May 22, 2006

Funding Your Next Dance Performance

How would you like to guarantee that your dance company receives at least a minimum dollar amount for your next performance? Or, alternatively, how would you like to raise money to renovate a dance studio?

The Internet offers intriguing new ways for nonprofits to go about raising money.

Visit Fundable to learn about their online fundraising application. You can create your own fundraising campaign, say, for a dance performance. You might indicate that you are seeking to raise a minimum of $1,000 to perform next month at a specified location. You are seeking minimum contributions of $25 per person (essentially the desired ticket price). If you reach your goal of $1,000, the performance will take place; if not, there will be no performance. Those who commit to contribute to your campaign are only charged if you reach your goal. Otherwise, nobody pays a thing.

I did a search for "dance" on Fundable to see if any dance-related organizations have used this service. I came up with two matches:

- Olive Dance Theatre surpassed its $500 goal so that it could file an application with the IRS for obtaining a 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax-exempt status. The campaign ended on 12/06/05 and funds were distributed to the "group leader." But no follow-up details are provided. It would be nice to get a progress report.

- The South Carolina Multicultural Arts Center (SC McAC, Inc.) sought to raise $1,000 to renovate a dance studio. It successfully raised $500 to date and received these funds when the campaign ended on 12/12/2005. You can learn more about this fundraising effort on the SC McAC site. On their site, however, they seek to raise funds directly and don't mention their use of Fundable. I guess they don't want to pay the fees. But this is sort of counterproductive because the public cannot track their overall success in raising money for their studio renovation.

I came across Fundable as well as a related service Chipin, while reading a post on Mashable.

Technorati Tags: dance, fundraising, marketing, nonprofit

Trackback Pings