Types of Fundraising
There are numerous ways to fundraise and find sources of revenue for your project, but whatever method or mix of methods you choose, it will require work and planning. Determine what your organization is capable of and what’s most feasible. Methods primarily include:
Individual Donations and Crowdfunding
One way to raise funds is to run an individual donations campaign. Depending on the scope of your intended project, individual giving can fund your whole project or supplement it. There are numerous ways to approach individuals for donations, such as handing out donation cards at events, placing a donations page on your website or starting an online crowdfunding campaign. Fundraising is all about reaching out, whichever way you go about it.
Regardless of what route you take, start with your own personal network and build out from there. If your organization has a board of directors, you may want to establish a fundraising committee who will be responsible for soliciting donations from the community. Crowdfunding platforms, like Indiegogo, have become popular over the last several years, and may be a good option as they can make it easier to ask more people for donations. With crowdfunding platforms, you can share your campaign online and anyone can donate any amount. Numerous crowdfunding services are available, each offering something different, so make sure to look around and find the one that best suits your goals.
CanadaHelps is a great resource for organizations with registered charitable status. Their website hosts a searchable catalogue of all registered charities in Canada that allows people to find charities that match their interests. CanadaHelps processes the donations, disburses the funds to the charity and provides tax receipts, making it a secure online fundraising platform for charities.
Once you have donors, keep them involved so that they can see firsthand that their investment is going towards a good cause and is being well spent. Invite them to your event(s) and/or send updates via a digital newsletter.
Something to consider while fundraising is Customer Relations Management (CRM) software to help with various business processes such as managing donor data, donor contacts and communications. Sumac and Raiser’s Edge are great options for non-profits, though there are many available so you should choose the one that best meets your needs and budget. Visit TechSoup Canada to access systems at a reduced cost for registered charities and non-profits.
Corporate Sponsorships
Corporate sponsors have a funding mandate or donation guidelines that state exactly what causes they support and what they’re looking for in an applicant. Be sure to review the mandate and guidelines to ensure your project is eligible and your objectives match those of the corporation’s community investment strategy. When writing your application:
- Use their corporate language and vocabulary
- Be clear how the project meets the community investment objectives of the corporation and benefits your community and local residents
- Include and describe your unique selling proposition
- Illustrate how the company will benefit from sponsoring you
- Give them a reason to give (for example, through a story of the community or an individual in it)
- Itemize ways you can provide exposure (on a website or FB page, through social media channels, signage at the event, etc.)
Many large corporations have a stated interest in community development. Presenting your initiative as one that contributes to city building, increases arts access and has multigenerational engagement will help to catch their attention. However, since the concept of placing arts in public places has a local focus, be sure to also direct fundraising efforts to local organizations such as banks, insurance companies, local developers and businesses. Widen your view of the typical arts supporter and think about who might want to invest in your community.
It’s important to understand that most corporate community investment programs are an extension of a marketing strategy. The corporate “sponsor” is, in many ways, leveraging your event and your marketing presence to enhance their brand in the community. Be sure you only offer a level of visibility you can commit to and be prepared to report back with samples of marketing collateral, photos or video that include or depict acknowledgement of donors and sponsors. Also make sure that relevant signage by-laws in your region, city or town don’t conflict with what you plan to do. Some municipalities have careful restrictions on third-party signage in public spaces like parks to ensure that advertisers do not encroach on city-owned spaces. Where temporary third-party signage is allowed there may be limitations on size and placement, and a well-researched sponsorship package will account for these limitations.
Foundation Grants
Foundations are often set up by the founder of a successful business or members of their family to give back to the community, and will frequently have specific mandates they want to achieve. As with all donors and investors, make sure to familiarize yourself with the mandate of the foundation and its funding objectives. Foundations are often less interested in the public visibility of their gift than corporate sponsors. It’s still a good idea to mention how visibility can be achieved but don’t be concerned if this is not an objective of the foundation.
Funding decisions are usually made by a board of directors at quarterly meetings but be sure to check if there are deadlines for applying. Many foundations and corporations accept applications on an ongoing basis but many also have deadlines. Also be sure to time your application far enough in advance so you will have notification sufficiently ahead of your project implementation. See below for tips on writing a grant application.
Government Grants
Public grants are an excellent source of revenue for public arts programming. Most provinces and some cities have an arts funding body and funding also exists at the federal level through funders such as the Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage. Some municipal parks departments, such as in Vancouver, have arts funding and artist residency programs.
