Grassroots Fundraising
On Saturday Jenny and I presented on the Allied Media Conference's Allied Resource Initiative, as part of a session on Media at the Grassroots Fundraising Conference at the Brecht Forum in NYC.
The Allied Resource Initiative is what we call AMC's approach to fundraising.
The AMC community has grown too fast for AMP to possibly support the scholarship needs, without AMC spending a lot on scholarships. This was a political decision we made-- to find ways to support people in their fundraising efforts that expand the capacity of our network, not just to get to the conference but to fundraise for their year round work, rather than seeking foundation funding to provide lots of one-time scholarships. We received capacity building funds from the Media Justice Fund to develop an interactive case statement and intensify AMP support of grassroots fundraising projects.
The fundraising strategies have grown alongside the community growing. Initially the idea of the Allied Resource Initiative grew from the grassroots fundraising strategies people in our network were already using. Because people see AMC as a vital space where they can convene and strategize, where they help shape the vision and content and have more than token representations, they're willing to invest resources and energy.
The fundraising strategies people are already using and have been using are detailed in this video:
CLICK HERE FOR GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING VIDEO
FULL TEXT OF THE VIDEO
Hello, I am Nadia - I am Diana - coming to you live from Detroit, Michigan.
There are many exciting things already happening and we want you at the AMC in July. We're here to tell you about some of the ways people have previously funded their AMC trips as well as some grassroots fundraising projects already in the works for this year.
Past examples:
Women of color bloggers collaborated to direct donations to each others blogs, and women in Texas created a citywide blog to collect donations and document their fundraising.
People have thrown events such as art auctions, dance parties, all-ages punk shows and zine festivals. Check the AMC website for a guide to throwing a fundraising event.
People have sold everything from CDs, notebooks, scarves, posters, t-shirts and hot sauce.
Another way to get to the AMC is by sharing transportation. Last year groups collaborated on transportation to come from New York and Durham North Carolina.
Things already in the works for this year:
Speak Women of Color Media Collective recorded a spoken word CD which will be sold as a fundraiser to bring single mom media makers to the AMC. Look out for it because it will be available soon.
In Seattle a venue will be donating a percentage of all proceeds from now until the AMC to travel for local participation, and events in LA and Detroit are already in the works.
Just Seeds, Beehive Collective and a scientific illustrator are collaborating on a poster illustrating this year's vision WE ARE READY NOW. Stay tuned for details and in the meantime check out The RWOC media poster. This poster is on the website and will be available for anyone to download, print and sell as an AMC fundraiser.
