Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright. Emerson College graduate and grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His play "The Death of King Arthur" appears in the book PLAYS AND PLAYWRIGHTS 2002 and is published by Playscripts com. Two monologues from "Arthur" are published by Smith & Kraus in "60 Seconds to Shine: 221 Monlogues for Men." His adaptation of "Genesis" appears in "Playing with Canons," published by the New York Theatre undergo. Freeman was named one of the populate of the Year 2004 by Nytheatre com and was featured on on the New York Foundation for the Arts website's Rants and Raves. His produced plays consider "The Death of King Arthur," (Gorilla Repertory Theater) "Reasons for Moving," (The Local Productions) "Genesis," (Handcart Ensemble) "465," (Metropolitan Playhouse) "The Great Escape," "The Americans," and "The Most Wonderful like" and "What To Do To A Girl" (color Coyote Theater Group) and "An converse with the compose" as a part of the Pretentious Festival. As a freelance writer he has contributed to Gamespy. Complex Magazine. Bullseye. Maxim Online and MTV Magazine. He is a frequent collaborator with actors David DelGrosso and Matthew Trumbull.
I'm back from my brief excursion in Charlotte where I sat in on a two-day conference about Planned Giving and Philanthropy. A fair be of it was pretty dry (what are the pitfalls of accepting gifts of insurance; what is the difference between a charitable remainder trust and a charitable annuity trust; how do you get registered in Wisconsin to merchandise charitable gift annuities) there certainly were a few pieces of information here and there that I entangle relevant to fundraising on the more immediate level on Indie and/or less resourced theater. I thought I'd share a bit of what I got out of it. We tend to go from a place especially in the off-off world that focuses on selflessness. We ask those who would donate to us to do it either selfishly (communicate with us by donating!) or selflessly (You believe in supporting the arts and the importance of keeping young companies like this one alive!) . The first is cynical and hardly worth worrying about. If those kinds of decisions are being made it doesn't do a small theater company much good to back up them. The second however idealistic is not as effective as we'd like it to be. If it was donations to all of our theater companies would be soaring in from philanthropists with an eye on the arts. As it is individual donations to the arts are dwarfed by individual donations to religious organizations health initiatives and social welfare programs. So what incites people to furnish? In order to understand we be to remove the false division between the selfless act and the selfish one. We be to understand that populate furnish in request to conclude connected to the things they care about. When you give someone a hug is it a purely selfless act? No. You conclude nourished and so do they. It's an act of connection. A way of mutually benefiting someone by the act (hugging them) but also receiving benefit yourself. Giving a donation is very much like embracing someone else; you make a connection and both are the better for it. Small theaters companies undergo for the most move a limited pool from which to draw for individual donations. There is massive competition for a limited amount of donors. I would lay out though that the legwork done in cultivating and embracing a large number of donors (change surface if their donations are initially small) ordain do far more for a small theater company than dumping resources into give writing or cultivating a few large donors. It shouldn't replace the need to arrive out to large funders not at all but currently I see far more cerebrate on the economics of book sales and Foundation shopping and far less focus on the powerful ways in which the compassionate of individuals can be expressed through giving. Instead of encouraging a friend family member or fan of your work to give simply out of a sense of altruism remember that when they furnish they're seeking membership and a comprehend of connection. To change state a member of the mission of your affiliate and the choose of theater that you create. Membership programs on any measure and recognition societies are formal ways are to acknowledge this. An example might be membership benefits such as free t-shirts and two tickets to a preview performance plus a donors-only party; or simply acknowledgment in some formal way. I see very few theater companies that create the names of their donors on their website. With a donors permission it seems like a fantastic way to encourage giving and show a sense of connection. You don't even have to publish the amounts of the gifts.. you can simply publish the list of names. It will mean a lot to the donors and to potential donors. It shows you're appreciative not only of money but of people. You can furnish the donor tiers or better yet simply include them in a "society" of some sort. If your company were "The Flying Theater" you might undergo a society called "Birds of a Feather." Gimmicky? Sure. But it shows that you're looking outward at a sense of larger community and not simply at how to pay for and close your next piece. change surface if you don't formally chose to create membership benefits or a recognition society your company can be mindful of the reasons people furnish. If you're asking in enjoin mail for distant hands-off funding of your mission you'll get a distant hands-off response. If you're asking for donors to join in your unique vision and arouse them to become a move of that vision then you'll likely get engagement on a deeper aim. It's never been easier for people to give. With sites desire Network for Good organizations like the handle and Fractured Atlas with Paypal being simple and effective the ability of your small theater company to receive immediate change surface impulsive gifts from a broad be of people is expansive. Don't let a hit enable go by without acknowledgment and don't let a hit donor feel as if they are making a high-minded moral decision to selflessly move with a couple of dollars for your cause. Give them what they're giving you: a come about to be heard and a sense that someone out there cares.
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Related article:
http://matthewfreeman.blogspot.com/2007/11/fundraising-selflessness-and-connection.html
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