Above photo: Josh Weiss/jweisscreative.com
By Thomas White and Tamara Krinsky
Fundraising guru Morrie Warshawski attracted a substantial baudience to The Standard in downtown Los Angeles this past weekend, as IDA presented a day-long edition of its Doc U series. Warshawski, whose book Shaking the Money Tree, an essential tome for anyone seeking to raise funds for their films, is now in its third edition, took the participants through the process, breaking up the seminar on occasion for a few hands-on exercises. At the end of the day, the filmmakers left the room with the wherewithal and confidence to tackle that difficult road ahead.
Warshawski has a long career in the nonprofit and public sectors, having worked at the Bay Area Video Coalition and the Northwest Media Project, as well as at the National Endowment for the Arts. For the past 20 years, he's run his own consulting business, focusing on fundraising and strategic planning, with film and video as his area of expertise.
He opened the seminar by stressing that this was not a grant-writing workshop. "Grant-writing is a lesser skill," he maintained. "You need to know the art of grant hustling." And grant hustling begins with the person. "You have to have a great project--and you have to be great," he stressed--meaning, you need to ground yourself with core values, a mission and a vision, with respect to both you and your film. You're the best salesperson for your film, and when looking for funders, start with people or organizations who share your values. Your mission--in your life and in your film--will answer the question, Why am I doing this? And your vision will answer the question, Where do I want to be five years from now? "You need to have a very strong feeling about your project," Warshawski maintained.
He continued by spelling out what it takes to raise money for your film: thick skin, persistence and interdependence. No, not independence. And not co-dependence, either. Interdependence. And the documentary community, one of the more supportive groups of artists out there, has got that in spades.
Morrie Warshawski leading his Shaking the Money Tree seminar as part opf IDA's Doc U on April 17. Photo: Josh Weiss/jweisscreative.com
Warshawski then asked the audience to list five strengths that would enable their fundraising activities. Some of them: "vision"..."persistence"..."passion"..."credibility."... And then he asked participants to introduce themselves to one another and share their biggest weaknesses regarding fundraising, and though there was a range of responses, the general consensus seemed to hover around the challenge of being a salesperson. Warshawski maintained that "80 percent of your time as filmmakers is dedicated to the business side-only 20 percent is devoted to the artistic side." Sobering news, indeed.
Other nuggets from the Shaking the Money Tree author: When you pitch your film, do your homework: Ask yourself, Does the world need my film? Research your prospects and understand their missions and funding priorities. A potential funder will know what media projects are out there that address an issue that's important to that funder's mission, so you need to know those projects as well. But more important, you need to articulate how your project is different and distinctive enough to warrant interest. And you need to be prepared to be challenged. Also, Warshawski advised, don't wait until your film is finished to pitch your film. That process needs to be part of the pre-production and production processes.
You also need to know your audience--Warshawski prefers the term "community" and he advised to "identity the ecology of your community." "Don't ever say ‘I'm making my film for everybody' or ‘I'm making my film for a PBS audience,'" he admonished. Marketing and distribution, like fundraising, go hand-in-hand, and Warshawski advised to devote at least 50 perecnt of your budget to distribution-which includes education and outreach. That said, you need to be both specific and comprehensive about your distribution strategy--the markets, the windows, the sequence, the different versions and lengths of your projects, etc.
Credibility is also essential in the fundraising process, so if you're in the early stages of your filmmaking career, surround yourself with an experienced, reputable crew--and find a mentor, someone with a significant body of work, who makes the kind of films you want to make.
Regarding budgets, Warshawski advised the audience to create two--an ideal budget that you'll be showing to funders, and a worst-case-scenario budget, which will serve as a guide to producing a lower-cost project that's still within the parameters of your vision. Include as many footnotes as possible to explain line items, and again, be sure to include distribution/education/outreach in your budget, as well as production stills.
And with that, Warshawski broke for lunch, assigning the group to break up into groups of three and conduct mock pitch sessions. At that stopping point, I passed the baton to my able-minded comrade, Tamara Krinsky.
I arrived at Doc U shortly after the still-enthusiastic crowd had returned from lunch and was settling in to listen to Warshawski tutor them on the finer points of dealing with different kinds of donors.
As the funding guru launched into the topic of individual donors, he make the key point that there is an important distinction between an "investor" and a "donor." An investor is putting money in your film, and expects his or her money back, ideally with a profit. You must be straight with investors from the get-go and tell them that film is a high-risk endeavor, and they may never see their money back. A donor, on the other hand, gives you money and that's where it ends. If your film makes money, they don’t get any of it.
