Written by Susan
Reetz, Rucinski & Reetz Communication, LLC
You may have a fantastic idea for a documentary, but unless
you’re willing to donate all your time – and the time of your crew – you will
need to do some fundraising to make that idea a reality. I have successfully
funded a few doc projects on topics near and dear to my heart. Two years ago I
wrote a blog post about funding a film project, but felt that some of the
information was still relevant and useful. So, here is a lightly updated
version of my original post. I hope you find it helpful as you plan how to fund
your project.
Plan and Prepare
Before you start your quest for funding, you need to make
sure you’ve given enough thought to what you want to do, who you want to reach
with your project in the end, how you’re going to market it once it’s done,
where it will be seen, and what amount of money you need to raise. Once you’re
gotten those details worked out, you’re ready to look at possible funding
sources.
Crowd Funding
www.Kickstarter.com
and www.IndieGoGo.com are probably the
most well known crowd funding opportunities for creative projects, including videos
and films. Both sites allow you to set up your campaign, list your total
project funding goal, set a structure for levels of funding and associated
recognition or perks for funders, and fully explain your project concept. Some
projects have 15 or more funding categories ranging from $1 to $500, while
others might opt for a simpler structure of, say, four or six funding
categories. I suggest you check out at least the two sites linked above to get
a feel for how different people have used this method.
You need to understand that roughly 8% of your total budget
goes to Kickstarter and Amazon, and that you need to plan incentives for
multiple levels of donations, and then fulfill the incentives if you project is
successful.
Grants
I have written and received grants for video projects. There
are a ton of foundations and individuals out there who are interested in either
supporting the arts or in improving communities (or both). Some states have an
arts board which offers various grant opportunities to artists for a specific
project or as a fellowship (for example, Wisconsin Arts Board http://artsboard.wisconsin.gov). Many
foundations are looking to positively impact communities or improve the lives
of specific populations. I have produced a series of videos over the years
dealing with social issue topics and, by partnering with a nonprofit
organization for each project (to act as fiscal agent) was awarded funding for
production, duplication and distribution.
Be sure to read each grant application carefully and provide
the specific information in the requested format. Also pay attention to funding
cycle deadlines and how long it will take to hear back from the funder once you’ve
submitted your grant. Ask up front of there are any restrictions on selling
your film (if that’s your plan) when using grant dollars. When the project is
done, you’ll typically need to file a report with the funder, and of course
acknowledge them in the credits and any collateral material.
Corporate
sponsorships
Corporate sponsorship is another way to approach funding for
your project. As with grants, corporate sponsors will normally be looking for
visibility on packaging and collateral materials, the film/video website, and
of course the credits. You will need to look for an organization whose mission
or audience is in line with or overlapping your project, or that will benefit
somehow from being associated with the project. For example, I was raising
money for a documentary about children of drug addicts. One of the places I
approached for funding was a medical organization with sites throughout our
state, and neighboring states. My topic was a good fit for their mission, and
the area in which I planned to film and focus primary distribution overlapped
their service area. It worked out beautifully. I offered them limited creative
input, but they were most interested in securing copies that they could give
out within their service area. In short, they provided a sizable chunk of
funding, I got the project done, and they benefitted from positive PR and
community goodwill in addition to increasing awareness of a serious subject.
Whatever your idea,
be sure to develop a realistic budget, think carefully about which funding
approach (or combination of approaches) would work best for you and your
project, and then get to work. If you’ve got a great idea that you’re
passionate about, it’s worth the effort to raise the funds to make it a
reality.
Susan
Reetz, of Rucinski & Reetz Communication, is a writer/director/producer for
film, video and multimedia. Her scriptwriting and producing work has earned
numerous local, national, and international awards. She also writes feature
articles, brochure copy, news releases, and other promotional materials. She
can be reached at 715-355-9159 or Reetz@RucinskiReetz.com.
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