How to find local “angels” to support your projects and match mission with money

Published: Wed, 02/17/21


Today, I want to zoom in on one aspect of this process:

How do you find “angels” to create a “beautiful network of support”?

How do you match mission with money?

The quick answer:

Just start locally.

Here is how John did it:

“I found local ‘angels’ who could be part of the Fresh Air project. 

One contributed the pick-up truck with the glass cube…

I went to a hospital equipment company and they provided the mask for breathing, and the tubes, and these sophisticated filter and valve systems to exhale the carbondioxide and inhale the oxygen back in.

It was a beautiful network of support.”

So what John suggests is this:

“When you’re conceiving a project, really connect in your hearts with what the mission of your plan is. What is the mission? 

Then with that heart-oriented motivation, already in our minds we are connecting to other people - people we might not even know of. Through the altruistic imagination, we can brainstorm who to ask for support. 

There is money, there are resources, there is funding, there are in-kind services… that are looking for your mission.

So the more passion, the more immersion you have in your project, that’s like the fuel and the engine that will enable you to find the right connections, to match mission with money.”

But once you find these local angels, how do you actually ask them for money? What do you write to them in your request letter?

Next week, I’m offering a free training on how to get patrons and sponsors who are interested in funding your specific projects.

I’ve taught this workshop a couple of times already, but this time I’m going to do something that is a little unusual:

Last year one of my students, Kim Lee, posted a sponsorship request on Facebook that got her over $1200 in support. I’m going to show you how I would change her post if we were to write the same request now, during the pandemic.

What Kim wrote in November 2019:
 


How I would write it in November 2020:



How would I write it for winter / spring 2021? I would scratch that paragraph above and insert “this has been a year of challenges for all of us, but I have been also making more art, and that has helped me to manage this difficult time.”


I want to show you this Before / After because I have a lot of students at the Praxis Center asking me:

“Is this the wrong time (during a pandemic) to ask for money?”

Yes and No. It is nuanced, there are do’s and don'ts for sure.

And the best way to teach this?

To SHOW you the nuances. The actual edits I would make.

If you want to discover the Before/After for yourself, then grab your spot, grab your coffee and see you on Monday at 1:00 pm EST:

>>> Click here to get signed up automatically <<<

You will walk away knowing exactly how to frame the dream you have using what I call the Ilia and Emilia Kabakov technique so that it gets funded. (Even in a pandemic)
Brainard


PS: There will be a replay, but only for subscribers who register. So I recommend clicking that link even if you can’t make it to the live session.