Wanted: Funders to Help Art Projects Happen

Spreads from What is Art? book. Image Courtesy of Butler Gallery & Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership.

By Andrew Hetherington

Around the world, artists and other creatives are using crowdfunding websites as a new way to engage with their audiences and bypass some of the traditional ways of sourcing funding.

Whether it’s Kickstarter¹ in America, Pozible² in Australia, Fund it³ in Ireland or any of the increasingly successful European websites, crowdfunding is helping artists to finance new work, exhibitions, books, residencies, materials and more. This new way to fund creativity might not be for everyone, but there can be no doubt that when traditional funding sources are increasingly difficult to attract, crowdfunding is proving a popular alternative.

Take Fund it as an example. The website is relatively young when compared to the biggest players in the field. However, within 16 months, it celebrated its first €1 million in pledges and its 260th successful project, which was by photographer Daragh Muldowney.⁴ Fund it is not the only site experiencing this growth. Crowdsourcing.org‘s Crowdfunding Industry Report says more than $1.4 million was raised on crowdfunding websites worldwide in 2011, and it expects this number to double in 2012. There can be no doubt that this presents an attractive opportunity for artists and other creative people to use crowdfunding as a way to source funding for their projects and ideas.

The projects that have been successful on Fund it reflect the breadth of the arts and creative industries in Ireland. Importantly, they have received financial backing from people all over the world, not just from Ireland, as might be expected. The average pledge to projects on the site is just over €50, and the average amount raised by successful projects is just over €3,500. The art category is the fourth most popular and represents about 12 percent of the total volume of projects. While there are lots of great visual arts projects in the art category, visual art projects also feature regularly in the event, media and publishing, performance and film categories.

When I talk about the success of Fund it, the question I usually get asked is, “What is the key to a successful crowdfunding campaign?” For me, successful crowdfunding is a combination of hard work, building trust in your project and your ability to deliver your rewards. Trust takes time to build, and the relationship between creator and funder in crowdfunding is no exception. To help build this trust, it is vital that the public manifestation of your idea or project shows that you are passionate and motivated by it. Your written presentation, your video and the rewards you offer should aim to inspire confidence in the people that read or hear about your project-enough confidence and trust for them to become your financial backers.

Yes, some projects reach their targets in just a few days without needing long campaigns, and a handful of lucky creators have reached their target in a matter of hours. This always causes great excitement when it happens, but it is not the norm. On Fund it, the trends among successful projects can be summarized in five steps:

• Project creators who research the successful campaigns of others and spend time preparing their project for public viewing usually get off to a good start.

• When they have launched their campaign, they normally experience an initial flurry of activity and support for their project.

• This is usually followed by a steady increase of support during the middle of their campaign.

• Towards the end, a final surge of support helps them reach (or exceed) the 100 percent funded mark.

• Delivering the rewards they have promised to their funders in a timely fashion is the last important step to success.

These steps are reliant on planning and managing your time effectively before, during and after your campaign goes live on the crowdfunding site.

Daragh Muldowney’s video for the Jewellery Box Fund it Campaign. Video by Peter Farrell.

Fifty-eight people helped Paris-based artists Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly raise over €6,000 toward their exhibition “Hall of Mirrors,”⁵ which is touring Ireland in 2012 and 2013 and going to Paris in 2014. Connolly and Cleary emphasize the importance of preparing for the work involved with a crowdfunding campaign: “Our Fund it campaign was a very positive experience for us,” Cleary says. “It really generated a buzz around the lead-up to the exhibition and led to quite a lot of media attention. We were really surprised at the warmth and generosity of people’s reactions, in particular from the art community; there was a real sense of solidarity. However, I regretted not being able to give the campaign quite the time it really required. It is quite intensive, people feel very involved through supporting the project, and so it is necessary to really thank them individually and keep them updated on progress. This all takes a lot of effort, and so you really need to allow the maximum lead in time possible. I’d recommend starting at least six months before the event happens.”

Fifty-six people helped the Butler Gallery raise over €4,500 toward What is Art?⁶ No Answers, Just Discovery-a hardback journal written by young people from the gallery’s education program. Like most projects, the gallery used a combination of communications channels including email, social media to get information about their project to a wide audience. Anna O’Sullivan, director of the Butler Gallery and commissioner for Ireland at the Venice Art Biennale 2013, echoes the comments made by Cleary about the work and preparation involved with crowdfunding. “Participating in crowdfunding was an extremely positive experience for the gallery-the process made us very aware of how much success was dependant on how we targeted our diverse contacts with frequency and creativity.”

Fiona Kearney, director of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery in Cork, Ireland, which successfully funded a limited-edition artists’ book Mixtapes⁷ with the support of seventy-two people, offers some relevant advice about managing a live campaign. “We treated our live campaign as part of our social media conversation. We kept it informal and hopefully informative. We didn’t overload our social media with updates, as I had got a bit frustrated previously with overly keen fundraisers constantly in my inbox.”

