Creative Fundraising Campaigns: Art Edition
Updated: Jan 17, 2022
Sure, galas and direct mail campaigns are great, but the fundraising campaigns on this list go a step further, down the stairs, around the corner and down a hallway. From NFT campaigns to selling limited edition dinner plates, all of these organizations have found meaningful ways to collaborate with visual artists in support of charitable organizations. When I first started this organization, it was based on the idea that art had the unique ability to tell stories, cut across cultural boundaries, and spark change. The work that these organizations are doing showcase the incredible ability of the arts to inspire change, fundraise, and start meaningful conversations.
NFT'S FOR CHARITY
Blankets of Hope joined forces with Right-click, Give!, for one of the largest NFT charity fundraising events in history. Blankets of Hope is on a mission to inspire a global movement of kindness, one blanket at a time. Blankets of Hope has already partnered with schools across 43 states and 3 countries to donate over 50,000 Blankets of Hope to those in need.
100% of the proceeds of the NFT sale went to the organization, in which they raised $200,000K in total. The event took place from December 20th – 24th, 2021, and all of the artwork sold in the fundraiser was donated by collectors, artists, and creators. Learn more about the organization here: https://www.rightclickgive.com/
An NFT is a non-fungible token, a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger. NFTs can be associated with reproducible digital files such as photos, videos, and audio, and they have become an exciting new way for charities to fundraise.
The works included in the fundraiser included: Gary Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends, Tom Bilyeu’s Merry Modz, and other global brands such as Cool Cats, CyberKongz, Doodles, GutterCatGang, PixelVault & World of Women just to name a few.
ARTIST PLATE PROJECT
Prospect NY, a company dedicated to making art accessible to everyone, is raising funds for the Coalition for the Homeless through the campaign 'The Artist Plate Project'. The purchase of just one of these limited edition plates can provide a meal for up to 100 homeless or low-income New Yorkers.
The initiative was a major success in 2020, raising just over $1.5 million USD. The initiative included over 40 artists. Each plate was created in an edition of 250, where each plate costs $195.
Sponsors are provided with early access to the plates, 24 hours before the sale goes public. However, there is limited space. The Coalition for the Homeless is the nation’s oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless individuals and families. We believe that affordable housing, sufficient food and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society.
Here is a shortlist of several high profile artists involved in the 2021 initiative:
Louise Bourgeois
Nick Cave
Helen Frankenthaler
Keith Haring
KAWS
Robert Longo
Ed Ruscha
Amy Sherald
Mickalene Thomas
Tom Wesselmann
Read more about the campaign: Hypebeast
OPS T-SHIRT CAMPAIGN
Street Health partnered with local artists Phuong Nguyen and Junkie Rat to create a t-shirt campaign that supported their Overdose Prevention Site. The event corresponded with Overdose Awareness Day, which took place on August 31st, 2021.
Phuong Nguyen, an artist and art therapist based in Toronto, spent time working at a shelter in the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, which is known for its complex set of social issues, including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homelessness, poverty, crime, mental illness and sex work: “I worked at a shelter that has a mandate to serve adults suffering from substance use disorder and/or mental illness and a home for older adults that was located right by Oppenheimer Park, notoriously known for its tent city,” Nguyen said.