Individual Donations
Individual donations can come from companies, businesses or larger organizations who contribute financially, or in another way, to your project, but, whereas your documentary proposal and pitch may be utilized there is no grant application process.
Definition: An individual donation is a contribution to your film project, usually financial, from a sole person or small collection of people who wish to support it.’ |
For the purposes of this tutorial we will focus on the, sole-person, individual donor ask.
The Individual Donation
The sole-person, individual donation is a commitment by one person to provide funding or other resources to your film, usually based on your connection or relationship with them and often at your request for support.
Empowering yourself to ask people to donate to your project will be a major benefit to it. Statistics vary as to how much of a percentage individual donations make up funding for documentary projects, but generally it is considered to be at 50% or higher. I’m sure you’ll agree this is extremely significant!
Note: If you have not already worked through the money mindset tutorial we recommend you do that now because understanding your relationship to money (and how to make it work for you) is instrumental in all your fundraising endeavors, but none perhaps more so than receiving individual donations.
The Pros and Cons of the Individual Donation
In order to help you determine if the individual donation is right for your project let’s look at some pros and cons.
Efficiency and Speed
Individual donations can be one of the quickest and most efficient ways of making money for your project that you will find. You can be given a response quickly and if the response is affirmation, you can have the money in your hand with days or weeks.
No Application
Unlike with grant funding there is no lengthy application form to complete and likely no drawn out deliberation process you will have to wait through, because it won’t take a committee or other board to discuss and dissect. For those who loathe grantwriting or formal presentations of their project then this is an advantage.
Building a real connection
Another big pro to individual donors is the personal relationships you will develop. Over the past few years we have been attending more events in relation to filmmaking and podcasting and one of the key takeaways we’ve garnered is the development of connection and communication with our peers, and even with brands, on a personal level.
We spend so much time forming digital connections it can mean so much more (and takes the relationship to a much deeper level) when you can look the person in the eye, have a conversation, shake their hand, or even give them a hug. This is true of the individual ask too. These relationships can be the life blood of your film and not just in a financial way, through this genuine connection.
It takes time to foster a relationship
The downside in the development of these relationships, however, can be that they can take large amounts of time to foster. This is especially true of wealthy individuals who you hope will provide a more substantial contribution to your project. We will talk more on this later in the tutorial.
Money may arrive in small increments
Donors can come in all shapes and sizes, as in, contribution amount! You may receive many donations of small amounts - which you will welcome as it is wonderful to receive any contribution to your film - however, you will also need to source donations of a more substantial nature to truly make individual donations powerful in impacting the funding requirements you require for your documentary film.
Where To Find Donors
People you know
One of the first places to look for donations to your project are your friends and family and the connections you have on social media such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram, linked in, etc. This is often the first and most obvious place that filmmakers look for support and with just reason. These are people you know and who know you, even if it is just through acquaintance. To differing degrees they already know, like and trust you and many of them may want you to succeed enough to contribute to what you’re doing.
This can prove a great initial resource, however, if you wish to generate significant money and continue on a sustained path of filmmaking you will have to learn how to fund outside of your friends, family and people in your immediate circle so where else can you look?
Your local or film community
As you widen the circle you may next begin to look at your local community or the community in which the film is being held. These may be one and the same or they may be very different.
For example, with our film Elvis of Cambodia we were living in Portland, OR and in New York state when we made the film, neither of which is a predominantly Cambodian or Khmer-American place to reside. So for us, making a film about a legendary Cambodian singer, meant that it became essential for us to tap into the Khmer-American communities in other parts of the states and throughout the world as they where the most passionate advocates of the film. Any local support we found was more in relation to personal connections we had rather than the subject matter of the film.
Either way, it is important to consider how both your local community and the community which the film is depicting can assist with donations for your film.
Organization or association members
We will talk about donations from organizations through grant writing channels and making use of the IRS form 990 and we will be discussing how forming partnerships with organizations can assist your project, but another aspect of donations from organizations is through the individuals who support those organizations.
Also consider people who donate their time or even who are employed by an organization, as they will have an affinity with it. You have the opportunity to reach out to individual volunteers or members to solicit their support. Perhaps that support won’t be financial, but any and all support from people who care about the topic you are discussing in your film is a good thing.
People who’ve shown an interest in your film topic
Those people who share your passion, belief, dismay or impetus for change related to the topic, or story within, your film. People who believe that you are sharing an important story that needs to be told, one that they also want to be told or that they are very highly interested in watching. Those people are great ones to find, because they will champion and advocate for your film and encourage others to support it too.
Recommendations or introductions
Recommendations or introductions to potential donors from friends, associates or others who are supporting your film, can establish a certain amount of credibility and reliability of you and your project in their eyes.
