the site maintain a
reputation of integrity by ejecting scammers?
3. Crowdfunding Platform
Fees
Most platforms charge fees. Types of fees to check for include
flat fees for posting an appeal, and percentage fees subtracted from funds
raised plus credit card processing fees (often twice what the credit card
charges). It helps to understand the fees so you can explain them to potential
donors. The industry range is from 7 to 12 percent.
4. Getting the
Money
Setting a goal for your
fundraising efforts is likely based on the detailed budget you have for the
project. How much you actually will be able to raise is a guess. Does the
platform require raising 100% of your goal to get any of your donations? This
could be important, and if you go with a platform with this rule, you may want
to set a lower goal. There shouldn’t be penalty for raising more than you
listed.
5. Ease of
Use
As part of your research look over campaigns on a site. Does the
typical layout make sense? Is it easy to make a donation? Do the pages look
professional and inviting? Later, when seriously considering going with a site
weigh the ease of setting up your page, making edits, and updating your content.
If you can’t use it it’s not the site for your project.
Sample Crowdfunding Sites for Theater
GoFundMe
With GoFundMe, the money you collect goes directly to you. There are no deadlines or limits. GoFundMe currently limits fees to standard credit card charges plus a small fixed amount per donation.
Indiegogo
Indiegogo is an international crowdfunding website founded in 2008. The site
was one of the first sites to offer crowd funding and grew from the needs of the
founders to fund a play, a theatre company, and research for a cure for a rare
disease.
There are more than 9 million backers representing 235 countries and
territories who support diverse projects from around the world. Projects are not
evaluated or otherwise curated.
Kickstarter
href=”http://kickstarter.com/allin1″>kickstarter.com/allin1
Kickstarter helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other
creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality.
In 2015, Kickstarter became a Benefit Corporation. Benefit Corporations are
for-profit companies that are obligated to consider the impact of their
decisions on society, not only shareholders.
Patreon
href=”http://patreon.com”>patreon.com
Founded in 2013, Patreon allows creatives to get regular payments by running
a subscription membership business for their fans. Fans pay you a subscription
amount of their choice in exchange for exclusive experiences &
behind-the-scenes content. You create the terms that work for your project or
stream of work. On average, Patreon patrons pay more every month than people pay
for other popular subscription services.
Patreon allows creators to establish an ongoing and predictable monthly
revenue source. Patreon also helps fans connect in a new way with the creators
they love most. Through Patreon, millions of dollars every month is distributed
to the tens of thousands of creators who have Patreon pages, whether they are
creating podcasts, music, fiction, game streams, online videos, photography,
visual art, and more.
Rally.org
Rally.org helps people fundraise online and build social awareness.
Ulule
European & International
Ulule enables creative, innovative and community-minded projects to test
their idea, build a community and make it grow. Ulule claims to be the leading
European crowdfunding website, with more than 20,000 successfully financed
projects, more than 1.8 million members worldwide and a campaign success rate
close to 70 %. Ulule offers personalized coaching to each and every project
owner, before, during, and after his or her campaign.
Ulule is certified as a B Corporation, which means it is a for-profit company
that meets standards of social and environmental performance, accountability,
and transparency.
National and State Grantmakers
Foundation
Center
Main Office: Northeast – New York
32 Old Slip,
24th Floor
New York, NY 10005-3500
(212) 620-4230
href=”http://foundationcenter.org/products/foundation-directory-online”>foundationcenter.org/products/foundation-directory-online
href=”http://foundationcenter.org/ask-us/find-us”>oundationcenter.org/ask-us/find-us
Foundation Center gathers and analyzes data, shares it worldwide, and
empowers people to understand and increase philanthropy’s ability to improve the
world. Its mission is to strengthen the social sector by advancing knowledge
about philanthropy in the U.S. and around the world.
Foundation Directory Online makes it easy to turn foundations into funders.
It’s the only resource you need to search for the foundations most likely to
give you grants and manage your prospects through to funding. Here you can find
information about more than 100,000 grantmakers. Using the FDO requires a
subscription.
However, the FC’s Funding Information Network distributes this important
information to communities across the country and around the world. The program
consists of hundreds of community-based organizations that house and
provide—free of charge to the public—a suite of our trainings and databases to
their local communities.
