Chamber005
Carbonite Member
So I haven't decided exactly how I want to go about doing this. I've teamed up with some super-duper uber talented multiple-award winning indie producer and director folks (booya!) in an effort to start raising money for their next feature.
As some of you know, while I have my own project going on (which is already funded by myself and some super awesome associates of mine), I've been really excited about getting my feet wet in the co-producer/fundraising arena on other films in a strictly business capacity. I have a firm belief regarding keeping business and artistic ventures separate, and if I can slowly progress in the business of film while using the rest of my time actually filmmaking, maybe in five years or so the two aspects of myself will be able to benefit from one another. Right now I deal strictly in finance, which while seeming related, has absolutely NOTHING to do with being a producer/fundraiser on a film. No matter my financial experience, really only my skillset as a salesperson will be of any value (and, honestly, there is no garauntee that my skillset will easily transfer to fundraising/private equity capturing).
I'm not sure if I want to do something in the way of a blog or if I want to just post some random things here, but I know I'll need to do something as I've made it a firm stance to the producers et al involved that I they cannot be my confidants. This is going to be extremely exhausting and demoralizing work (and, remember, although I've gotten to the point to where I work from home in my own business, I do still have work to do that is vital to my basic livelihood). so I'll need to vent somewhere when the rocks start to tumble, limbs snap and balls are up in my throat. This is literally for me like taking a leap ten years into my past -- and those were some rough times for me business-wise.
But the first order of business is not private equity. I cannot imagine anything more pointless as I've already made a point to the producers that I will not use anyone who is in anyway a personal associate of mine. Money friends are friends to my OWN productions. No way are they going to be risked on my education. So for private equity, when/if I do cross that bridge, we're talking about people on the fringes of my social circle, people who may have been douchebags (but douchebags with money) or maybe people who I simply had no interest in maintaining a relationship with in any regard but who I feel might have the extra cash lying around to invest. But that is long term. You don't approach private equity without some real seasoned sales skills in selling the actual thing that you're selling.
The first order of business then will be fundraising. Now it would be easy for me to jump the gun and instantly outsource 20 guys in India and get them on this, but that would be insane as I've no idea what works and what doesn't. A pitch is something so specific, so refined that it takes hundreds of initial contacts in order to hone. Think of a samurai edging a sword, right? Same thing.
And obviously there are some legalities, though it's been difficult so far to really focus in on the legality that I'm looking for specifically. Right now it looks like to raise money for a charity you have to grab a professional fundraiser license in your state plus a 10K surety bond. Both of those are easy, but I'm not positive that I need them. I'm also not sure that each state's license crosses each state -- e.g., if I can raise money in Illinois can I also do so in California or do I need a separate license? One of the producers was talking about a non-profit association which would allow doners (and, I believe, investors) tax benefits, but that hasn't been solidified yet. But it appears that if the film's production does move into a non-profit territory I will have to obtain a license -- which, again is fine and I'm sure something I would eventually want when fundraising for the next film and the next, especially if they're non-profit documentaries, etc. Being licensed is always going to be better for you in the long run, and being bonded is great regardless of whatever money business you might be in.
I see my personal business career path in the long term moving away from finance and focusing more on film fundraising (and potentially some marginal film producing, though I have little interest in the middle ground but moreso for the front and backend sales aspects of the films' marketing).
So, for me, painful as it is, all of this starts with one guy, a dedicated business phone line for the production, and a DNC scrubbed list of potential doners. Just a simple pitch and catch, guiding them to the designated donation website and its paypal follow-thru. I won't go into the specifics of the budget because it's unmanageable if I personally took on the entire brunt of the task (especially without investor inclusion). So my thought process is that I'll set extremely manageable goals for myself. Since we're potentially going to be setting up a tier-based donation structure (e.g. $50 gets you this at silver status, $100 gets you this at gold status, $1000 gets you this at platinum status), I'll probably set my goals at $1000 increments with a "grand goal" of $20,000. Reaching a "grand goal", for me, means that I would then be able to progress my tactics and move forward in the process, whatever that means.
What's great about donations, though, is that it is 100% profit for the producers -- no paperwork, no complicated share-based structure. And what's great about my involvement is that I'm 100% commission (and credit) on this thing. I'm 100% commission on the doner side, and I gain shares in the company on the investor side.
In a perfect world I would think that donations could make up a large portion of the film's budget and a SINGLE investor would make up the rest. If there's one thing I know about real estate it's that rich people do not buy timeshares. Maybe rich people investing in low budget films are different, but I have a suspicion that they're not. I feel that if we can account for a lot of "free money", it makes the case to the investor that much stronger -- not only that you were able to raise X amount of dollars thus proving your company's tenacity, but also that the investor's involvement is then a personal one and all the film's success is his (and the producers').
Most people will say it's easier to get 10K here, 20K there, but I think that's more true with friends and family (as is in my case) and is not necessarily true in the business of film (at least outside of California).
So like I said, I'll either keep people up to date here, or I'll do a blog or something and just post link updates. Whichever I'm more comfortable with.
But yeah, still a couple weeks off I think from the Start line, but I think it's going to be an interesting journey in business (a horribly challenging journey, but still a journey worth taking!)
Please keep all comments in a relatively positive vein. If I promoted any personal perspective that you don't agree with please ignore it as it was not intended to offend anyone or to spark any philosophical debates. I'm hoping that this can be an all-inclusive, enlightening and positive thread regarding the business of fundraising and equity sponsorship for films. Thanks!!
