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  • Funding is notoriously hard to get. Even with a grants and donations, your funding goals

  • may still fall short. When this happens, it's time to turn to fund-raising because knowing

  • the most effective ways to fund-raise can help you save time and get the money you need.

  • Coming up with good ideas for fund-raising is like pulling teeth. Most people dread having

  • to do them, but are glad they did when it's done. In order to to help you do a successful

  • fundraiser, we're going to go over some common options like online fundraising websites,

  • getting free public relations, and putting on benefits, screenings, and auctions. You

  • can use ideas like these to pull off a fundraiser that allows your documentary to get the funding

  • it needs.

  • The least risky and easiest way of fundraising for a documentary is to take advantage of

  • online fundraising websites. Sites like Indie Go Go and Kickstarter allow you to pitch your

  • documentary idea to people all over the world who can donate to your project after reading

  • your proposal and seeing a sample of your footage. The beauty of these sites is that

  • they save producers a ton of money on travel costs and allow the project to get donations

  • from individuals they would have never had a chance to meet before. Even though people

  • who see your projects on these sites may donate only a hundred dollars or less to your project

  • at a time, those donations can add up when 100s of people are doing so. Both Indie Go

  • Go and Kickstarter allow you to post your project free of charge but do take a 4-5 percent

  • fee if your documentary gets funding. That being said, the exposure these websites give

  • your project can be well worth the cost. Just remember, there is no such thing as free money

  • so make sure you offer something to your donors such as an early copy of the finished product

  • or a small gift.

  • I'm sure you've heard the saying that any press is good press? Well, the same goes for

  • documentaries. Since half of the battle behind fund-raising is getting your project in front

  • of as many people as possible, it can be a good idea to make your documentary newsworthy.

  • Most local and regional news outlets have an arts and entertainment section where you

  • can announce the unique goals of your documentary. Also, setting yourself up as an expert on

  • a topic related to your documentary could get you contacted for an interview where you

  • could mention your documentary. Lastly, if you have someone with some name recognition

  • working on the documentary with you or a recognizable donor, you could release that information

  • to the press for coverage. In this way, you can get people talking about your documentary

  • which helps you to both find and impress donors.

  • Another option that takes a bit more time and strategic planning is to hold a benefit.

  • Benefits raise money by having attendees pay to get into an event that cost the producer

  • little to no money to put on. A very common benefit to hold is a dinner. Dinners work

  • by having interested participants pay money to buy plates of food at an event in which

  • an important person is attending or speaking. Sometimes interested individuals will buy

  • out whole tables at a dinner. This way they can invite their friends or family to attend

  • for free in hopes that they will donate to the production. Sometimes a local restaurant

  • will donate their space and food for a free event so that people will both donate to the

  • documentary and frequent their restaurant. Another common way to hold a benefit is through

  • a concert. In a benefit concert, a band will donate either all or most of the proceeds

  • of their ticket prices to a documentary. This can work well for both parties as they will

  • both get exposure to people that they wouldn't have had access to otherwise.

  • Similar to a benefit, you can also hold an auction to raise money for your documentary.

  • The trick, as with a benefit, is to get people to donate items that are rather valuable so

  • people will want to attend. Donations usually include valuable items such as jewelry, artwork,

  • and more. However, some people may not have any valuable items. If this is the case they

  • can also donate free services like guitar lessons, and yard work. Since many people

  • coming to the auction have probably never attended one before, it is a good idea to

  • hold a silent auction. A silent auction will have items laid out in a showroom with a bidding

  • sheet for people to write down their bids. If you set a short time for people to bid,

  • it can make it more fun for attendees win an item.

  • Lastly, if you're documentary has already been made or you have previous documentaries

  • to show, you can put on a screening. This way, all of the proceeds from the showing

  • can go to recoup costs on the documentary that was shown or to get money for the next

  • documentary that you are thinking of making.

  • Though fundraising can take a lot of effort, organization, and time, it is a necessary

  • part for most documentaries. Doing one correctly can not only help you raise money, but can

  • increase the visibility of your film as well.

Funding is notoriously hard to get. Even with a grants and donations, your funding goals

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