Keep in mind that, until you succeed in obtaining multi-year or operational funding, public grants are not a guaranteed on an ongoing basis. Make sure you have a diversified funding base and plan well in advance so that you are one funding cycle ahead of your immediate programming needs.
In-kind Support
Media agencies often provide in-kind support or sponsorships to non-profits or arts groups which facilitate marketing activities at a portion of what they would normally cost. Like corporate sponsorship, there is usually some expectation of an exchange, such as a guaranteed advertising purchase, depending on the scope of the event or the visibility of the organization or institution undertaking the event.
In-kind support is an excellent way of gathering resources for a public arts programming initiative. Having a municipality, city or region as a partner may help offset staffing and permitting costs, as well as marketing and community engagement costs. Small or large businesses and some corporate sponsors may agree to offer resources (such as equipment, portable toilets, food, materials, staff volunteer time, etc.) in exchange for brand visibility. Securing this support can be a matter of legwork (going door to door) or making phone calls. Make sure you have clear and presentable information about your project and the support you hope to gain and be ready to provide it either digitally or in hard copy.
An example of in-kind support are the free public drinking water programs offered by some municipalities for large public events (e.g. HTO to Go, Toronto).
If you think creatively and are ready to offer something in return, you may discover many potential ways to gather the materials, resources and labour you need to execute your event.
Fundraising Events
Events can be a good way to raise money but be careful of how much time and money is needed to hold a fundraiser. They take an enormous amount of people time – paid staff and volunteers – and can often require a lot of in-kind contribution as well as financial resources. Make sure the amount of effort and investment is worth the amount of money raised.
Since the first year of Arts in the Parks, the Toronto Arts Foundation has hosted an annual fundraising event, championed by Mayor John Tory, to raise funds for the initiative. The Mayor’s Evening for the Arts is a gala-style dinner event featuring performances by Arts in the Parks artists, presentations from participants, residents and volunteers as well as video highlights of the various events and activities. Since 2015 the event has raised over $3,000,000 to help support Arts in the Parks.
Not only does TAF’s Mayor’s Evening for the Arts raise money for Arts in the Parks and galvanize political support by the Mayor, city councillors and key city staff, it also helps to raise public awareness through major media coverage, further aiding Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation in advocacy for the arts in Toronto.
TIPS FOR WRITING GRANTS:
- Read the grant program guidelines carefully. Write down any remaining questions then re-read the guidelines to see if your questions are addressed. Ask yourself the following questions: Are you still interested in the program now that you have read the guidelines? Are you eligible? Is your project eligible? Is it a strong fit for the program’s deadlines and objectives?
- Contact the grant program manager. Make sure any questions you have are well-researched. Pitch your idea and get feedback. The program manager may have some helpful questions, observations, and resources to share with you.
- Give yourself adequate time. Steps involved in pulling together a strong application take time: reading program guidelines thoroughly and considering how your project does or does not fit; gathering materials like artist bios and video links; building a work plan; building partnerships; creating a budget; soliciting feedback on your proposal; editing your writing; compiling all necessary attachments, such as partnership agreements or in-kind support letters.
- Draft, edit and save your writing in a separate document. This is especially useful when the application is on-line and/or has strict word or character limits. When the writing is final, cut and paste it into the fields. When done, you will still have the final draft of your grant writing saved and ready to adapt for other grants and sponsorship packages.
- Use clear and direct language. Begin with a one-sentence summary of your project that includes the following: who you are, what you are doing, how you are doing it. Don’t use “artspeak” or academic references. Just be very clear about what it is you would like to do and how you will do it.
- Develop a well-researched and realistic budget. Be sure artist fees are being paid at industry standards (see references above). Be sure to budget for all equipment, materials, permits, staffing and amenities (including water, shade, food and washrooms).
- Get feedback. Show a draft of your grant application to a trusted friend or colleague for input and feedback.
- Follow instructions and triple check your application before submitting. Make sure you have addressed the questions asked and don’t exceed the word limits. Be concise but detailed.
Funding Sources
Here is a list of Toronto, Ontario and national sources of funding so you can see examples of grant programs:
Toronto
Toronto Arts Council (TAC) Animating Toronto Parks
City of Toronto Arts & Culture grants
Ontario
Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Multi and Inter-Arts Projects
OAC Northern Arts Projects grant
Metcalf Foundation
Ontario Trillium Foundation
National
Canadian Heritage: Canada Cultural Spaces Fund
Canadian Heritage: Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage - Legacy Fund
Canada Council for the Arts