So yes, it is clear to see that crowdfunding involves time and work. Hasn’t raising funds always? But if you are interested in trying out crowdfunding, here are some guidelines that should help you get started. If you’d like more advice, you’ll find great tips and hints on the blogs of the leading crowdfunding websites.

45 78 33 is an artists' book in response to the exhibition “Mixtapes: Popular Music in Contemporary Art.” Courtesy of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery.

Think about your audience

Crowdfunding is reliant on computer literacy, online payment processing and social media skills. If you and/or your audience are not familiar or do not have confidence in any of these, off-line fundraising activities might be more appropriate. On the positive side, most crowdfunding websites allow funders to support projects at any price level, usually starting as low as $1. This means that crowdfunding is relatively open to all.

Check out your website options

By the end of 2012, there are expected to be more than 500 crowdfunding websites worldwide⁸. While the more popular websites are likely to be your preferred platform, it might be easier for your project to attract more attention on some of the more specialized crowdfunding websites. Examples include unbound.co.uk for the book you’ve always wanted to publish or pledgemusic.com for the album you just have to record.

Read the small print

Let’s face it, we’re all guilty of scanning through the “Terms and Conditions” of websites we use. But “Terms and Conditions” help to protect both the service provider and user. It is vital that you know what you are getting yourself into with any contract, especially if large amounts of money are involved. All reputable crowdfunding websites will make sure you agree to their terms of use before you get started. If they don’t, this should automatically raise an alarm bell.

Keep your expectations realistic

You may have heard a lot about million dollar/euro crowdfunding campaigns recently, but this is not the norm. Information about these types of campaigns are widely spread and publicized. Many people approach crowdfunding sites with great expectations. Keep in mind that on reward-based crowdfunding websites, approximately 60% of funds are paid out to projects that raised less than $5,000. About 10% of funds were paid to projects that raise more than $10,000 of funding.

Understand the vocabulary

Many crowdfunding websites operate on an all-or-nothing basis, which means you must raise a minimum target (in a defined period of time) in order to draw down the funds pledged to your project. It is usually possible to raise more than your target, but you must state the minimum amount needed to complete your project and to deliver the rewards promised to your funders. Some websites do not impose the all-or-nothing rule, but additional fees and charges often apply for this facility.

Investigate fees, charges and other costs

Knowing the fees and charges applied by a crowdfunding website will help you factor this amount into your budget. The majority of crowdfunding websites operate on a commission basis. You’ll typically have to pay an average of 7 or 8 percent on all funds pledged to your project. Don’t forget about simple things like the cost for posting and packaging rewards. These add up very quickly, so make sure to include them in your overall project budget, too.

Present your project with the love it deserves

Funders aren’t usually keen to read or watch lengthy descriptions or videos of a project. They are interested in the key facts: Who is involved in the project? Why are they doing it? How much it will cost? Provide them with a concise outline of why you are doing the project, what is being funded and where the money is going. If you are going to make a video to accompany your crowdfunding campaign (which you should), remember it doesn’t have to cost you lots of money. Once you have access to a computer with a web camera, you have all you need.

Be transparent

Being transparent about your project and its funding requirements shows that you have already thought about how you can make it a success. It also helps inform funders by giving them insight into the creative process, the time it takes to see an idea through to completion, and how much a creative project actually costs.

Target your communications

Make sure your email distribution lists are “clean” and up to date. Build your social media profile as much as you can before launching. If necessary, find some collaborators that will spread the word about your campaign through their social media profiles. Traditional media exposure is also very helpful, as it lends credibility to your campaign. Identify influential journalists, columnists and bloggers who are interested in topics that overlap with your project. Write emails specific to those contacts, highlighting the aspects of the project that you think they’d be most interested in.

Remember to say thank you, deliver your rewards promptly and keep in touch

Saying thank you is such a simple thing to do when you’ve finished your campaign. When it is done creatively, it makes a lasting impression. It is considered good practice to update your funders on the progress of your project and the rewards offered as they are delivered. Once you complete the project and fulfill rewards, it is also good practice to keep in touch with your supporters, as they will likely be supporters of other projects you crowdfund.

If crowdfunding feels like a funding option for your next project, take the advice given above and start your preparation early. Do as much research about crowdfunding as you can before you start. There are lots of case studies of successful projects online to help inspire you. Be prepared for hard work during your campaign-and afterwards, if you are successful.

NOTES

1. http://www.kickstarter.com/

2. http://www.pozible.com/

3. http://www.fundit.ie/browse

4. http://vimeo.com/44370716

5. http://www.fundit.ie/project/hall-of-mirrors

6. http://www.fundit.ie/project/what-is-art-childrens-publication

7. http://www.fundit.ie/project/mixtapes-artists-book

8. This link offers a relatively comprehensive list of all international crowdfunding websites: <http://www.strategy-of-innovation.com/pages/List_of_Crowd_Funding_Web_Sites_and_Web_Sites_To_Find_Investors-4605700.html

Andrew Hetherington is project director at Business to Arts and a co-founder of Fund it, Ireland’s first crowdfunding platform. He holds a degree in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin. He is an author and contributor to numerous research publications and is a member of the Irish government’s Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising.