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INTRODUCTION

An old man was dying. He was surrounded by his children, and as he lay on his death bed, his last words were, “I’ve buried a treasure on the farm—” and he died. The children picked up shovels and started digging up the ground, but try as they might, they could not find the buried treasure. The next year, however, they had the best harvest the farm had ever seen.

Fundraising for independent film projects is an exhilarating, time-intensive, difficult and frustrating endeavor. The filmmaker is exploring the terrain for treasure wherever she can, often coming up empty-handed. What I have come to understand is that, even though short-term results can be slim, over the long term the process of fundraising makes for a better film, and a filmmaker who is more connected to her community.

The first edition of this book appeared in 1994. On a lark, I had called Michael Wiese to pitch an idea I had for a book that would teach independent filmmakers the ins and outs of fundraising. I expected him to ask me for a full proposal with a table of contents, sample chapters, and marketing data. Instead, he greenlighted the project on the spot, and we’ve been off and rolling ever since. In 2003 I completely rewrote the book for a 2nd edition. Now, fifteen years after the first edition appeared, I’ve created a brand new 3rd edition.

As I write this introduction, the nation and the world are in the midst of the worst financial crisis in memory. The normal difficulties inherent in fundraising have been magnified. This only intensifies the importance of the advice you will find in this new edition. I have always warned filmmakers that they face stiff competition for support. Now, more than ever, the savvy filmmaker must be very aware of all the options — both traditional and alternative — available for fundraising, and must enter each arena in a prepared and professional manner. In an added bit of irony, my eldest daughter — against my advice! — recently entered the field and is busy fundraising for a documentary on young filmmakers in Rwanda (www.inflatablefilm.com).

It is both a new world and an old world. Some things have not and will not change — the need for researching every funder to be approached, the demands of foundations and government funders for exemplary grant proposals, the call from corporations for a well- defined audience, the desire of individual donors to be involved with projects that will make a real difference. Other things have changed dramatically — the Internet has become much more important in the fundraising process (Web sites, blogs, social networking sites), filmmakers are being forced to be more entrepreneurial than ever and explore multiple sources for support, funders are demanding more proof that projects will actually reach an audience and engage a community.

This new edition takes these new realities into account. One major change I have made is to follow my own advice about becoming “interdependent.” Throughout the book there are new sidebars by respected people in the field who have advice to give in their areas of expertise. These are people who work in the trenches, and I know you are going to benefit from their words of wisdom. They’ve been busy digging up the ground for you!

For the novice, student, and emerging filmmaker, this book will help form the foundation of your work as a media artist who must also work as a fundraiser. The book will help ensure that you don’t make the mistakes common to being “green” in the field. For the mid-career filmmaker, the book will reinforce information you already have, encourage your resolve to do things you’ve promised to do but haven’t, and will give you a grab bag of new ideas for fund- raising from other professionals in the field. For the experienced and seasoned filmmaker, this book will help jumpstart any stalled career and fundraising plans, and perhaps provide some inspiration.

Chapter One is about your career. You may be tempted to skip this part of the book and jump ahead into the sections on fundraising, but don’t! The advice in this chapter forms the foundation for all the work you will ever do in fundraising.

Chapter Two provides a quick overview of all the sources of funds for independent noncommercial projects, and gives you an “upside/downside” view of each.

Chapter Three concentrates all the things in your project that must be solidified before fundraising begins. These are the basic questions and issues that all funders will want resolved before you ask them for money.

Chapter Four takes a close look at all the ways you can raise money from individuals and will help you hone just the right techniques for the perfect “ask” whether it is in person, at a houseparty, or through the mail.

Chapter Five covers everything you need to know about creating the perfect grant proposal so that you can approach foundations and government agencies.

Chapter Six covers the rest of the territory, including an extensive section on alternative fundraising methods and the Internet, as well as corporations, small businesses, and a note on fundraising for student projects.

There is only one reason I keep putting energy into this book — you, the independent filmmaker, are creating stories that must be told, that must be heard, and that are making a significant difference to the quality of our lives. Your commitment to these stories is so deep that you are willing to make tremendous sacrifices (financial, personal, professional) in order to bring them to life. This book is devoted to helping ease that process as much as possible.

Let me end this introduction with special heartfelt THANKS to all of the following friends and colleagues who helped me make this new edition possible: Howard Aaron, Claire Aguilar, Ralph Arlyck, Robert Bahar, Diana Barrett, Peter Broderick, Marissa Carlisle, Almudena Carracedo, Nikki Chase, Dan Cogan, Arwen Currey, Jenny Deller, Paul Devlin, Alice Elliott, Judith Erlich, Sonia Feigenbaum, Peter Frumkin, Michael Gibson, Julie Goldman, Rick Goldsmith, Jonathan Joiner, Barbara Kopple, Ken Lee, Ruby Lerner, Wendy Levy, Robert Martin, Michele Meek, Tamara Perkins, Ashley Phelps, Julia Reichert, Andy Robinson, Fernanda Rossi, Slava Rubin, Shaady Salehi, Ellen Schneider, Mike Shiley, Tiffany Shlain, Michele Turner-Salleo and the San Francisco Film Society, Tricia van Klaveren, Mal Warwick, Evy Warshawski, Hunter Weeks, David Weinstein, Michael Wiese.

Please feel free to contact me with your reactions to this book and with your success stories. Best of luck in having all your hard work bear fruit.

Morrie Warshawski

Napa, California

January 2010

www.warshawski.com