For Artists’ Fund-Raising, a Social Network Site

The NY Times featured an article about United States Artists, a nonprofit group founded by foundations and wealthy art donors to broaden support for working artists, and their new Web site that solicits small donations from regular people to help underwrite specific artworks.

Part social network, part glossy brochure, part fund-raising mechanism, the site seeks to democratize arts patronage as government support for the arts continues to decline and private sources of financing also shrink.

“What we’ve tried to do is take the good ideas about microphilanthropy and the good ideas about social networking and put them together in a way that people can learn about artists and learn about their projects and how they work,” said Katharine DeShaw, the organization’s executive director.

In testing, the Web site attracted roughly 36,000 unique visitors and raised a total of $210,000, with an average of $120 from each of 1,500 small donors, Ms. DeShaw said.

Artists like Zoe Strauss, a photographer, who have received United States Artists grants in the past were asked to participate in the test, and 47 did so. Ms. Strauss sought $4,000 for a project to document the effects of the BP oil spill on the Gulf Coast and its people, and to make a book of her photographs.

Ms. Strauss said about fund-raising, “I would rather have someone stab me in the face.” She added, “I’m totally unskilled in how to hustle money and totally repulsed by the idea of asking people for it, so this site was a dream come true for me.”

She ended up raising $5,185, which is helping her make additional trips to the region to take more photos. “I probably would have had to stop at the one trip I made because I couldn’t afford anymore,” she said. “By making one or two more trips down there, I will have much more to choose from for the book.”

Ms. Strauss said she also appreciated the social networking aspects of the site. “I work very much by myself, and so the ability to talk back and forth with other artists and see how they go about raising money and talking about their work is great.”

Thomas Allen Harris worried it might be too much work. But he decided he could use the test to raise money for a documentary that grew out of his work on Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, a multimedia project that asks blacks to share their family photos as a means of broadening the historic record of the black experience in America. As part of that project, he interviewed Byron Rushing, a Massachusetts legislator who had played a pivotal role in the state’s debate over gay marriage, and saw a way of tying that issue to the civil rights movement in a film.

Using the new Web site and other resources, Mr. Harris raised $11,600, 16 percent more than he had sought, to pay for archival materials, a composer and other postproduction costs.

“In first week or two, all I raised was $25, and I started wondering what would happen if people started thinking about this as a failure,” Mr. Harris said. “I’m used to sharing my creative process, but sharing how I’m actually raising money in such a public way introduces another level of vulnerability.”

Bill Frisell, a jazzss guitarist, said he, too, was uncomfortable with so publicly soliciting money. “I’m not rich but I make a living, and so for me to say, ‘Please, please, please give me money,’ it felt a little embarrassing,” Mr. Frisell said. “I had to get over that.”

He raised $20,300 through the new site, which will be used to complete a program called “The Great Flood,” a suite of original music composed by Mr. Frisell and accompanied by a film by Bill Morrison about the Mississippi River flood in 1927 and its effect on society and music.

The money will enable him to take the band that will perform the music on a tour along the Mississippi River. “We’ll play in various places,” Mr. Frisell said, “set up on the street and play or get smaller gigs that wouldn’t pay enough to cover expenses without this money.”

Ms. Strauss, Mr. Harris and Mr. Frisell say they anticipate that the kind of incremental fund-raising on the site will become more and more important to sustaining art. Mr. Frisell said, “We have to try new things.”

Looking to jump-start your business? You might try entering a contest.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a growing number of corporations, nonprofits and universities are giving small companies a chance at a big break—by holding contests.

Covering a broad range of categories, from the most promising women entrepreneurs to the strongest tech ideas, these competitions offer a number of powerful lures. Some offer cash prizes that can range into the six figures. Then there are longer-term rewards, such as increased exposure and grist for future marketing campaigns. Even if they don't win, entrepreneurs often come away with valuable critiques from expert panels of judges.

But there's an art to deciding which contests to enter and making the best case for your company. Here are some keys to finding, entering and winning these competitions.

The best place to start looking for contests is www.AwardSync.com, a site that helps groups publicize their awards. Once you've focused in on some competitions, the groups' own sites can be valuable. For instance, you could scour their sites for more information about what they do—which might give you ideas about what to highlight in your presentation.

At the outset, start small with awards from, say, local chapters of national organizations. This has a number of benefits. You can refine your case and practice your presentation without as much at stake. You also stand a better chance of winning a smaller contest—and judges of larger events like to see that you have some victories under your belt.

Once you've homed in on some contests, network like crazy. Call previous winners to see what worked for them; more than anyone else, they'll understand why you're in the hunt—and typically they have nothing to lose because they're ineligible to win again. If you can get into the audience for an award's oral presentations, go do it one year, see what makes the finalists stand out, and then apply the next year. Read more here.