The exciting news for those making social-issue documentaries is that there is a new kind of donor out there – the "social entrepreneur" – whom Warshawski classified as someone who wants to be involved with your issue or subject. They invest, but don't want to profit – they just want to get their initial monies paid back. What they do want on top of their initial investment is to somehow be part of the experience. He gave an example of a board-game founder who invested in a film focused on Rwanda. One of the gentleman’s final conditions for writing the big check was that he'd be able to tag along with crew (at his own cost) so that he could be involved in a hands-on way with the issue.
To help the filmmakers in the room better understand the mind-set of a funder, Warshawski then had everyone fill out a worksheet that detailed their own charitable-giving patterns. Once everyone had completed the task, he went around the room and asked people if they saw patterns in what they wrote. Various themes emerged, from the environment to children's welfare to animals.
He advised, "Don't waste your time with funders that aren't part of your demographic."
In addition to knowing what kinds of issues cause funders to open their wallets, it's also important to know how they like to give. Funders tend to fall into three camps: they give money, services or goods. "If you go to someone for money who normally donates services, you probably won't get it," maintained Warshawski. "This is either because they don't have the money to give, or because they philosophically believe in donating their time rather than their dollars."
If they give money, you need to do your research and find out how much money they tend to give so that you can ask for the right amount. Explained Warshawski, "Every funder has a comfort zone of giving. If you ask for too little or too much, you're not going to get it from them. Every funder likes to stay in their sweet spot." Plus, the one thing that donors are experts at is being asked for money. They know a good ask from a bad ask, and will have a sense if you’ve done your research.
The key is making sure you approach a donor or investor in the right way. Do they prefer phone calls? E-mail? A letter? Being approached in person? An introduction from a mutual friend or colleague?
Lastly, it's important to know what a funder wants in return for becoming involved with your project. The social entrepreneur wants to know that he/she has done Good In The World and helped try to make a difference. For some, it's a straight financial transaction, hopefully with a nice pot of gold waiting for them at the end of the documentary rainbow. Others want recognition, which can be accomplished by putting them on an Honorary Board or Advisory Committee.
Warshawski then drove home one of his main messages of the
day: "The basis of all funding is research,
research, research. If you can figure all this out before you go ask for
the money, you will be 50 to 60 percent more effective in your pursuit."
Of course, finding out this information can be a challenge,
so research is another area to show off your creativity. Look at the programs on
the back of arts organizations where donors are listed; usually they will
detail how much various individuals have shelled out. Read the newspaper. Go straight to
those who have been funded and see if they'll share information with you. Ask
friends of funders or have a brainstorming party.
Next up on Warshawski's list of funding sources: foundations and government agencies. The upside of dealing with such bodies is that they are easy to research, usually give large sums of money, and – in the case of a government funder – someone there has to talk to you when you call. The downside is that there is fierce competition for the monies available from these sources. They also tend to be slow in doling out the dollars, with perhaps one or two submission deadlines per year. Often, you have to establish a relationship with them before they're willing to give you money, which means you may need to apply several times before the consider you seriously.
On the flip side, corporate donations can happen very quickly. You can potentially walk through a lot of different departmental doors in pursuit of support, including marketing, PR, community relations, workers' matching gifts, or going directly to a CFO or CEO. It's very difficult to get through one of these doors on a cold call, though; you almost always must have someone who can assist in opening them for you.
Subject matter can also be an issue when dealing with corporations. Typically, they don't like very controversial projects – they are in the business of selling and don’t want to piss off any of their customers. They’ll also be very interested in your film's intended audience. Usually, they'll want to see paper that details out demographics, psychographics and numbers, including breakdowns about who makes up your audience, where they live, what they like to buy and whether or not they are interested in the company's product. And of course, the corporation will want to know your plans about how are you going to publicize their name via the film.
Local businesses are most useful for obtaining goods and services such as free script copies or food for your crew. They tend to not give money because if they write a check to you, they’ll have to do so for everyone in the community who knocks on their door.
Whether you are dealing with a corporate CEO, the manager of your local Trader Joe's, or your college roommate's rich Aunt Sally, at some point you'll have to bite the bullet and make The Ask. Warshawski said that the easiest way is 1:1, and advised arranging for The Ask to happen in a quiet place, preferably on your turf rather than theirs. "There is no more powerful or effective way to get a donation than the 1:1 ask. Statistically speaking, you have the highest probability of a 'yes' answer."
