American for the Arts: Dedicated to advancing the arts in America and serving local communities by creating opportunities for all. There is a wealth of resources and information about funding, and many other important aspects of the arts.

Arts and Healing Network: The Arts and Healing Network encourages artists to get their work out in the world where it can make a difference. Visit their link to ARTIST SUPPORT for information on funding, calls for entry, and artist career advice

Black Rock Arts Foundation Grants: Provides funds in the amounts of $500 to $10,000 to art projects that interact with people and environments and that invite, create, or enrich community.

California Community Foundation: Making grants to individual artists and arts organizations. They support a wide variety of programs that serve the myriad of needs of Los Angeles County. Open to Los Angeles residents only.

Foundation Center: A national nonprofit service organization recognized as the nation's leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits, individual artists and the grantmakers. There is a monthly fee in most cases, but it gives you access to over 550 foundations ready and willing to give you money.

Fractured Atlas: Fractured Atlas believes strongly in the importance of an artist's or arts organization's ability to raise funds to support their work. There are many grant programs in the U.S. that fund specific projects and work of artists and organizations. They help support continued training and development so that you can expand your creative and organizational capacity. Grants are from $250- $1000.

VSA Arts: VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.This site lists hundreds of the lastest opportunities for artists, including grant and fellowship funding, as well as open calls for artists from every discipline.

Fundraising Without Grants

Fundraising can be a daunting task, and writing grants requires a lot of time and effort. There is a lot of competition for a small amount of funds. Coming up with other strategies to raise capital is essential for contemporary artists. The more diverse your funding sources, the more stable your practice will be. Get creative about your fundraising ideas. Do searches on the web to see how other artists and organizations raise funds and if you want to write grants but need more guidance, consider using a fiscal receiver as a partner. Partnering with a fiscal receiver means that a nonprofit organization receives money on your behalf (often less a small percentage to pay for their legal and accounting fees). As long as the nonprofit’s mission matches your own project, this is worthy of consideration. However, never create a partnership with a nonprofit if you are going to take the money and run. Artists have burned many non profits by not completing projects and tarnishing the reputation of the fiscal receiver, so please, be respectful.

Some Ideas to consider:

House Parties – Organizations like MoveOn and grass roots projects have thrown house parties as fundraisers for a long time. Morrie Warshawski has written a book called “The Fundraising Houseparty” and he describes the common elements. 1. People receive an invitation to come to a party at a private home. 2. The invitation makes it clear that the evening will be a fundraising event. 3. Participants arrive and are served some refreshments. 4. Participants sit through a brief presentation. 5. The Host or a Peer —someone articulate, enthusiastic and respected by participants— stands up and asks everyone to make a contribution. Thousands of dollars can be raised in one evening.

Film Screenings – Screen a film at someone’s house, in a parking lot, storefront window or other site. Sell tickets and ask everyone to bring a beach chair. In addition, sell popcorn to the audience for additional revenue. If you are raising money for a new film, showing an old one that is really great might inspire those who like it. You might also screen a short example of the current film you are working on.

Performance – Hold a performance at someone’s house, or other venue. Sell tickets. Use a theater on a dark night. Do it in public.

Sales of Artwork – Have an open studio tour, make artwork available on your website.

Services – While an old standby, events such as the car wash, bake sale, and other ideas might be updated to make it more interesting or educational.

Auctions (of anything, including services) – While art auctions are always taxing on artists (who are perpetually asked to give everything away for free) there is no reason why you have to auction art in order to make money. Art related services can be auctioned off such as framing, crating, photography, documentation, etc. and auctions can require a minimum bid to ensure that the artist gets a cut of the sale.

Block Parties – Another take off on the house party idea. Get a permit and block off your street for an event or find a public park and create an event.

Direct Mail (letters to friends and family) – come up with an interesting idea for a letter to ask for funds. You might ask for a small amount from many people for your worthwhile project. 80% of donations in the US come from individuals, so don’t discount them.

