My second post from the COF conference for Tactical Philanthropy:
It seems that most of our discussions about measuring impact are theoretical and academic. And then sometimes impact smacks us between the eyes.
If you care about philanthropy, public policy and the role of government you need to see the film "Trouble the Water" by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Yesterday I had a chance to see the film and hear Tia Lessin speak here at the COF. Later in the day, the film was awarded the Henry Hampton Award (to go along with its Academy Award nomination).
The film gives a dramatic eyewitness account of living through Katrina and the absolute bungling, incompetence and outrageous insensitivity of numerous government officials. Here’s what the COF program guide says about it: "This film features a young African American couple who record the flooding of New Orleans in a chilling video diary which threads through the film. It’s a story about a young couple living on the margins who are surviving not only deadly flood waters, armed soldiers, and bungling bureaucrats, but also a social system that has failed them."
I asked the filmmaker how she funded it and she said, "Mainly through personal credit cards, small donations and the kindness of friends." That’s not unusual for an independent producer; the hardest money to raise is before you begin rolling film. Most of the foundation funding the project has received came after the film was made and is going to support an impressive outreach campaign that includes a Web site, screenings with community organizations, classroom curriculums and an upcoming screening on HBO.
I can say without hesitation that the foundations that supported this film will create greater impact on social policy than anything else they fund this year. And the impact will extend to thousands of viewers and students as well. This film will change lives. And it will make you mad.
At lunchtime, we heard a presentation by Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. One point she made in particular caught my attention: "President Obama believes we all deserve to have a government that works. But we will need all hands on deck: foundations, citizens and government workers to make it happen."
Thank you so much for these thoughts, Bob! Our organization, BeCause Foundation produces films and related programming to inspire social change (maybe you saw a clip from our upcoming, “Welcome to Shelbyville” at the awards dinner at COF?) and find it very difficult to bring foundation’s into a comfort zone with funding documentaries. However, comments by people in your position really help others “get it.” Thank you so much for understanding the dramatic impact that a powerful documentary can make. Even the US State Department recognizes as much as they select a small number of documentaries (one of ours was selected this year) to travel around the world promoting democracy via the idea that a free nation allows for critical examination of its problems.
May we use quotes from your blog in some of our foundation proposals?
Erin
Glad to hear that those with a message will still fund their own projects. The economy is teaching us to scale back on using credit cards and overextending ourselves financially, however, there are some projects that would not come to fruition without overextension. A difficult choice for many of us, as finding funding for the things that really matter is not easy. I applaud the film maker and the CEO for sharing.
For Erin Sorenson:
Thank you for writing, Erin. You are welcome to quote the blog in your grant applications. Best wishes for the success of your proposals for funding.
Hi Bob – it is so great to get “up close and personal” with someone working on the inside. As a grantwriter, I get frustrated with how more and more diffficult it has become to find funding for the real grassroots movers and shakers. The story about this filmmaker just confirms that we have to find a way to invest in what we believe in first, and then convert others to do the same.
Any further advice?
For Hope Elliott: Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media, http://gfem.org/, may be a resource for you. The only other advice I can give is to keep trying and maybe take your efforts to the next level. Expand your research on possible funders, fine-tune your proposals even more than usual, and define the project’s impact as well as you can. You might want to take a look at a Webinar we did recently. The guest presenter was Jacob Harold, a program officer with the Hewlett Foundation. He provided some practical suggestions for measuring success. A recording of the Webinar is at https://www323.livemeeting.com/cc/guidestarorg/view?id=5RJW8N&pw=view. Good luck!