Not so long ago crowd-funding was little-known in the Australian dance industry. Yet in just a few years, crowd-funding has become a popular and viable way to raise funds, not just for dance projects, but for all sorts of ventures across a myriad of sectors.
For anyone who has not yet come across the crowd-funding phenomenon, it’s a simple concept. Crowd-funding happens online. An individual or a group makes a pitch to the general public, with a target amount they plan to raise, and a deadline for raising that amount. Those who wish to support the project then pledge donations online. Often there are incentives in the form of rewards for those who pledge certain amounts of money. Once the target is reached, the pledges are deducted from donors' bank accounts. If the target is not reached, then the money is not taken.
As far as the dance industry goes, crowd-funding appears to be used predominantly by independent individuals and organisations. So it was something of a surprise to learn that Sydney Dance Company (SDC) is giving crowd-funding a go. SDC’s first crowd-funding appeal has been launched to raise money to keep employing nineteen year old dancer, Holly Doyle, for the remainder of 2013. Holly is currently completing a three-month internship with the company, but that is almost at an end. SDC hopes to raise $100 000 which includes an allocation for medical support, health and nutritional advice, weekly physiotherapy, travel, accommodation and daily costs for when the company is on tour, costumes, insurances, and, of course, the first year dancer salary.
SDC’s executive director, Anne Dunn, explains the decision to use the online funding model, saying, “We knew that Holly’s story would resonate with the broad community and wanted to find a way to open up our giving program to enable as many of these people as possible to get involved and contribute. Crowd-funding has become a popular way for artists at all levels and across all artforms to fund their projects, and was a good fit for the Keep Holly Dancing campaign, providing a simple and casual mechanism for individuals to give as little or as much as they can spare.” Dunn acknowledges that, as a recipient of both federal and state government funding support, it is unusual for a major performing arts company like SDC to be reaching out to the public, but says this just a sign of the times. "With the types of decreases in arts budgets that we are seeing in Australia, there is increasing pressure to be proactive and take the initiative," she remarks. "Crowd funding has become a popular way for smaller independent arts organisations to reach out to the public. We believe that there are a lot of people out there who will relate to Holly’s story and are really excited to create an opportunity for them to be a part of this exciting campaign."
SDC isn't depending solely on crowd-funding to raise the money, however, says Dunn. "It’s just one of the tools we are using, alongside some more traditional fundraising activities such as donor appeals," she says. There are some differences too, between the SDC crowd-funding appeal and the model that is described above. "Our crowd-funding website has been purpose-built and doesn’t subscribe to the popularised understanding of the crowd-funding mechanism, which is deadline-driven and has a ‘we will give your money back if the target amount isn’t raised’ guarantee," elaborates Dunn. "Any money raised will go towards keeping Holly Doyle dancing with our company for as long as possible. While we have a $100,000 target is to support a year-long scholarship, if a lesser amount is raised it will simply support a shorter scholarship."
SDC’s appeal has an extra “reward” for punters – as incremental funding targets are reached, segments of a specially created dance video will “unlock”. A preview of Holly’s performance is available for anyone who visits the website, but to see the whole dance work the fundraising targets must be reached.
To keep Holly dancing at SDC, or to find out more about this appeal, go to www.ayearonthewharf.com
Holly Doyle and Thomas Bradley in De Novo's Emergence. Photo: Peter Greig.