As some of you know, while I have my own project going on (which is already funded by myself and some super awesome associates of mine), I've been really excited about getting my feet wet in the co-producer/fundraising arena on other films in a strictly business capacity. I have a firm belief regarding keeping business and artistic ventures separate, and if I can slowly progress in the business of film while using the rest of my time actually filmmaking, maybe in five years or so the two aspects of myself will be able to benefit from one another. Right now I deal strictly in finance, which while seeming related, has absolutely NOTHING to do with being a producer/fundraiser on a film. No matter my financial experience, really only my skillset as a salesperson will be of any value (and, honestly, there is no garauntee that my skillset will easily transfer to fundraising/private equity capturing).
I'm not sure if I want to do something in the way of a blog or if I want to just post some random things here, but I know I'll need to do something as I've made it a firm stance to the producers et al involved that I they cannot be my confidants. This is going to be extremely exhausting and demoralizing work (and, remember, although I've gotten to the point to where I work from home in my own business, I do still have work to do that is vital to my basic livelihood). so I'll need to vent somewhere when the rocks start to tumble, limbs snap and balls are up in my throat. This is literally for me like taking a leap ten years into my past -- and those were some rough times for me business-wise.
But the first order of business is not private equity. I cannot imagine anything more pointless as I've already made a point to the producers that I will not use anyone who is in anyway a personal associate of mine. Money friends are friends to my OWN productions. No way are they going to be risked on my education. So for private equity, when/if I do cross that bridge, we're talking about people on the fringes of my social circle, people who may have been douchebags (but douchebags with money) or maybe people who I simply had no interest in maintaining a relationship with in any regard but who I feel might have the extra cash lying around to invest. But that is long term. You don't approach private equity without some real seasoned sales skills in selling the actual thing that you're selling.
The first order of business then will be fundraising. Now it would be easy for me to jump the gun and instantly outsource 20 guys in India and get them on this, but that would be insane as I've no idea what works and what doesn't. A pitch is something so specific, so refined that it takes hundreds of initial contacts in order to hone. Think of a samurai edging a sword, right? Same thing.
And obviously there are some legalities, though it's been difficult so far to really focus in on the legality that I'm looking for specifically. Right now it looks like to raise money for a charity you have to grab a professional fundraiser license in your state plus a 10K surety bond. Both of those are easy, but I'm not positive that I need them. I'm also not sure that each state's license crosses each state -- e.g., if I can raise money in Illinois can I also do so in California or do I need a separate license? One of the producers was talking about a non-profit association which would allow doners (and, I believe, investors) tax benefits, but that hasn't been solidified yet. But it appears that if the film's production does move into a non-profit territory I will have to obtain a license -- which, again is fine and I'm sure something I would eventually want when fundraising for the next film and the next, especially if they're non-profit documentaries, etc. Being licensed is always going to be better for you in the long run, and being bonded is great regardless of whatever money business you might be in.
I see my personal business career path in the long term moving away from finance and focusing more on film fundraising (and potentially some marginal film producing, though I have little interest in the middle ground but moreso for the front and backend sales aspects of the films' marketing).
So, for me, painful as it is, all of this starts with one guy, a dedicated business phone line for the production, and a DNC scrubbed list of potential doners. Just a simple pitch and catch, guiding them to the designated donation website and its paypal follow-thru. I won't go into the specifics of the budget because it's unmanageable if I personally took on the entire brunt of the task (especially without investor inclusion). So my thought process is that I'll set extremely manageable goals for myself. Since we're potentially going to be setting up a tier-based donation structure (e.g. $50 gets you this at silver status, $100 gets you this at gold status, $1000 gets you this at platinum status), I'll probably set my goals at $1000 increments with a "grand goal" of $20,000. Reaching a "grand goal", for me, means that I would then be able to progress my tactics and move forward in the process, whatever that means.
What's great about donations, though, is that it is 100% profit for the producers -- no paperwork, no complicated share-based structure. And what's great about my involvement is that I'm 100% commission (and credit) on this thing. I'm 100% commission on the doner side, and I gain shares in the company on the investor side.
In a perfect world I would think that donations could make up a large portion of the film's budget and a SINGLE investor would make up the rest. If there's one thing I know about real estate it's that rich people do not buy timeshares. Maybe rich people investing in low budget films are different, but I have a suspicion that they're not. I feel that if we can account for a lot of "free money", it makes the case to the investor that much stronger -- not only that you were able to raise X amount of dollars thus proving your company's tenacity, but also that the investor's involvement is then a personal one and all the film's success is his (and the producers').
Most people will say it's easier to get 10K here, 20K there, but I think that's more true with friends and family (as is in my case) and is not necessarily true in the business of film (at least outside of California).
So like I said, I'll either keep people up to date here, or I'll do a blog or something and just post link updates. Whichever I'm more comfortable with.
But yeah, still a couple weeks off I think from the Start line, but I think it's going to be an interesting journey in business (a horribly challenging journey, but still a journey worth taking!)
Please keep all comments in a relatively positive vein. If I promoted any personal perspective that you don't agree with please ignore it as it was not intended to offend anyone or to spark any philosophical debates. I'm hoping that this can be an all-inclusive, enlightening and positive thread regarding the business of fundraising and equity sponsorship for films. Thanks!!
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