Being introduced to a potential donor by someone they know, like and trust gives you the opportunity of pitching to someone who is more open to hearing what you have to say. It is also hoped that the friend, associate or other supporter will have curated the potential donor based on their knowledge of them, making them more likely to be interested in your project.
Previous Donors
You may find that those who have previously given to your project may be willing to contribute again at a later stage or phase of production. This could be to assist in the final push to completion or in the distribution, marketing or organizing of community screenings or events. You will hopefully have kept them up-to-date with your project since their initial donation and will have to show them that you have made progress, but those who have funded you previously are a potentially great source of revenue for the future.
Local, regional, national or international newspapers
It is worth keeping an eye on your local, regional or even international news and newspapers and consciously scour for any individuals who are actively interested in, or are currently in some way supporting, a cause, event or people related to your film topic. You can then reach out to them and attempt to form a relationship. This may prove financially beneficial or may provide additional resources for you film in some other way.
Major Gift Donors
What we are about to take a look at here and through the video tutorials can apply to any donor, but you couldn’t apply it to every donor or else you wouldn’t have time to make your film. Therefore this is primarily a breakdown for major gift donors or those who have the means to give considerably to your project.
And just in case you were in any doubt as to the potential significance of major donors to your project, wealthier donors or donors with means can massively affect the amounts you receive for your film.
Interestingly, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project a total of
88% of gifts come from just 12% of donors and
76% of gifts come from just 3% of donors.
So finding and nurturing these major gift donors can be a great use of your time and resources.
So how do you do this?
Building relationships
We’ve said it before in other tutorials, but it bares repeating 'people give to people'.
Building relationships with donors is the best way to bring them onboard with your project and for them to want to donate to it. Anything you read or hear about seeking major gift donations will teach you that it can take a long time before you see any financial involvement from a potential donor.
People don’t maintain their wealth by giving it away to strangers.
However, they are often happy to contribute to projects when they are interested in a topic and have confidence in the conduit (you!).
They must be able to form a know, like and trust factor with you before they will be willing to hand over any cold hard cash. They have to know that the film will reach completion and that you are the person to do it.
Basically you will want to reassure them in the same way you would a granting committee that you know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how you are going to do it, but with individual donors you remove the rigidity of the system and replace it with inter-personal communication and connection.
Give them the opportunity to be part of something
One big mistake that you may make, and which may hold you back quite considerably, is if you feel that you are asking for money for yourself, rather than something larger and more meaningful. We talked about this in the money mindset tutorial, but it bares repeating because it is SO important.
This film is not just your project and it is not just your passion. It may have started that way, but it won't reach it's full potential unless you allow, and encourage, people to see it as their film and their passion too.
Fundraising, and certainly more specifically, individual donations or the individual ‘ask’ is about bringing people in to a project that they can be part of, that they can help see to fruition, something that they believe in.
You are on a journey to make this film happen and the people that support you, whether financially or in any other way, are going on that journey with you. The film’s successes are in equal parts their success as they are your own. Make that clear to whomever you are building a relationship with. And whether they give financially to it or contribute in some other way, they are a integral to it’s success.
What are their needs?
Another important part of building your relationship with a potential donor is to listen to what their needs are.
* What are they telling you they are looking for?
* What is missing in their life?
* What are they hoping to achieve with their money, time and effort?
* And does your project fit into that?
* Have they given to projects like yours in the past?
* What kind of projects are they generally interested in getting involved with?
It is important that your film is a good fit for your potential donor and it is your job to find out if it is or not.
You should do your best to find out as much as you can about your potential donor. Much like our grant writing protocol you must do your homework and research potential donors as much as you can.
* What is their mission, goals and objectives?
You don’t have to ask them so formally, but be sure to construct some inquisitive thoughts and questions which will help you to ascertain the answer to where their focus is or wants to be.
Ask them for advice
A great way to connect with major gift donors is to ask them for their advice. This can then lead to a significant financial donation later down the road, but doesn’t necessarily need to. Sometimes advice can be just as beneficial, if not more so, than a cash injection. If your potential donor is a person of means it more than likely infers that they have some skill with money, that they know how to garner it and manage it and can give you some tips, recommendations and resources to help you garner some too.
In addition to advice a potential major gift donor could support your film in other ways by providing information, connections or direction.
* Would they be willing to invite their wealthy friends to a fundraising party for example?
* Or could you speak briefly about your film at an event they’re hosting or attending?
You may end up with much more money than you could ever have garnered from your potential donor directly.
Contacting Major Gift Donors
In this video we tell you of some things you should have in place BEFORE you start reaching out to potential major gift donors and how to go about contacting them.
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Making The Ask
In this video we give you some reminders, tips and considerations for making that all important ask.