“It was incredibly successful. Some of Seattle’s best talent came out to perform, and we raised a significant portion of our total budget in one night,” he said.
Creative fundraising offers endless potential and a chance to make a usually grueling process fun, but is not without its own hurdles. Events can take weeks and even months of planning to be successful, and crowd-funding needs to be approached with copious amounts of planning and thought to maximize results. The clever ‘BARISTAS’ “Donate-A-Latte” request on RocketHub.com was met with much success, but only asked for $5 donations, causing initial fundraising to move slowly. The producers are now happy to report that $100 and $500 donations have since been made.
Hendrix offered advice for productions interested in taking advantage of crowd-funding sites.
“Ask lots of questions and be very clear about the payment and transaction process,” Hendrix said.
Unless you are dealing straight with a funder and receiving a check, all payment platforms are going to have some sort of fees attached. Make sure that you know about these fees and plan your goal accordingly,” she added.
The Great Galvani begins performances on Aug. 18 at the Players Loft. When Last We Flew begins performances Aug. 19 at The Lucille Lortel Theatre. BARISTAS begins performances Aug. 15 at The Kraine Theater. The Girl in the Park begins performances Aug. 18 at the Players Theatre
FringeNYC Artists React to Recession with Innovative Viral Strategies (cont'd)
When crowd-funding isn’t enough, productions are finding resources in networking groups. The entire creative “BARISTAS” team is made up of Northwestern University students and alumni, allowing them to tap into a wide system of support. In addition to hosting events with nearby businesses, producer Zach Baer is hosting an intern karaoke on Aug. 11 at Sweet Caroline’s in Manhattan. “Because a lot of the ‘BARISTAS’ production team are students and recent alumni, and many of us are interns in the city, we thought this would be fun night to meet each other. All cover charge proceeds will benefit our FringeNYC production.” In addition to throwing events, “BARISTAS” utilized the talent of playwright Evan Twohy, who is also a cartoonist, to create a series of merchandise and apparel. Appropriately, their best-selling item is the “BARISTAS” coffee mug.
“The Girl in the Park” playwright and Los Angeles based producer Matt Owen tackled the challenge of fundraising remotely.
“I had to communicate entirely through email and phone calls. I didn’t even know what the other producers looked like until I showed up in New York for our auditions,” he said.
When brainstorming ideas for raising money, Owen came up with the creative solution of calling upon his friends back in Seattle. He called them not for their money, but for their talent. He produced a showcase at Seattle’s famous 5th Avenue Theatre with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards his production.
“It was incredibly successful. Some of Seattle’s best talent came out to perform, and we raised a significant portion of our total budget in one night,” he said.
Creative fundraising offers endless potential and a chance to make a usually grueling process fun, but is not without its own hurdles. Events can take weeks and even months of planning to be successful, and crowd-funding needs to be approached with copious amounts of planning and thought to maximize results. The clever ‘BARISTAS’ “Donate-A-Latte” request on RocketHub.com was met with much success, but only asked for $5 donations, causing initial fundraising to move slowly. The producers are now happy to report that $100 and $500 donations have since been made.
Hendrix offered advice for productions interested in taking advantage of crowd-funding sites.
“Ask lots of questions and be very clear about the payment and transaction process,” Hendrix said.
Unless you are dealing straight with a funder and receiving a check, all payment platforms are going to have some sort of fees attached. Make sure that you know about these fees and plan your goal accordingly,” she added.
The Great Galvani begins performances on Aug. 18 at the Players Loft. When Last We Flew begins performances Aug. 19 at The Lucille Lortel Theatre. BARISTAS begins performances Aug. 15 at The Kraine Theater. The Girl in the Park begins performances Aug. 18 at the Players Theatre.
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