Fundraising Ideas

[alebris]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fundraise for a film? I've googled it for ideas and have set up an IndieGogo account and implemented Adsense but I'm looking for other ideas. What has worked for you when you were fundraising for your projects?


Angie
www.WatchGraduated.com

 

[DirtyPicturesTV]

All fundraising is pitching, whether via the web (IndieGogo, Kickstarter), or in person to investors. So create an amazing pitch package using all resources at your disposal.

Kickstarter has a page of top fundraisers, called Most Funded, here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/most-funded?ref=sidebar

Look at all of the movie pages here, and see all of the ways that they got people to invest; websites with video and images, script samples or synopses, rewards offered, etc. These are great examples of how to convince people to give you money.

If you can find an executive producer (i.e. the money raiser) to work with, even better. They would be the kind of person with existing connections to cash that you don't have. How to find them? That's the hard part, but use your network, and also go to film festivals, attend pitch forums, or go to film markets -- any place where producers might hang out.

 

[Grandview Productions]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fundraise for a film? I've googled it for ideas and have set up an IndieGogo account and implemented Adsense but I'm looking for other ideas. What has worked for you when you were fundraising for your projects?


Angie
www.WatchGraduated.com

This is what I have used in the past. I have raised donations for short films and have investors for feature length movies.

The first thing that you should know - making a film is a horrible investment. The majority of movies do not make any money.

Now you should read books on investing: Producer to Producer is my favorite for this.

So you have to look at your film proposal and figure out its end game.

Does it have any potential to make money? If it does you are looking for business partners, if not you are looking for donations.

Now take a realistic look at how much is this going to cost vs. how much you think you can raise.

How many days are you going to shoot? On what camera / equipment? How many actors are you going to need to hire? SAG vs. Non SAG?

Break it down in a budget and get a good estimate of what you need.

If you are looking for donations start with family, friends, coworkers, employers, anyone that would want to see your movie made. That should give you a solid base. If you are not funded then go to the internet. Kickstarter and such are great tools but make sure you have a very interesting video that really captures what you and the film are all about. Look at movies similar to yours and take what you think are their best attributes. You are appealing to these people as fans. They want to help and see a movie get made. Offer cool stuff and you should be fine.

If you are looking for investors it is a whole different ball park. You need to figure out your business plan. How are you paying these people back? How much of the film can they purchase? Do they have any rights to anything? Next create a pitch packet; this should have all of your script / budget / marketing / investment information in it. Now practicing pitching in person, do it for your mom / dog / girlfriend and do it until you are extremely confident in doing it. Family and friends are the best way to start with this again but you are looking for people with money they can go without. Ask for referrals, local business owners, anyone that you have relationships with and extra money try to get them to sit down with you. For these types I like to think of it as owning a race horse; is it a good choice with their money? No. But if we make it to the Kentucky Derby (sundance) it will be the most fun they have ever had.

I hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Cracker Funk]

This is what I have used in the past. I have raised donations for short films and have investors for feature length movies.

The first thing that you should know - making a film is a horrible investment. The majority of movies do not make any money.

Now you should read books on investing: Producer to Producer is my favorite for this.

So you have to look at your film proposal and figure out its end game.

Does it have any potential to make money? If it does you are looking for business partners, if not you are looking for donations.

Now take a realistic look at how much is this going to cost vs. how much you think you can raise.

How many days are you going to shoot? On what camera / equipment? How many actors are you going to need to hire? SAG vs. Non SAG?

Break it down in a budget and get a good estimate of what you need.

If you are looking for donations start with family, friends, coworkers, employers, anyone that would want to see your movie made. That should give you a solid base. If you are not funded then go to the internet. Kickstarter and such are great tools but make sure you have a very interesting video that really captures what you and the film are all about. Look at movies similar to yours and take what you think are their best attributes. You are appealing to these people as fans. They want to help and see a movie get made. Offer cool stuff and you should be fine.

If you are looking for investors it is a whole different ball park. You need to figure out your business plan. How are you paying these people back? How much of the film can they purchase? Do they have any rights to anything? Next create a pitch packet; this should have all of your script / budget / marketing / investment information in it. Now practicing pitching in person, do it for your mom / dog / girlfriend and do it until you are extremely confident in doing it. Family and friends are the best way to start with this again but you are looking for people with money they can go without. Ask for referrals, local business owners, anyone that you have relationships with and extra money try to get them to sit down with you. For these types I like to think of it as owning a race horse; is it a good choice with their money? No. But if we make it to the Kentucky Derby (sundance) it will be the most fun they have ever had.

I hope this helps.

Mike

Nice post. And great analogy, with the Kentucky Derby. I'm gonna use that!

One question -- does marketing really have to be part of the initial production/post-production budget? Wouldn't marketing be in the hands of the distributor?

 

[Blade_Jones]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fundraise for a film?

Bump elbows with someone who is rich and stupid. That's the honest truth.

 

[Lucky Hardwood]

Nice post. And great analogy, with the Kentucky Derby. I'm gonna use that!

One question -- does marketing really have to be part of the initial production/post-production budget? Wouldn't marketing be in the hands of the distributor?

If you don't set aside money to market your product (film), you and your crew will likely be the only people to see it.