We're excited to share with you a guest post from Shaking the Money Tree author Morrie Warshawski. This fundraising and grant expert has graciously written and shared a special post just for IndieGoGo on the 5 ways a successful crowdfunding effort helps projects secure additional grant funding. (See also: 5 Benefits of Crowdfunding).
Check it out and start currying your serendipity! Also, Morrie and I go deeper on this topic tonight on a panel in San Francisco at BAVC: The Art of Fundraising
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5 Ways Crowdfunding Helps Leverage Grant Support
by Morrie Warshawski
1. THE CROWD.
The single most important aspect of crowdfunding strategies is that it starts the filmmaker down the critical path of creating a “community” of supporters. The audience is dead, long live the community. This is a fundamental shift in consciousness and it affects every aspect of the fundraising process. You look for an audience once you’re done with a project, they watch your film and then they’re gone. You create a community the day you begin your project and they’re with you for the long haul.
2. SHOW OF HANDS.
A quick benefit for grant funding purposes, is that you can say to your potential funder – “Look, I already have a cadre of ardent followers who have exhibited an interest in my film.” You cannot underestimate the importance of this at the beginning of a project when you are trying to establish some credibility for yourself and for your idea. In addition, every grant funder I know is looking for you to have a “community outreach” component to your distribution plan. Gathering a crowd early shows that you’ve given this some serious thought.
3. MOMENTUM.
Your crowd is often your first source of financial support. These are people who are going to make the first donations through IndieGoGo, or your website, or from an email solicitation from a friend, or through your fan page on Facebook. And, guess what, these are often the same people who will give to you a second and third time before the project gets completed! Online giving is still in its infancy and most donations are still modest. However, statistics show that the average online donation is larger than similar off-line giving. And, last year online giving grew by 46%! This first support really helps with foundations because most institutions are risk-averse and hate being the first money in. Your crowd funds are seed funds, and everyone else follows in their wake. The crowd rules.
4. PSYCHOGRAPHICALLY YOURS.
For corporate supporters, there is only the crowd – nothing else matters! Corporations want to sponsor you only when and if you can convince them that your crowd is their crowd. How sweet it is that you can accrue a large number of fans online at little cost, maintain a database that includes information on your crowd, and communicate with them easily and often. One reason Glenfiddich Scotch and Etymotic earphones jumped on board John McDonald’s documentary “On the Day” was that he could demonstrate support from bagpipers and bagpiping clubs around the US. Now because of crosslinking marketing efforts, a major corporation’s customers/crowd can be your crowd too!
5. CURRY SERENDIPITY.
This is a concept I use a lot in my work – getting my clients to engage in activities that have a high likelihood of encouraging positive and unexpected opportunities to come their way. That is one of the beautiful side effects of crowdfunding. Aggregating a crowd sets in motion many unforeseen possibilities. One of these is that some people in the crowd are connected to potential donors the filmmaker would never otherwise meet. It is very hard for a filmmaker to get her foot into the door of a foundation or corporation for that first ask. An avid fan in your crowd can step forward and say, “Hey, I know someone at the XZY Foundation and I think they should fund your project. Let me try and open the door so you can make a pitch.” On your own, it could take years to nurture a relationship with a foundation – the crowd can help you fast-forward that process.
ABOUT MORRIE WARSHAWSKI
Morrie is the author of two books on fundraising: SHAKING THE MONEY TREE: THE ART OF GETTING GRANTS AND DONATIONS FOR FILM AND VIDEO PROJECTS 3rd edition, and THE FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTY: HOW TO PARTY WITH A PURPOSE AND RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CAUSE. His consulting practice focuses on strategic planning with creative nonprofits, and in assisting noncommercial independent filmmakers with careers and fundraising plans. His work is informed by the core values of tolerance, thoughtfulness, transparency, and creativity. You can find Morrie at www.warshawski.com, on Twitter (MorrieW), and LinkedIn.
Corporations want to sponsor you only when and if you can convince them that your crowd is their crowd. – This is true. Without fully convincing your sponsors, assuring them their benefit, you can never obtain your goal.