Fear-Free Fundraising

On foundations and finesse

By Holly Million

Often, the difference between filmmakers who succeed at securing foundation and government grants and those who don’t is that a light bulb goes off in the heads of the successful fundraisers: They look at it as a game, with rules both written and unwritten, that need to be understood, followed and, in some cases, worked around with finesse.

For example, some foundations only allow partnerships where one partner has its own 501c3 status. I had a situation where I wanted to apply for a grant from a foundation that had this rule. They were emphatic. We had already established a fiscal sponsorship with another production company that had its own 501c3, but that wasn’t enough. To make this proposal legit, we signed a separate agreement creating a partnership solely for the purpose of this one grant. We submitted the application under their 501c3. And we got $60,000. Our partner got the same fee they would have gotten as our fiscal sponsor.

What if your gut tells you your film is a fit for a certain funder even if their guidelines seem to say the opposite? It’s important to use your judgment and insight when reading the guidelines, because sometimes you might be tempted to reject an opportunity just because you don’t “see” it in writing in front of you. A good example of this happened with a film I am producing and my husband is directing about Jack London. Looking at patterns in the funding of a major California foundation, it seemed at first that our film was not a fit. The foundation had a strong pattern of giving to films about different ethnic groups in California, including many films about recent historical or even current events. We didn’t see anything that looked like our film. But, reading between the lines, we saw that it might be our chance for early adopter money. Talking to the program officer, we found out that the foundation was, in fact, hungry to receive applications for documentaries about key figures in California history, like Jack London. The problem was, very few people had approached them for funding for these types of films. We took our chance, and the stars were precisely aligned for our getting funding. We applied, and we got a $10,000 grant. If we’d believed what we’re read in the guidelines, we wouldn’t have gotten the grant.

When producing a documentary three years ago, I wanted to apply for a grant from a foundation that required a nonprofit partner to be working with the filmmaker. The logical partner was a college that was integral to the film, but their skittish administration said No. That didn’t deter me. I approached the college’s graduate student association to be my partner instead. They didn’t have their own nonprofit ID number, but I asked the foundation is one was necessary for the partner, and they said No. Green light! When the graduate students learned they could help me and thumb their noses at the hated administration, they jumped on board. With their help, I got a grant for $35,000 for the film. If I’d assumed that a No from the college president was the last word, I’d have been checking under my couch cushions for loose change instead of collecting the grant check.

None of which is to say rules should not be followed. If the guidelines say you must not staple your application or you must include a work sample or you cannot go over five pages total, then you better do all of that. I sat on a panel for a film grant where a filmmaker had a strong written proposal for a short narrative that I was planning to recommend for funding. However, instead of a work sample, she submitted a note saying her work samples were so different from the new proposed film that she thought they would not represent her well. In fact, that omission cost her the grant. We could not consider her fairly alongside others who had complied with our instructions. I later had the opportunity to pass this information along to her, and she was crushed. But, fortunately, not broken. It was a good learning experience.

Another piece of advice in this category deals with “playing it safe," even if it means less-than-full disclosure of your artistic intentions. Say you’ve noticed that every foundation you apply to seems to get spooked by a particular facet of your approach to making the film. Maybe they can’t believe your experimental animation is going to work in this documentary. Or that you can get Russell Crowe for the lead in your low-budget narrative because he is your cousin, twice-removed. If so, take those things out of your proposal. Can they not get their heads around the literary aspects of your historical documentary? Then… dumb it down. Be conservative where the game calls for it.

topics: authors, bay area, diy, funding, independent film

04.07.2009