I have been waiting to be struck by inspiration.  Today I have thoughts about smaller organizations and individual artists and their particular growing pains for asking for support.  The biggest challenge I am seeing is the fact that the founder(s), or individual artists, are so tied to the arts business, they feel that they are asking money for themselves.  In a way they are, and this can feel uncomfortable, yet there is a simple solution.

Separate yourself from the business!  On some level, you can be advocating for your arts business instead of feeling like you are “begging” for your own well being.

So, if you are The Very Best Dance Organization, a small organization of a few dancers and the founder who acts as the artistic and executive directors, you can work on behalf of The Very Best Dance Organization.  This means that your asks for support are for the organization, and not for yourself.

If you are an indie artist, say a visual artist, Lisa Artist, you can ask on behalf of The Lisa Artist, specializing in watercolor landscapes, or something to this effect.

Every individual artist and small arts organization is an arts business.  It is a very slight shift in your thinking to ask on behalf of your business instead of feeling you are asking on behalf of yourself.

Plus, you may not want to make the mistake of allowing the feelings of discomfort in asking your contacts, your friends and family, win in the end.   This is a huge missed opportunity. Again, it is your friends and family that care the most and will support you and your arts business. You will need this support to seed your fund raising campaign.

You can obtain the support you need for your arts business.  Shift to asking for your business – this shift makes a big difference!

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder

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