FIN Locations in Idaho
- Boise —Boise Public Library
- Idaho Falls — href=”http://www.ifpl.org/foundation-center-grants/”>Idaho Falls Public
Library
FIN Locations in Montana
- Bozeman — href=”https://www.bozemanlibrary.org/home”>Bozeman Public Library
- Butte — href=”http://www.mtech.edu/library/index.htm”>Montana Tech Library
- Missoula —href=”https://www.lib.umt.edu/”>University of Montana – Mansfield
Library - Kalispell —href=”http://imagineiflibraries.org/”> ImagineIF Libraries
FIN Locations in Oregon
- Bend — href=”https://www.deschuteslibrary.org/research/nonprofits”>Deschutes Public
Library - Eugene — href=”https://library.uoregon.edu/knight-library”>University of Oregon – Knight
Library - Eugene — href=”https://www.eugene-or.gov/130/Eugene-Public-Library”>Eugene Public
Library - Klamath Falls — href=”http://www.oit.edu/libraries/about/collections/klamath-falls”>Oregon
Institute of Technology - Portland —href=”https://multcolib.org/library-location/central”>Multnomah County
Library
FIN Locations in Washington
- Bellingham —href=”https://www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/using-the-library/research-learn/tools”>Bellingham
Public Library - Marysville — href=”https://www.sno-isle.org/locations/marysville/”>Sno-Isle Libraries –
Marysville Library - Port Townsend — href=”http://www.ptpubliclibrary.org/ResearchTools/GrantCenter.html”>Port
Townsend Public Library - Poulsbo —href=”http://www.krl.org/research?subjects=35″>Kitsap Regional Library
- Redmond — href=”https://kcls.org/philanthropy/”>King County Library System (Redmond
Regional Library) - Seattle —href=”http://www.spl.org/library-collection/articles-and-research/business-finance-and-fundraising”>Seattle
Public Library – Central Branch - Tacoma — href=”https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/library/foundation-center-collection”>University
of Washington – Tacoma Library - Twisp — href=”http://www.ncrl.org/locations/twisp-public-library”>North Central Regional
Library – Twisp Public Library - Wenatchee — href=”http://www.ncrl.org/locations/wenatchee-public-library”>North Central
Regional Library- Wenatchee Public Library - Yakima — href=”http://www.yvl.org/foundationgrantcenter/”>Yakima Valley
Libraries
Seattle,King County and
Washington
Municipal Research
and Services Center Arts Commissions and Cultural Programs href=”http://mrsc.org/Home.aspx”>mrsc.org/Home.aspx
The Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) is a nonprofit organization
that helps local governments across Washington State better serve their citizens
by providing legal and policy guidance on any topic.
href=”http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Parks-and-Recreation/Recreation-and-Other-Programs/Arts-Commissions-and-Cultural-Programs.aspx”>MRSC
provides a sampling of arts commissions and cultural programs in Washington
State.
[Note: The Actors Handbook added a few county and city arts commissions added
not listed by the MRSC.]
Overview: Arts and culture
contribute to a community’s vitality and economic development. Many Washington
communities have developed local arts commissions and cultural programs.
Sometimes these programs are found within the parks and recreation department,
and, in other cases, they may be independent offices. In addition to arts
commissions, these include public art programs such as a percentage for art
works, arts and cultural plans, art in public parks, municipal arts collections,
and the establishment of arts, entertainment, and cultural districts.
Cities
- href=”https://planning.bellevuewa.gov/community-development/arts-and-culture/arts-commission”>Bellevue
Arts Commission – The arts commission is established by the Bellevue
Municipal Code Ch. 3.56 and the municipal art program by Ch. 4.48. - Edmonds Arts
Commission – Includes links to cultural planning - Everett Arts and
Culture - href=”http://olympiawa.gov/city-government/advisory-committees/arts-commission.aspx”>Olympia
Arts Commission- See also href=”http://olympiawa.gov/city-services/parks/public-art”>Public Art in Olympia - href=”http://www.redmond.gov/Government/BoardsCommissions/arts_and_culture_commission/”>Redmond
Arts and Culture Commission – See also the href=”http://www.redmond.gov/cms/one.aspx?objectId=656″>Arts & Culture
page for information on arts programming, plans and policies - href=”https://www.ci.richland.wa.us/government/boards-commissions-and-committees/arts-commission”>Richland
Arts Commission – Includes arts commission work plan - Seattle Office of Arts and Culture – More details in listing below
- href=”http://www.seattle.gov/arts/about-us/seattle-arts-commission”>Seattle Arts
Commission – Includes agendas, minutes, correspondence, and work
plans - Tacoma Culture -Information
about the arts, sister cities, and historic preservation - Walla
Walla — ArtWalla – The mission of ArtWalla is to support and strengthen the
Arts as an integral part of daily life, education and economic development in
the Walla Walla Valley.
style=”MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN-TOP: 0px”>Counties
- Arts of Clark County (includes
Vancouver) – Arts of Clark County encourages cultural and artistic
opportunities that are an integral part of our community and contribute to the
area’s unique character, identity and image as a desirable place in which to
live, work, and visit. - King County 4Culture – Public
development authority providing cultural services for King County, including the
arts, heritage, preservation, and public art (See additional listing for
4Culture) - Kitsap
County Arts Board – Administers the county’s 1% for Art program
Arts and Cultural
Districts
In addition to the districts below, several other cities
including Bellevue, Burien, Mukilteo, and Seattle have been considering the
establishment of arts or cultural districts.
