Fundraising Ideas for Creative Projects
Like with most things in life – they cost money. Artists are only too well aware of this, with their materials, equipment, studios and tuition fees, to name a few. But what happens when the money side of things comes between you and your amazing creative project? Using some of the following fundraising ideas for artists should help elevate that worry and in turn, allow your plans to go ahead.
Fundraising Tips Creative Projects
There’s many reasons why an artist would need to raise some money. For example, they may want to put on a show, run an art fair, host a workshop or create some large collaborative work. All of these activities fall under the general label of a ‘creative project’, with the possibilities and variations endless.
In some cases, artists might already have savings put aside to use for ideas such as the ones above, but that isn’t attainable for everyone. Instead, other artists may use a fundraising idea beforehand to generate both money and interest that will get the original project off the ground. These events or activities can end up becoming part of the project as a whole, with each one funding the next. Whatever your plans are; if they require a budget then you may want to use a mixture of our fundraising tips for artists listed below.
- Host an Art Auction.
- Host an Art Show.
- Sell Custom T-Shirts.
- Create One-of-a-Kind Pieces.
- Host a Talent Show.
- Create a Community Quilt.
- Sell Recipe Books
- Create a Local Battle of the Bands.
7 Fundraising Ideas for Creative Projects
Here are some fundraising ideas for creative projects:
1. Art Show Fundraiser
An art show may be the original creative project that you’re trying to fund, however there are ways of putting on smaller shows that generate enough money to lead onto something bigger. Firstly, the exhibiting space doesn’t need to be costly. Ask around at community centres, schools, shops, cafes or parks (if you could host it outside). You might want to use your own house or studio, depending on your space capabilities. But how will you make money from an art show? You could try charging for entry tickets, having a donation pot and putting on a small bar. We recommend keeping prices low at first to get people through the door and interested in your project?
2. Set Up An Artist Patreon
You may have heard of Patreon before and for good reason. The site is quickly becoming a go to content subscription service, allowing creators to earn income through monthly payments. This works well if you already have a significant following on social media, as dedicated fans are more likely to follow and support you on another platform. If you’re looking to fund a creative project, some Patreon ideas could include: releasing behind the scenes studio videos, step by step guides, early previews of work and members only discounts on your art. This may be business that takes a while to build up and grow, so it’s better to start it sooner rather than later.
3. Art Auction
Similar to an art show, this event also revolves around the presentation of work but with a buying twist. Some of the most famous and prestigious artworks go to auction, racking up millions. This might not be the case for your own auction, but the same principles apply. Decide the scale of your art auction, including your budget. Get a group of artist friends together who want to sell work and start planning. In terms of making money from the auction, set a percentage of the profits that will go to your fund (commission) and what is left for the artist who made the piece. Advertising your art auction will be important, making sure to spread it far and wide on social media. Hopefully, some art dealers swing by and put some big money into your project pot. Extra fundraising ideas for artists to think about here include a donation box, a bar, and ticketed attendance.
4. Set Up A Crowdfunder
This artist fundraising idea isn’t an event as of such. Instead, crowdfunding serves as a method of asking for donations, without something promised in return. There may be specific equipment or travel conditions that you cannot fulfil with your current budget, so asking your community for financial aid can help you overcome that hurdle. There are different online sites that you can raise money through so do your research before choosing one, taking a particular look at their processing fees. Some big examples include Social For Action, Kickstarter and GoFundMe, who have had great success in funding businesses, medical needs and crisis necessities. When setting up your crowd funder, make sure you go into as much detail as possible, explaining how the raised money will be used and how you can’t achieve this without it. The good thing about these types of online campaigns is that they spread very fast, so get your artist community to share it around on their social media accounts even if they can’t donate themselves.
5. Sell Your Art Or Design Products
Asking for money through crowdfunding and donations can sometimes feel a bit awkward and intense, so here’s another option that’s a bit different. Selling is a foolproof way of earning some money, and means that the individual who is parting with their cash gets something in return. Take a look at your body of work and choose work to put up for sale. This can be done through your artist website, Instagram account or Etsy shop. If you’re unsure on selling original work, why not make art prints of your designs or even put them onto products using various print-on-demand services? When it comes to making money from selling, there are a whole host of ideas and opportunities you can take up.
6. Apply For Funding
This is one of the most common ways of getting funding for creative projects. In the UK, artists can apply for grants from Arts Council England, an organisation that invests public money from the government and the National Lottery into creative projects that enrich people’s cultural experiences. In fact, our recently launched art club was part funded by a grant like this, and Lauren Little goes on to explain how she navigated the application process in our funding arts talk. When it comes to the money, you could be offered anything between Rs. 100 – Rs. 100,000, all depending on the intricacies of your proposed project. Our advice is to start small as you’ll be more likely to be successful. To make a great application, try responding directly to their questions, making yourself sound spectacular, reaching out to previous successful applicants and not over promising the data. This fundraising idea is extremely competitive so don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work out the first time. It’s likely you’ll have to give it a couple attempts before getting there, which is ok.
