Fancy an operatic tenor singing you a personal happy birthday or a backstage tour with a principal ballet dancer? These are just some of the novel ways that arts organizations around the world are trying to engage the public’s interest and encourage donations with innovative online fundraising ideas.
A Funding Crisis in the Arts
Cultural institutions have found their incomes slashed after COVID-19 closures. According to the American Alliance of Museums, US museums lost an estimated $33 million each day while their doors were closed to the public. While governments and charities have been supplying grants and funding, this is unsustainable and in many cases is now petering out. Many arts organizations have looked to the public over the last 12 months to assist financially. Various crowdfunding campaigns and events have provided vital donations. But as the pandemic wears on, these appeals are beginning to have less effect.
The Guardian reports that in America, donations by individuals to cultural organizations dropped by 14% in the first nine months of 2020. Contributions from the most dedicated patrons also reduced in size by nearly 40%.
Enter the world of Zoom and socializing remotely. Cultural organizations have discovered resources like these can help maintain direct contact with their patrons. It also persuades them to continue their financial support. The success and sustainability of such virtual fundraising events are tempered by the phenomenon known as “zoom fatigue.” With everything from work meetings to socializing moving onto video calls, art fundraisers need to offer something a little different. Events such as online drinks parties have lost their sense of novelty, but arts organizations are thinking outside the box.
A Gala with a Twist
The traditional gala season in New York last year got a shakeup. In lieu of big black-tie bonanzas, arts organizations fully embraced online fundraising ideas. For example, nonprofit organization Independent Curators International pioneered the Benefit in a Box. This saw packages priced at different levels offering rewards from limited edition artworks to artist-designed facemasks. The “individual” option, at $1,000, included temporary tattoos by conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner. The $25,000 top box gave donors a newly commissioned work by Angel Otero.
Performa, an art biennial specializing in performance art, went even more radical. Renowned for its spectacular gala events, Performa retained its reputation with an eight-hour-long marathon event broadcast live from Pace Gallery. This “telethon” raised money by allowing attendees to call in from home and buy limited edition home items designed by artists like Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) chose to entice patrons instead with star appearances at their gala event. Both Cate Blanchett and Zadie Smith attended remotely. Speaking at the event, Blanchett said, “I only wish I could be in that extraordinary space at BAM and thank you all in person. It’s a great sadness to me given the electric nature of not only the spaces at BAM but the people who work there and move through there.”
Later, over the Christmas period, the New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet also experimented with new funding tactics. Christmas would usually mean benefit events and backstage tours for patrons. This year, instead, one of the company’s principal dancers, Tiler Peck, took donors on an online tour. Ticket holders attending the tour from home had a treat box delivered to them in anticipation of the event.
Opera in Your Living Room
Across the pond in Britain, the English National Opera (ENO) has launched a project called ENO TV. This novel arts online fundraising campaign gives patrons behind-the-scenes glimpses of the workings of the ENO through weekly live events. Access is members only, thus generating funding for the opera company. The exclusive events include in-depth introductions to the various sections of the orchestra and interviews with big names like soprano Lesley Garrett, Strictly Come Dancing finalist and award-winning recording artist. They’ve also offered a “Beginners Guide to Conducting” with Tony Purser, Head of Conducting at the Royal College of Music, and a ghost tour of the London Coliseum with ENO Chorus Manager David Dyer.
As with crowdfunding campaigns, a system of rewarding donors is key. “Rewards, whether artist works or unique events, are a popular way to generate support for campaigns, allowing people to donate to an important cause, but get something brilliant back too,” the UK charity Art Fund told Artnet News.
For example, Grange Park Opera, a company based in Surrey in the UK, is offering donors a unique birthday gift. Parties or restaurant meals are still off the cards for most, but Grange Park’s singers can provide an alternative celebration. Baritone Bryn Terfel and tenor Joseph Calleja are among the opera singers who will pop out a birthday cake, virtually, and sing a personal happy birthday. Grange Park Opera even permits requests for arias. The company writes on their website, “100% of donations will be distributed to artists and technicians in need. Their livelihoods are theatre – utterly closed for the foreseeable future – all contracts cancelled. A gift to keep forever; a momento of not only the birthday but these quiet Lost Months.” Their prices start at £200.
More Arts Online Fundraising Ideas in the Future?
It’s clear that patrons are now looking for more than just traditional events adapted and adjusted for online attendance. Remote events have to be seen not as second options when the in-person gathering cannot go ahead, but as events in their own right. Online events have the advantage of being inclusive, globally accessible and far less costly for arts organizations.
