fundraising

A couple of years ago, I managed a fundraising event for Frameline (San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) that proved to be quite successful. In my eight years of fundraising, I have learned how difficult fundraising events can be. Often nonprofit staff, volunteers, and Board members are drawn to these "moneymakers" because they believe an event is a sure bet for bringing in the revenue, especially when annual goals have not been met for the year.

About the grant process: In the summer of 2003 five high school interns at Spy Hop Productions applied for Time Warner Foundation’s Teen Summer Program. This program fosters and showcases teen projects integrating writing, media and technology to highlight an issue of concern in the world and/or in their local community. Along the way, the program helps young people develop basic media and technology skills.

The Foundation approved the students’ application and awarded them $1,000 to produce a multimedia product—using both web and video technologies—addressing the issue of Media Literacy. While the students’ final product did not win the final grant award of $5,000, their impressive efforts allowed Spy Hop to receive an invitation to apply for a Creative & Media Arts Grant.

he Media Arts Project (MAP) represents over 250 regional media arts practitioners, enthusiasts and students in Western North Carolina. A nimble grassroots organization, the MAP operated for over two years as an unfunded, all-volunteer effort. At the behest of the local Community Foundation, MAP presented an informational forum on the creative economy and the multimedia industry in Asheville. That meeting spurred a local philanthropist—without any application or solicitation—to offer six months of operating budget, and staff funding. That allowed us to continue our work with a single paid staff member and numerous ad hoc volunteers.