7. Online Giveaway
If you don’t have a group around you to help put on a fundraising activity, this could be a good way to collect money individually. Take a look at your body of work and see if there’s a piece you wouldn’t mind using as part of a giveaway, or create a new one from scratch! This process works in different ways, but in order to raise money, make sure you’re charging people for entry to the competition. Whoever is randomly selected on the final day of your giveaway wins the art piece! Using your artist’s Instagram or social media account, gather up attention by posting it and asking your friends to share. Make sure the instructions to enter are clear, and remember that you’ll be responsible for shipping once the winner is decided.
Fundraising Platforms For Creative Projects
1. Ketto
Founded in 2012, Mumbai-based startup Ketto is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms in India. The platform has been endorsed by several celebrities and ministers alike. It was co-founded by Zaheer Adenwala, Kunal Kapoor, and Varun Seth. It features three major categories: community/social projects, creative arts, and personal development. The three categories include various campaigns like sports, health, women empowerment, animal welfare, education, movies, music, fashion, charity, and more. NGOs can also use Ketto as an eCommerce platform. Fundraisers get a cash pickup facility, helping even those without a bank account.
Depending upon your campaign, Ketto takes 5-8% of the fund raised along with payment gateway charges. The crowdfunding platform is pretty user-friendly with easy navigation.
2. Social For Action
Sakal has stewarded several social initiatives over the past several decades with many of the initiatives going beyond Sakal’s own regional markets, addressing needs across the country. Social impact and social change remains the core of the Sakal’s beliefs even today and with this Sakal is introducing its own Crowdfunding platform – Social For Action. We belief that the role of media today has changed from being an advocate of social causes to being the facilitator or the agent of social change itself.
SFA addresses the many challenges of giving (such as difficulty in discovering the right causes, trust deficit, and overall donor apathy). We share stories of (pre-qualified) individuals and groups with a network of its trusted community and partners, who either specialize in providing and supporting the local communities by promoting products or can connect with the cause to help with a donation.
3. Wishberry
Founded by Anshulika Dubey and Priyanka Agarwal, Wishberry is solely dedicated to creative projects and artists. It voluntarily assists them by assigning a Campaign Coach who is a Wishberry advisor.
The adviser will help you design a campaign, write an effective pitch, make a compelling video, and choose rewards. The coach will also guide you through the effective distribution of rewards. To date, they have helped deliver project creators a remarkable success rate of 70%.
The platform has completed over 325 projects, raising around $1.3m worldwide. Having operated in over 60 countries, Wishberry is now a trusted name among creative startups. There’s also something for the contributors, like tickets to movie premiers, merchandise, name in credit roll, and more. Wishberry charges a one-time fee and 10% of the total commission only when the funding goal is achieved. You can also avail their digital marketing services.
4. Kickstarter
One of India’s oldest fundraising platforms, Kickstarter is also popular for funding creative projects and startups. The platform has had much success in crowdfunding for innovation, research, music, books, and films, among other creative art forms. Kickstarter supports unique initiatives like a photographic series on Indian deities, edible cutlery photography, and more.
The platform also offers various rewards to the donors, depending upon the project. The Sweet Requiem campaign is one of the most successful campaigns on this platform in India. It raised funds for a film based on Tibetan women’s struggles in Tibet and how they’re living in India. Over 300 people contributed to the project, raising over $33,000.
The Edible Cutlery was another such successful campaign. It raised nearly $3,00,000 from over 9000 donors. The platform supports creativity and merchandising and is a delight for aspiring artists and creative startups.
5. FuelADream
Fueladream-crowdfunding-platform
A fairly recent startup by Ranganathan Thota in 2016, FuelADream is another reward-based crowdfunding platform in India. The platform focuses on supporting charities, social causes, and creative projects by collecting donations. You can choose between All or Nothing or Keep What You Get campaigns.
If you don’t reach the All or Nothing campaign’s target, you won’t get anything, and all the money would be returned to the senders. The company has an in-house content and marketing team that designs campaigns and online pitches and creates compelling reward systems for every campaign. In both kinds of campaigns, the company would charge a total of 9% of the amount raised exclusive of taxes.
FuelADream takes up only 20 projects a month. They choose projects wisely, going for quality over quantity. Battery-powered bikes and a canal to irrigate arid farmlands were some of the platform’s most successful campaigns. It supports campaigns in multiple languages to appeal to local and regional audiences.
How to Start a Fundraiser on this Platform?
- Sign up on the website
- Add story details
- Add rewards
- Add team members
- List team members
- Send campaigns for approval
The Bottom Line
With all these fundraising ideas for artists, there’s a couple things to remember. Firstly, the money won’t appear overnight. The ideas themselves take time to plan and set up, especially events such as auctions and shows. If you’re looking for a quick cash grab, then maybe these ideas aren’t for you and your project. It may also take a couple attempts to generate enough funds for whatever your creative endeavour is, so keep this in mind before you set a date for your original art project. You don’t want to propose a huge exciting idea with lots of hype only to have to cancel further down the line.
There will also be many other artists in the same situation as you, trying to raise money in order to make their creative ideas a reality. Take a look online and discover some artistic projects that you can support yourself, whether that be through donations, volunteering or sharing. Through this, you’ll network and open up doors for future collaborative projects. And you never know, someone might happen to repay the favour.
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