Warshawski then broke down the “Rhythm of The Ask” for the audience. First comes the Icebreak, which consists of social chit chat. Next, the Pitch, during which you succinctly talk about your project. A key step is then inviting the funder to engage in a conversation about your film. Maintained Warshawski, “The biggest mistake is when filmmakers monologue instead of dialogue.”
After the conversation wraps up, it’s then time to make The
Ask. Look your potential funder directly in the eye and say, "We both know
why I’m here today, and I'm hoping you can make a donation of [insert amount]
for [insert project name]." You should ask for just a bit more than their comfort
zone, and be specific about what aspect of the film their monies will be applied to,
such as travel or post-production. Then, apply Warshawski’s key rule: Right after you ask, the next person who
speaks loses.
So, in the funding guru’s eloquent words: “Zip up.” Don't try to fill the silence. Don't say anything. Wait for the funder or donor to say something.
With the end of Doc U looming close, Warshawski next zipped through some key suggestions for other types of funding mechanisms. He’s not a big fan of fundraising events like screenings or beer parties because they are often very labor intensive. Plus, you can actually “lose” money because donors who might give more privately will pay a small door charge for the event, and then feel like they’ve given to your project.
On the flip side, he’s a big fan of fundraising house parties. The key difference between a house party and an event is that it doesn’t cost people to come through the door of a house party, but they know they’re going to be asked for money once inside. No is blindsided; therefore, if you’ve invited well, Warshawski believes that at least 70 percent of the people who show up will give money. Another trick to a successful house party is inviting a homogeneous group who are all at the same socio-economic level. The pitch has to be fiscally appropriate to the people in the room so as not to make anyone uncomfortable.
The role of the filmmaker at a house party is to show a clip and then answer questions. You're the heart of the evening. Engage in dialogue with the group, and if you have something that will make people cry, show it! The appeal for funds should come from the host or a friend of the filmmaker.
Warshawski briefly touched on the fundraising power of the Internet. While it’s opened up more avenues for funding, it also means the filmmakers have to do more themselves, which can be a challenge when trying to get a doc off the ground. Even so, a website or a blog is no longer optional. Explained Warshawski, “The real money on the Internet is coming through appeals, and you can do the same as with letter-writing campaigns. Find people to send out an appeal on your behalf, but make sure you have a damn good website and a moving trailer so that when they come to you, you garner a donation. Also, have an easy way to donate on your site.”
At this point, a number of audience members chimed in with additional suggestions based on their own experiences. Everyone should have a clip on YouTube. Capture e-mail information from those who visit your site, and send them updates. This will help build the community for your film as they become your evangelists and spread the word. Plus, some people may donate more than once as they become more emotionally invested in your film as you progress through production.
The last topic of the jam-packed day was Grants. While there are few grants available for film as an art unto itself, there are many more possibilities for funding other threads, such as the environment, education or religion. So the first thing you need to ask yourself when pursuing a grant is, “What is my film about?” and then research the resources available for those topics. Look for the funders whose mission is close to the mission of your film. To build that list, fast forward to the end credits of films that deal with issues similar to those found in your own project.
Going back to Warshawski’s golden rule, research the gramt-making organization. Contact them before you send in your proposal, and try to meet the funder and or at the very least, have a conversation with them on the phone. Of those grants that are successful, 70 percent have had prior contact either via phone or in person before paperwork was submitted.
And speaking of paperwork, get your name into as many newspapers as possible as early as possible. Says Warshawski, “Marketing and fundraising are wedded at the hip, so start getting coverage wherever you can. Podcasts. Interviews. Call you folks and get the hometown paper to write a piece.”
Lastly, use the grant-writing process to your own educational advantage. Public
foundations have to give you some kind of summary about what the panel said in
response to your proposal. You never know what you will learn that might help
you going forward. Plus, if you do follow up, it’ll let the organization know
you are serious about your project and start to build up the relationship for
the next time around.
Throughout the day, several online resources were mentioned by
Warshawski and audience members. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you have additional items, please add them
in the comments.
-The Age of Stupid website: Lots of information about how the filmmakers crowd-sourced their funding. www.ageofstupid.net
-Fundraising sites: IndieGoGo: www.indiegogo.com and Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com
-For some ideas on writing the “Evaluation” section of a grant, which deals with how you will know the film did what you said it was going to do, check out the Fledgling Fund’s “Impact” section, which features a working paper on “Assessing Creative Media’s Social Impact.” www.thefledglingfund.org/impact
-The ITVS website has a host of resources in their “Producer” section, including tips on writing strong treatments. www.itvs.org/producers