Financing / Crowdfunding : Sponsors by Yvonne Herr

For our last production, we approached local companies that were aimed towards children because of the kind of production we were doing: Geography and Subject Matter.

This is a fantastic question! I'm going to share this post with my friend, Jill, who has been able to secure sponsorship for her local theatre. Hold, please...

Hello Yvonne. As a documentary producer I had to raise funds for production and used the Foundation Library to search for grants that match my topic. I had NJN Public TV behind me at the time, so it made my job easier as I was able to offer the sponsor acknowledgement on the airwaves. Most of the grants you have to apply for online and it takes a few months to find out if they are giving you the grant. It's not a guarantee.

I also volunteer my services at my local community theatre as a sponsor and ad coordinator. I find sponsors for individual plays by visiting local businesses and offering them benefits such as free advertising in the Playbill for the season and a sponsor night where they can invite up to 100 guests free-of-charge. This night is actually the final dress rehearsal before opening night. Some sponsors I've procured in the past are Car dealerships, Real Estate Brokers. Law Firms, Doctor Specialist Surgeries such as Dermatologists and Eye Doctors etc. I also write proposals for them to get grants from the state and corporate and family foundations through online grants applications.

PS It does take time, effort and most importantly patience to succeed in fundraising.

That’s so awesome! In order to procure funds via sponsors would I need to write proposals?

Yes. But unlike online grant applications, you could write a 2-page synopsis that shows the need for the funds and how you will use them, and most importantly, how you are going to acknowledge the sponsor.

Hey Yvonne, this is Karen from the Stage 32 team. I just wanted to let you know I moved your post from Acting to Financing / Crowdfunding (for fundraising questions), as it fits much better there. Let me know if you have any questions, and all the best to you!

For some odd reason, this reminds me of finding sponsors for my high school's spring musical - they would buy ad space in the program. We just had to show them how many people were attending each night times 3 shows, so they would understand their reach for the price of the ad. Perhaps if you had a list of venues you intend for it to be shown at or festivals for the film to play at? To start at least, I'm sure there's more info to include LOL

Hi Karen,

I’m so sorry if I posted in the wrong place… do forgive me! Thank you

Oh, no worries, Yvonne Herr! I just wanted to put the post in the lounge with the best chance of good, thorough feedback is all. I got your back long-distance high-five