Foundations Offer Loans to Nonprofits: Possible Idea of Seed Funds

The Buffalo News reported that a $650,000 check in 2008 from the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York for a new program to assist the frail elderly in Cattaraugus County came with a caveat: Trustees of the foundation wanted the money back, with interest.

A single grant of that size was beyond the capacity of the foundation, so trustees decided instead to make it a loan.

The money allowed Community Care of Western New York to launch a program that will keep more than 200 rural elderly people safely in their homes. Without it, the project probably would have stalled.

"It would not have opened without us, and what is a really promising model for elder care in a rural community would have been lost," said Ann Monroe, foundation president.

Increasingly, foundations in Western New York and across the country are turning to loans, loan guarantees and other measures as a way to aid needy nonprofit organizations without giving away the store.

The John R. Oishei Foundation, the area's largest private foundation, currently has more than $12 million — nearly 4 percent of its $280 million asset base — being used in this fashion. And at least two other local foundations, the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and the Joy Family Foundation, have experimented with alternative financing.

Known as "program-related investments," or more popularly "PRIs," the loans and loan guarantees are serving a dual purpose for foundations hammered by stock market losses in 2008.

PRIs, like grants, put money toward projects that might not otherwise get off the ground. Read more here.

Build a Stronger America: Join the Entrepreneur' Movement

The Kauffman: The Foundation for Entreprenuership offers this new resource and website:

If you are like 80 percent of Americans, you believe that the U.S. economy has been, and will continue to be, built by entrepreneurs like you. Accordingly, if the U.S. economy is going to have a sustained recovery, it will be up to its entrepreneurs to lead the way.

But entrepreneurs cannot create jobs and growth without a level playing field. Federal and state governments cannot continue to favor large, established businesses at the expense of startups and entrepreneurs. Here are five things that entrepreneurs need now:

• Health care reform
• Better access to credit
• Cut payroll taxes to create and save jobs
• Tax reform
• "Entrepreneur's Visas" that enable non-U.S. native college and university graduates to create new jobs now

Kauffman believes that entrepreneurs' voices need to be heard in Washington, DC, and will work to educate government officials about the important role entrepreneurs play in our economy.

Join the Entrepreneurs' Movement today.

Companies Still Increasing Strategic Spending

In a recent article featured by the Nonprofit Times, companies are expected to spend $1.55 billion on cause partnerships during 2009, a 2.2 percent increase from the $1.52 billion invested in those programs during 2008, according to Chicago-based IEG, LLC. The amount spent in 2007 was $1.44 billion, according to IEG.

Cause-related programs still remain popular among corporate marketers due to their ability to support worthwhile organizations while also driving sales.

In fact, some nonprofits that deal with poverty, hunger and other issues directly impacted by the economy have found increased corporate interest. “Recent research has shown that consumers expect corporations to increase their support of causes in this economy,” said Dan Kowitz, vice president of IEG Sponsorship Consulting.

For example, anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength has posted a roughly 15 percent increase in revenue from cause marketing programs during the past year, signing new deals with AT&T, Inc., Hickory Farms, Inc. and others.

Among other recent deals, juice and apple sauce marketer Mott’s LLP this year partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Feeding America to launch national cause-marketing programs. The company is leveraging the Komen partnership with the Pink to the Core campaign, which features limited edition packaging. It is working with Feeding America on the Wake Up with Mott’s and Marcia Cross program, around which consumers can make a donation by sending a pre-recorded telephone message about the need to fight hunger from the actress to family and friends.

For each call, Mott’s donates $1 to the nonprofit, with a cap of $134,000 -- the cost of feeding one million people.

Companies also are increasingly leveraging sports and other types of sponsorships to promote their nonprofit partners. For example, Farmers Group, Inc., is using its new tie to the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks to promote its longstanding partnership with the March of Dimes. The insurer is activating the tie with the We Assist You Assist promotion that asks consumers to pledge a donation tied to the number of assists the team makes throughout the season. Farmers Group will match the total raised from fans.

Further demonstrating the popularity of cause sponsorship, causes trail only sports properties and entertainment tours and attractions when it comes to spending by property type, according to IEG. Read more here.

Think about a partnership as a possible way to fund your venture. There is an opportunit for a new partnership that could give the business great exposure and access to new clients, while giving your nonprofit start up dollars for your entrepreneurial venture.

Funding Environment

What are funders looking for? That is the question on everyone's mind. During a couple recent conversations I've had with cultural organizations, I am starting to hear a different approach. There is a sense and realization that organizations have to change they way they do business. Waiting for the economy to turn around isn't of consideration any more, nor are funders available to fill the funding gaps and deficits. Instead, these nonprofits are looking at a funding mix (like any other nonprofit), but more importantly, focusing on how much money they generate through services, fees, and other activities. They are looking at what they do well, and how they can capitalize and make money. Are you having this conversation? What offers your organization the best chance of generating unrestricted dollars? This is where you need to be looking as we look to the future, especially as you consider starting your own entrepreneurial venture. Remember, share your ideas or questions here.