Fractured Atlas Presents:Fiscal Sponsorship + Crowdfunding = $$ for Creative Projects

Dianne Debicella - Program Director, Fiscal Sponsorship

What we’re going to cover:

Definition of fiscal sponsorship and

crowdfunding

Taking advantage of the fiscal

sponsorship program

Review of the leading crowdfunding

platforms

Keys to crowdfunding success

Benefits of crowdfunding

Crowdfunding myths

But First… Nice to Meet You!

What exactly is a fiscal sponsorship?

• Fiscal sponsorship is a legal agreement between an artist or

arts organization and a 501(c)(3) charity (like Fractured Atlas)

• It allows the sponsee to raise tax-deductible contributions

through individuals and grants

• Funds are given to the sponsor and are restricted to the

specific purpose and use of the sponsee

• Without getting tax exempt status, you can use fiscal

sponsorship to solicit contributions from individuals and

institutional funding agencies

 

Benefits of the Fractured Atlas Fiscal Sponsorship Program

• Fundraising: having the ability to give donors a tax-deductible

receipt for their contribution of cash (checks or credit card) or

tangible items

• Grants: having access to foundations that only allow tax-exempt

charities to apply

• Also, with FA fiscal sponsorship, you can gain access to:

Nonprofit rates with vendors and companies who offer them 

Review of all grants and solicitation materials

Arts Fiscal Sponsors: Best Practices

• All fiscal sponsors charge a fee, usually 5 - 10%.  FA's fee is 6%

• The sponsor provides oversight for the funds that are raised and how

they are spent  (May request receipts, invoices, contracts) 

• Most sponsors, including FA, will never own any of your work, or any of

the rights to it 

• Many sponsors, including FA, will review grant proposals to make sure

that they are appropriate and that the foundations are good matches 

• All fiscal sponsors should have some sort of written agreement for the

fiscal sponsorship arrangement

Who Can Use the FA Fiscal Sponsorship Program?

• Individuals and organizations with a US social security number or Federal Tax

ID (also called an EIN)

• The individual or organization must have an artistic focus or strong arts

component

• Individuals must have a project in mind or ongoing work and creative

development

• Organizations that are waiting on their own 501c3 status, or who are not

planning on filing for their own status

• The potential project must NOT have investors or commercial intent; they

should be nonprofit and have a charitable purpose  (But please pay yourself if

you can!)

So how do you get sponsored?

Applying for Fiscal Sponsorship

• Become a member of Fractured Atlas

• Carefully review the agreement, eligibility, benefits, and policies and

procedures

• Submit the application

• Deadline is the last day of the month, approvals are sent no later than

the 15th of the following month

• We do not judge the quality of your work and simply need to see that it

is artistic and nonprofit in nature

Revenue: The Breakdown

From How the United States Funds the Arts www.nea.gov/pub/how.pdf

So what is crowdfunding…

According to Wikipedia:

“It is the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people

who network and pool their money together, usually via the

Internet, in order to support efforts initiated by other people or

organizations.”

Who are the providers?

www.kickstarter.com

www.IndieGoGo.com

www.rockethub.com

There are others, but these are the major players right

now.

Picking the Crowdfunding Site for you

Coming up with your Game Plan

• Preliminary project planning

• Choosing the Crowdfunding platform that’s right for you

• Setting up your campaign

• Running your campaign

First things First – Budgets:(Without a budget, how would you set your goal?)

• Be realistic with your budget.

• Always allow ten percent extra.

• Try to keep your budget indie (read: small).

• Keep expenses reasonable, but don’t compromise quality.

Now that you know your expenses, you can figure out what your

goal is.

First things First – Defining your project

• Learn how to talk to other people about your project.

• Remember, general projects don’t get funded.

• Start thinking about time frames.

• Think about why you’re different.

OK. Now what?

Logistics:

• Pick the crowdfunding site you will use.

• You need to set up an account to use any of these sites.

• Study the payment options.

• Read the terms of service or agreement.

Now what… continued.

Content:

• Write an amazing (yet concise) description of your project.

• Get your Pitch Clip up on YouTube or Vimeo.

Now what… continued.

Timing and Goals:

• Set your time frame.

• Set your goal.

• Don’t set up two crowd funding campaigns.

Donor Perks

• Donor perks are really the heart of crowdfunding.

• Determine perks that you can afford and correlate them to a reasonable

giving level.

• Remember, you will have to email or mail these perks, and get donor

mailing information.

• Average donation amounts are around $70 dollars.

• Need a boost?

Perks, continued.

• You’ll probably only get a few heavy-hitter donors, folks who donate above $500. But their perk should be EXTRA special. There should be cache for the special few giving that much.

• Perks should get more personalized and more limited as the giving level goes up.

• Your perks can set you apart.

Audience BuildingTime to sit back and relax, right? Nope.

• Invite Friends

• Use the widget tools

• Facebook

• Don’t forget Twitter, Myspace, Tumblr, etc.

• Talk to bloggers, organizations, and other folks who are interested in

your topic.

• Keep your content current!

Some people find that this is a full time job. Be prepared.

Don’t forget your manners.

• Each crowdfunding website will have a way for you to send your thanks

to your donors automatically.

• Personalize the thanks to your donors if you can.

• For substantial donors, make sure to send a card with your perk items.

You never know when you’ll be fundraising again!

Crowdfunding myths

• Random people WILL contribute to my campaign.

• It’s easy, I’m gonna sit here and do nuthin’

• Post it, and they will come.

• Diamonds for donors

• Huge goals = huge donations!

Conclusions• Send a thank you letter before cashing a donation check (“thank before you bank”)

• Prepare options/customized levels of giving for individual and corporate donors

• Keep current promotional materials on hand at all times (and business cards in

your pocket...you never know who you’re going to meet!)

• Keep all funding sources & potential funding sources informed about progress &

events

• Apply for grants until you are ready (seriously folks, would you jump into the

ocean without knowing how to swim?!)

• Give up after only one year - this is long-term work that requires continuous

commitment.

• Crowdfunding is a TON of work and is not for everyone.

• Crowdfunding is a great way to raise seed money and market your work

Learn more about Fractured Atlas

• Fiscal sponsorship: http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/

• Call us at 212-277-8020

• Email us at support@fracturedatlas.org

• Contact us to learn more about our partnership with

IndieGoGo and Rockethub.

Additional Resources

• Chronicle of Philanthropy: www.philanthropy.com

• Philanthropy News Digest: www.fdncenter.org/pnd

• Wikipedia on 501(c)(3):

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)(3)

• IRS Website on Exempt Organizations:

www.irs.gov/eo

Book recommendations

•The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need: Top Grant Writers and

Grant Givers Share Their Secrets! by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox

• The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing by Jane C Geever 

• The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for

Managers and Boards by Murray Dropkin

To contact us with specific questions, or to request a PDF of this

presentation...

support@fracturedatlas.org

Any questions?Call us at 212-277-8020Email us at support@fracturedatlas.org