- href=”https://www.cob.org/services/planning/urban-villages/downtown/Pages/arts-district.aspx”>Bellingham
Arts District: Making Places for People Project
https://www.cob.org/services/planning/urban-villages/downtown/Pages/arts-district.aspx - Bremerton Arts
District
4Culture
101 Prefontaine Place South
Seattle WA
98104
(206) 296.7580
Web: 4culture.org
Web: href=”http://4culture.org/grants-artist-calls/other-listings”>4culture.org/grants-artist-calls/other-listings
Facebook:
4Culture
Twitter: 4Culture
Instagram: kc4culture
4Culture is a support agency for the arts in King County. 4Culture offers
opportunities for all kinds of cultural funding and support in King County, with
deadlines rolling out throughout the year.
It also offers project consulting
services. (See also Film Production Guide: Business & Legal, Support
Services)
Seattle Office of Arts and Culture
PO Box
94748
Seattle, WA 98124-4748
(206) 684-7171
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) manages the city’s public art
program, cultural partnerships grant programs, LANGSTON (formerly the Langston
Hughes Performing Arts Institute), and The Creative Advantage initiative. Its
work fosters a city driven by creativity that provides the opportunity for
everyone to engage in diverse arts and cultural experiences. In alignment with
the City’s Race and Social Justice Initiative, it works to eliminate
institutional racism in its programs, policies and practices.
The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs maintains a website of
listings for grants, arts jobs, arts news and educational and networking events.
(See also Film Production Guide: Support Services)
Washington State Arts Alliance Foundation
6114 12th Ave
NE
Seattle WA 98115
206) 437-3784
href=”http://washingtonstateartsalliance.org”>washingtonstateartsalliance.org
Washington State Arts Alliance, the statewide arts advocacy organization,
works to promote public funding, legislation, and policy favorable to the arts.
Washington State Arts Alliance Foundation works to increase knowledge,
understanding, appreciation and practice of the arts through communication and
education. A dedicated board runs the Arts Alliance and Foundation, and works
with arts advocates around the state.
Washington State Arts Commission
Mailing Address:
PO
Box 42675
Olympia, WA 98504-2675
Location:
711 Capitol Way S., Suite 600
Olympia, WA 98501
(360)
753-3860
href=”http://arts.wa.gov/grants”>arts.wa.gov/grants
href=”http://facebook.com/WashingtonArts”>facebook.com/WashingtonArts
ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission, a state government agency
established in 1961. ArtsWA offers grants aimed at conserving and developing the
state’s arts resources. ArtsWA programs and funding opportunities include grants
to K-12 education, partners, special projects, and organizations.
ArtsWA is committed to values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and creative
expression. It believes in diverse forms of artistic expression, and in access
to arts and arts education for all individuals in our state.
Portland and Oregon
Oregon Cultural Trust
775 Summer Street NE, Suite
200
Salem, Oregon 97301
(503) 986-0088
The Oregon Cultural Trust supports the arts in the State of Oregon.
The Oregon Cultural Trust champions and invests in the statewide cultural
exchange and creative expression that make Oregon uniquely Oregon. OCT awards
grants to individual artists and organizations and offers webinars on how to
write an effective grant.
Regional Arts & Culture Council
108 NW 9th Avenue,
Suite 300
Portland, OR 97209-3318
(503) 823-5111
href=”http://racc.org”>racc.org
racc.org/resources/listings/opportunity/funding
href=”http://facebook.com/RegionalArts”>facebook.com/RegionalArts
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) receives funding from a
variety of public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations,
schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties.
RACC awards grants to individual artists and organizations; manages a grant
search engine for regional, national and international grants; manages a
call-board for jobs and auditions; hosts an online resource directory of
research publications, businesses and organizations that support the arts,
available workspace and housing, and upcoming workshops and lectures; and
lobbies on behalf of the arts in the State of Oregon and Washington D.C.
* See also Film Production Guide: Fundraising