A community of especially well-heeled philanthropists does indeed exist; we all know the names of the most celebrated of the music patrons, as their last names are usually thought to be Hall, or Pavilion, or Space. They are regularly and tenaciously approached for assistance by all and sundry, since their interest in the field is at least known and since–like most of the world–musicians are not very imaginative about investigating new possibilities and have a particularly difficult time imagining why anyone, perhaps excepting these mysterious few people, would give their money away at all.
However, patrons aren’t simply PATRONS; they are individuals who are able and willing to lend various kinds of support to another person or project for a variety of reasons. You already have patrons within your existing network: friends and family who wouldn’t miss one of your concerts, for example. They could, after all, make some excuse and stay home and watch television–but they choose instead to attend and applaud, and sometimes bring their friends and even pay for their tickets. In other words, patronage involves a pattern of supportive assistance that can range from small commitments of time to large financial donations. It can include any or all of the following:
• Physical presence;
• Getting the word out and networking on your behalf;
• Contributions other than money;
• And, yes, money.
Unless this range of patronage possibilities is understood, you will close off potential sources of support, pay too little attention to smaller patrons who may be just as valuable as larger ones (and who may turn into the latter at some point), and approach the development of this constituency in the wrong way. Don’t just focus on the very rich. It’s important to realize that those who can’t give $5,000 to a project of yours but who could give $100 may be actually better suited to you. Donors of large sums may require famous recipients, whereas a younger or beginning philanthropist might identify more closely with you at your career stage.
Though you’re almost certainly reading this to learn about the people who can help you finance big projects, and not to learn how to remind people to come to your concerts, the former really can and does develop out of the latter. Developing a group of fans who can be counted on for various kinds of help means developing mutually satisfying and mutually beneficial relationships? and that takes years of careful cultivation.
If this notion of cultivating helpful people is upsetting or daunting, we remind you again to think in terms of building your business, not your art. You would be less wary about remembering and identifying people who might invest in your business than those who might invest in your career; however, there probably is little reason for your ambivalence and hesitation. There is great potential for mutual benefit to be gained from the investment.
Know Your Customer
The first comment [we] almost always get at [Concert Artists Guild “Career Moves”] workshops in discussing patronage is “But I don’t know any patrons.” Wrong, on two counts. First, given the expanded definition of patronage, you probably know a great many people who can be counted on to assist in your career building efforts. And second, you often don’t realize whom you actually know. It’s important to identify individuals who do or may support you, and then to understand their motives for doing so.
Patrons are people who have enough time and/or money to be able to spend some of it on you. They may be found among:
Your family;
Organizations–religious, fraternal, or civic;
Alumni associations;
Your students/parents of students; or
People at your outside jobs.
All of these include people who have some reason to be interested in you already. This is vital, for reasons that will be explained later. To these can be added
People you meet through your performing activities.
The people who will ultimately support you and your work are people who a) are able to do so, and b) like and/or admire you. Look for potential friends in potential sponsors. Find something in common. And then keep these people in your address book, with correct spellings and current phone numbers and addresses. Add to the list regularly.
Knowing your potential individual patrons involves understanding what their philanthropic motives might be. They might include the following, in no particular order:
Many of today’s potential patrons came of age during the 1960s. The values they embraced then may have been submerged during the scuffle to make a significant place for themselves in the business or professional world, but will often surface again when they’ve achieved some success and perhaps had a family. At this point, they may seek ways to reintroduce more spiritual values into their lives.
They may want to feel important. Being a patron of the arts usually brings with it a special status that can enhance other areas of the patron’s life.
They may be frustrated musicians, individuals who took piano lessons as children and dreamed of performing on the world’s great stages but took the safer route and went into the family business. Assisting someone who is taking the risk and making music her life may be a way of maintaining their direct involvement with something once very close to them.
They may, surprisingly, be assuaging a certain amount of guilt about their success. Many individuals who have “made it” are aware that a field like music, requiring complete dedication and endless effort, doesn’t offer the same financial rewards that their own fields do and are interested in righting the balance in some way.
They may simply love music. Helping to make fine music, your music, possible will be all these individuals want or expect. These are rare people and are to be treasured.
Remember that we’re discussing individual philanthropy and not institutional giving, where money has been set aside specifically for giving away and the reasons for support are often clearly stated in published guidelines.
Also, needing a tax break has not been included on the list of motives. For one thing, gifts to private individuals are rarely tax-deductible, and you therefore would need a nonprofit organization to receive tax-deductible contributions for you. For another, the laws do change about what and how much is actually deductible. Nonetheless, this does remain an attractive reason for a contribution for some people.
If someone does provide support of any kind, what do they want in return. They simply want to be acknowledged in order to share in the glory and experience the pride which comes from having made something significant happen. When they come backstage after the concert, when you’re accepting the congratulations of all, they want to hear some version of “I couldn’t have done it without you” from you. The moment of reflected or shared glory is unbelievably exciting, particularly to those whose own lives rarely offer direct applause, but even to those of us who sometimes do perform ourselves. The degree to which it is exciting, and therefore to which the patrons are motivated to work towards making it happen again, is directly proportional to how well they know, like, and identify with the artist.
In other words, you need to give away a little, to share the spotlight, in order to get more back. Whatever you do say it should be the truth, and should express a sincere awareness that somebody else helped you. Since no performance is really possible without some kind of support, from the audience or from those behind the scenes, when you say thank you, you should mean it.
It is important to remember that no matter how good the cause for which you’re seeking support, how capable the potential patron is of giving it, and how faultlessly a request is presented, you will probably get “no” for an answer. Be prepared for a considerable amount of rejection and don’t take it personally if possible, as there may be endless reasons–none of which may relate directly to you and your project–why someone responds negatively rather than positively.
Guidelines for Support
1. Ask advice. It’s flattering and doesn’t put you or the patron in an awkward spot.
2. Ask for the specific help that you need.
3. Expect more rejections than acceptances.
4. Don’t phrase requests in a way that will make it uncomfortable to ask the next time.
5. Personalize all requests.
6. Develop patronage relationships gradually!
7. Don’t ask for too much too soon. Assume that in general a patron has to get to know you, and you them, before a request (particularly a large one) is appropriate.
8. Say thank you and keep in touch! Let those you’ve asked know what happens with the project, even if they haven’t contributed, since this may build credibility for the next time.
9. Get someone else to write letters on your behalf if necessary, and if you think it will help. Realize that what you may gain, i.e., not feeling awkward, may not be worth what you lose–namely the personal contact that may be vital to the patron.
10. Be careful regarding the details. Nobody will give you anything if you consistently spell his or her name wrong.
11. Ask for support.