Yard or Garage Sale – Got stuff you can sell? Collaborate with other artists to do a giant yard sale or studio sale. Market it to other artists as a studio sale, and sell all those supplies you have collected but do not use anymore. You would be surprised at how many artists need discounted supplies and how great your studio will look with all that extra room.

Money Catching Machine (pneumatic cash transport mechanism) – Machine Project in Los Angeles created a money catching machine which they describe as follows: “Bring cash money to put in our ramshackle and potentially dangerous pneumatic cash transport mechanism. A network of clear acrylic tubes connected to a high powered vacuum system running along the ceiling of the MACHINE PROJECT will pull proffered dollars right out of your hands, with little to no effort by us and much amusement on your part.” Built and installed by Mark Allen, Ryan O’Toole and Brian Tse, it is installed in the exhibition/ project space at the gallery. No one can stop with just one dollar.

A New Twist on Events – While some events have been around a long time, consider a new twist to them. Side Street Projects in Pasadena, CA has put on a Phantom Ball for 15 years which “takes place” on April 1st (no foolin’). The actual event does not exist, and you get to choose something you have been wanting to do a long time instead of dressing up and going to another chicken dinner! But in this case, if you choose to buy tickets to this non-event, you get a “commemorative photo” of the event you did not go to by a fairly well known or up and coming artist. Sight unseen, you get a discount. Once the image is unveiled, the price increases.

Donation Button – Have a website? Consider adding a donation button to the site for a specific project. Not a nonprofit? Then look for a fiscal receiver.

Product Sales – You may have a creative idea for a product that relates to your project, such as a CD of your music, video of your last performance, books, artwork etc. Have a one-day sale and include every artist you know who has a CD of music, video or performance. Or have a party. Most artists like to go to parties, and why not have some things for sale?

Dinners – Create a special dinner for donors. Hire artists to perform, read poetry, or provide other entertainment that relates to the project. Invite a special guest, such as an important artist or author. I have been to all white dinners (all guest wore white too), dinners where the food is so creative you can’t tell what it is, and performance dinners.

Have a Raffle – When I first began to raise money for a nonprofit, one of the ways that we paid for the receptions was to offer raffle tickets to the viewers during the openings. It included lots of items and services, often related to the content of the work being shown. Sometimes the exhibiting artist would pitch in and create a small work, or offer an artist book.

Make a Wish List – Instead of writing grants to get “things” consider going to the manufacturer and asking directly for a donation of that item. Need 10,000 cotton balls? Go to the source. Arrange to work with a fiscal receiver if they need a tax write off. Send your wish list along with a letter requesting money as an option for those who don’t have the cash to spare, but just might have something else you need to have or borrow. I once got 20 parking meters donated from a national company. This was crucial, since you can’t buy a parking meter at your local store.

Cook Off – Lots of artists cook. Have an event like a Chili Cook Off where folks buy tickets to taste all the different kinds of dishes. Maybe you can relate the dish you cook to your project.

Partnerships – Consider creating partnerships with other businesses or non profits that can help you get things done for your project. They don’t have to agree to show the work, but may help you with contacts or other support. Find an organization or business that is interested in the same ideas you are.

Paid Ads – You can solicit paid ads for your website. Use Google Ads as a way to make life easy. For every click, you get paid.

Repair Items and Re-sell – Consider taking in donations such as used tools, cleaning them up and re-selling them. Or bicycles, or other items.

Rich Uncle or Aunt – Say you have a rich uncle who has agreed to give you some funding for your project. If he needs a tax write off, set up a fiscal receivership with a nonprofit so he can get the tax write off and you can get the funding. So, the idea here is to be creative about donated and earned income strategies to help diversify your arts funding. Funders love this entrepreneurial spirit and artists benefit from more consistent cash flow. Think smart, act creative and bring in money and supplies. And don’t quit.