Tips to Help Arts Orgs Stand Out with Funders
Hello! My name is Lara Smith. I am the Director of Client Services at Purpose Possible. Before joining Purpose Possible I worked with Actor’s Express and Dad’s Garage so I have a lot of in depth experience with arts organizations. I also grew up in the arts! My mom was a high school drama teacher, so I was in my first show when I was seven. I went to a theatre conservatory for college but it wasn’t until I was working that I intersected with the world of arts fundraising. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to work on raising funds for so many organizations through my work as an executive director, consultant, advisor, and leader. While every organization is different, here are three tips that can really help your organization stand out with funders.
Focus on the outcomes, not the outputs. I know this is hard for arts organizations – at Dad’s I was balancing telling funders we were bringing joy to 30,000 people a year and talking about the patron going through cancer treatment who told us seeing improv was better for his recovery than the hospital was. Focus on WHY you do the work. If you haven’t seen Simon Sinek’s TEDxTalk, check it out here.
Recognize the value you bring. Know how your work intersects with the people you are talking to. And think of fundraising as an opportunity that you are presenting to others. Too often we think of fundraising as a necessary evil and do it with an implied apology. And here’s another TED Talk, this time on the Art of Asking from Amanda Palmer.
Don’t forget about earned income. Unlike so many other nonprofits, arts organizations have an opportunity to charge for entrance, attendance, drinks, parking, and more. You can do this in ways that allow you to remain accessible. Not only does it add income to your bottom line, but funders love to see smart business practices in use. Rely on your board to help you think outside of the box – At Dad’s we had an airline marketer talk to us about price bands and tiered options, which revolutionized the way we charged for tickets. Similarly, we had a pricing specialist talk to us about how to maximize revenue when you only have fifteen minutes to get up to 200 people through a bar line. Identify bottlenecks to earned revenue and work with board members and other experts on how to remove those barriers.
My philosophy has always been focused on diversifying revenue streams. That way, if any one thing doesn’t hit, you have enough buffer to weather the storm. Think about how you can decrease your reliance on any one revenue source. This encourages longterm resiliency and sustainability for your organization.
If your organization needs support or creative ideas for fundraising let us know! We are here to help! Feel free to contact me at lsmith@purposepossible.com or send a message to info@purposepossible.com to get more information on how we can help!
Purpose Possible is proud to have worked with many arts organizations providing fundraising support, strategic planning, communications, database management, and more!
Supported in the past:
360Arts Blvd
Alliance Theatre
ARTSATL
Art Papers
Atlanta Celebrates Photography
Burnaway
The Coastal Symphony of Georgia
The Creatives Project
Dashboard
Decatur Makers
Flux Projects
Georgia Humanities
Hammonds House Museum
Indie Craft Experience
Legacy Motion
Little 5 Points Center for Arts & Community
Little Five Arts Alive
Lost In The Letters
Midtown Arts Walk
MINT
Moving in the Spirit
Push Push Arts
re:imagine/ATL
Spivey Hall at Clayton State University
Current Clients:
Arts & Entertainment Atlanta
Atlanta Black Theatre Festival
Atlanta Film Society
Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week
Comfiart
Dad's Garage
Decatur Arts Alliance
gloATL
Humorology
Kinnara
MODA
NBAF
Roswell Arts Fund
Soulfood Cyher
Southern Fried Queer Pride
T Lange Dance
Village Theatre
Wren's Nest
