| I know many, many artists/creatives who have supported causes they care about, big causes and small, in ways that are also big and small. We all having habits/hobbies/pastimes we care about: For me, I want to share my love of reading, so I volunteered to read in all my kids' classes until they hit middle school. (No kid in middle school wants their mom in their classroom.) (Okay, MINE didn't.) I share the wisdom and insights I've gained from sports: Rock climbing, martial arts, until my knees couldn't take it anymore. You could say art-making is another pastime we care about, but that feels a little disrespectful to the passion we bring to it. But it's certainly something I care about, and I've found many ways to share it: Teaching, writing, social media, etc.
An email newsletter can be a great way to share what we care about with our audience. It can also be a great way for collectors/followers/friends/etc. to support our causes that they align with.
I'm gonna guess that the first thought that comes up for you is about donating our artwork to a charity auction. We've covered that in past articles, and understandably, opinions are all over the map about that. We don't have to do that, and if we do, there are ways to benefit both our favorite charity and ourselves.
There are other ways to do this besides straight-out donations, though, especially in these days of yes-to-masks and no-to-in-person-events.
In our email newsletters, we can offer our audience the chance to contribute to what we're supporting, if they either identify with the same cause, or are intrigued by what we care about.
Here are some suggestions: If your area has any of those "Best of..." ventures (as in "Best Pet Rescue in Sonoma County", ask people to vote for the agency or organization you support.Share a series of work you're producing specifically for you cause. Let buyers know that a portion of your sales from them will go to that cause.Have your own online auction or raffle with your work. You get to decide if there's a minimum bid, etc.You can direct subscribers to your Facebook page, and set up a donation there. (I've donated to all kinds of good causes from friends who did this!)You can create a GoFundMe campaign. You can also choose to 'reward' donators with your work, at a level YOU are comfortable with, such as your greeting cards line, art prints, artist trading cards, a special discount offer on your artwork, etc. and conditional on what level of participation they choose, e.g., big donors get bigger rewards.There's a guy who can't draw for beans who's raised thousands of dollars for a cause he supports, and his work has gone viral in the process. It's been so successful (and heartwarming!) that other humane societies have started their own similar campaigns.If you already volunteer for such a cause, share that with your audience, too: Photos of you doing the work you do for that cause. Photos of the work those kids made in the class you taught. Photos of the animals you've fostered. Books you've read in elementary school classrooms.Share the joy and validation you get from supporting something you care about. Write about a wonderful interaction, a great outcome, an insight you've gained along the way.What's yours??Now, how do we generate enough interest and connection to encourage others to join in? You already know...
Share WHY you care.
Note: This may resonate with your creation story, in ways you may or may not feel comfortable sharing. Remember: You don't have to share personal information. As I've written in previous articles about finding our creation story in this same series, there are ways to offer context without violating your privacy boundaries. We get to choose how much we share, and how we frame our connection to the causes dear to our hearts.
Animals and kids have been dear to my heart for decades. In my heart, they can suffer under circumstances they have no control over. I wanted to show my care, and offer outlets for their own healing, through making, and reading.
And my bubble has grown. Hospice volunteer work expanded my understanding of what we have control over, and what we don't, near the end-of-life. This culminated in creating a writing workshop to help those people still struggling with debilitating grief years after we're supposed to be "over that". (Spoiler alert: Grief never goes away. It just gets more manageable as we heal.)
My own reward from all these experience has been knowledge gained and insights revealed, being a witness to constant, tiny miracles, and my ongoing amazement at what people and animals are capable of, in their growth and healing, their courage, their unique place in the world.
If you've had success with any of these strategies (you get to decide your own measure of "success"!), share them in the comments. If you have questions about how to support a cause you care about, bring'em up! I'm guessing there are plenty of people with great suggestions for you, just waiting to share.
And speaking of sharing, if you enjoyed this article, share it! Link back to it here on Fine Art Views, or my blog at luannudell.wordpress.com.
If someone shared this article with you, and you'd like to read more in this series, visit my articles at FineArtViews.com.
P.S. If you haven't already today, VOTE!! Because you care. |
