Finding Funding Partners

Notes from the Hot Docs industry session Engage My Film about finding and working with foundations, organizations and third sector business to fund your film. Especially for social issue documentaries. Watch the session.

Know the rules of engagement up front when partnering with funders and distributors — particularly who has creative control and who owns it. Filmmakers should not give up their storytelling expertise when partnering. Remember you’re there because you’re storytellers and you know how to do that. Don’t give that up. That’s what they want you for. (Orlando)

The trend is moving away from getting public television funding or finding another broadcasting partner but to instead finding partners like foundations or social sector groups. (Patricia)

I don’t think that equity investment works — people investing in a single film for the purpose of making money. A single film is just always going to be too risky versus investing in several films and spreading the risk around. (Michael)

As you build up funders, you are building up an audience for your film ahead of time. This can also be a good selling point to potential distributors. (Julia)

It may not make sense for you to go directly to Ford Foundation for funding, but look at what foundations and organizations they work with. The best place to start may be small. Make connections. Build it slowly. Most foundation people know each other and once you get one funder, the connection can lead to other funders. (Patricia)

Look at other similar films and see who funded them. Before you call the funder, call the filmmaker and find out how things worked for them. (Patricia)

Also look to organizations that are about the issue your film is about. For example, Global Fund for Children advances children’s issues and it offers a media grant.

Your job as a filmmaker when going to possible funders is to articulate clearly what your film is going to do, perhaps what it’s not going to do and to negotiate that space in between. You can also offer to partners, short-form content not used in your feature that they can use on their website. (Patricia)

I started a non-profit justvision.org around an issue to fund my film projects. (Julia)

Fiscal sponsorship — some foundations require it if they only fund non-profits. Ford Foundation funds both for-profit and non-profit projects. They would rather put more money directly into the pocket of the filmmaker to make the film than have it go to the fiscal sponsor. Sundance grants are also to the artist directly. Cinereach currently can only fund non-profits, so they have a list of organizations that can provide fiscal sponsorship. (These orgs usually take 5–6%.)

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Patricia Finneran (moderator), Managing Producer, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (USA)
Julia Bacha, Filmmaker, Budrus (USA)
Orlando Bagwell, Director, Freedom of Expression—Education, Creativity and Free Expression Program, Ford Foundation (USA), also former independent producer
Dan Cogan, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Impact Partners (USA)
Philipp Engelhorn, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Cinereach (USA)
Michael MacMillan, Co-Founder and Chair, Samara (Canada)
Andy Whittaker, CEO, Dogwoof (UK)