The document discusses different models for supporting artistic work, including functioning as an individual artist, forming a nonprofit organization, using fiscal sponsorship, or establishing an LLC. It notes the administrative burdens that come with larger projects and higher budgets, and considers whether forming a nonprofit is necessary or if other models could still allow artists to focus on their craft. Examples are provided of different artists and companies that have utilized various structures.

1. Don’t Start a Non-Profit!
(?)
Special Thanks to the Wyncote Foundation

2. Every one of you is trying to
make your best artistic work.
GOAL: Make Art

3. Most artists are self funding their
work in a variety of ways when
they first start making it
• Paying for things with their own $
• Donating their time (creative, administrative)
• Volunteer collaborative team
• In kind services – barter/borrow systems

4. • In other words: we usually begin
from DIY model
•We think a lot about how we plan
our art work but we don’t always
plan our administrative structures

5. Brad
• The Berserker Residents
• Ensemble of 3 writer/creators who collaborate
with different directors/designers/companies.
• Company exists to support the work of this
ensemble from project to project.
Berserker Stats:
•5 original shows in 5 years.
•Toured 2 pieces to NYC
•Published one play

6. How do Berserkers work?
• In the beginning:
– We functioned as individual
artists.
– We paid for the work out of
our own pockets
– Donated our time and money.
• Currently:
– We have Fiscal sponsorship
through Fractured Atlas.
– Our last 2 shows were
commissions - the
administrative burden was
taken on by a larger non-
profit.

7. Adrienne
• Swim Pony Performing Arts
• Solo auteur-style director who envisions
projects and invites other artists to join or
engages in single project collaborations
• Company exists to support the work of this
particular artist.
Swim Pony Stats:
• “Founded” in 2010 after 7 years of self-producing
• 2 Live Arts presentations
• One fully staged project (SURVIVE!) with no larger
producing entity

8. How do Ponies work?
• In the beginning:
– Project to project structure
– Paid out of own pocket or
based on small start up
funding
– Admin split among
“producers”
• Currently:
– Fiscal sponsorship through
Fractured Atlas – exponential
growth of funding
– Two official S.P shows one
totally self produced, one
with Live Arts.
– Admin essentially a one
woman operation.

9. Some examples
• The Ballad of Joe Hill (2006)
– Loose collective of artists
– Mostly donated time (no
pay)
– Largely self funded, small
amt of donations using local
fiscal sponsor
– All cash based
– Totally illegal
– $2,000
– 10% of time was non-artistic

10. • SURVIVE! (2010)
– Defined group for duration of
project
– Fiscal sponsorship
– Mix of self funding, small
grants, first major foundation
source
– Paid a stipend ($1,200 for 6
months)
– Wrote 1099s and declared
income on taxes
– Actually kept records
– $23,000
– 50% of time was non-artistic

11. • Lady M (2011)
– Director and select What the eff?!
collaborators in charge
– First attempt at weekly pay
– Mostly foundation funded:
GRANTS GRANTS!
– Live Arts support – “real”
theater
– High level tech capacity
– Swim Pony: bank account,
EIN, hired management staff
– $120,000
– 85 - 90% of time was non-
artistic

12. What’s going on?
• The Ballad of Joe Hill (2013)
– Remount of original with
tweaks to story
– Same cast size
– Same location
– Live Arts support
– $90,000 - $100,000
– 2006 - $2,000
– Scale of professionalism is
catching up to artistic
process

13. What’s going on?
• As you grow, you need resources and you want to
make your work more sustainably.
• To get resources you to need to build structure to
support your art practices.
– Admin tasks
– Business skills - budget/accounting
– Grant writing/development
– PR and Marketing
– Producing skills

14. • Essentially the SAME artistic model/process
– Lengthy rehearsal and development phase
– Design intensive
– Ensemble/lead artist driven
• But exponentially expanding admin/business
structures
• DIY model quickly becomes unsustainable as
you engage in higher level “professional” work

15. A Catch 22?
• I can't live on nothing and neither can my
collaborators.
• The non-creative work to make money takes over
my time and I don't make art.
• Is this non-profit inevitable?
• Will it even solve the problem?

16. Art Making Structures
A review…

17. Individual Artist
What does that mean?
• Hired by others/commissions
• Works project to project
• Considered for profit

18. Individual Artist
• Pros
– Has total control
– Potentially doesn't need as much admin structure
• Con
– Small amount of grants available
– Guided by who will hire you
– Generally, all admin work is handled by this
individual

19. Non-Profit - 501 (c) 3
What?
• Public charity making works for the public
good.
• Has a mission and a board whose jobs is to
uphold that mission
• Can make money, but that money must be
used to further the company structure.

20. Non-Profit - 501 (c) 3
• Pros
– Tax exempt
– Almost all foundation support is geared towards non-profits
– Structure!
• Cons
– Costs: Just applying for Federal tax exemption can cost up to
$850, and because a nonprofit organization is a legal entity under
federal, state, and local laws, consistent access to an
attorney, accountant, or other professionals may prove necessary.
– Admin work: a nonprofit must keep detailed records and submit
annual filings to the state and IRS by stated deadlines in order to keep
its active and exempt status.
– Shared Control: A board is ultimately responsible for a non-profit and
its mission

21. Fiscal Sponsorship
What is it?
• Legal Agreement between an individual artist
& arts organization (501 c 3) that allows
sponsee to raise tax-deductible contributions.
• NYFA, the Field, Fractured Atlas
• Usually takes a fee (6%) for services

22. Fiscal Sponsorship
• Pros
– Bigger funding access
– Some oversight
– Often come with other benefits: online courses, education
programs, directories to other kinds of resources (lawyers, insurance
etc)
• Cons
– Gives better access to more $$$ but not more support to manage it
– Many funders won't use it
– Taxes and accounting are all up to the artist
– Don't have as immediate access to funds/resources. Waiting period to
get funds and grant approval.
– Can't get money until you've spent it or created an invoice (ie
no, here's some cash, go get stuff at home depot and bring me
change), a lot of artists fronting large amounts of money

23. LLC - Limited Liability Company
What?
• A small for profit company

24. LLC
• Pros
– Less administration than standard corporation
– Protects individual against legal issues (their house can't
be taken if they're sued)
– Can legally divide profits in ensembles
– A lot of same benefits as individual artists: Control, project
to project
• Cons
– Can't accept tax deductible donations
– No help with foundation support
– Admin work is still on the artist shoulders

25. Discuss…
• What is your model/structure?
• Who does the work?
• How do you find funding for it?
- Individual Artist
- Non-Profit
- Fiscal Sponsorship
- LLC

26. To 501 (c) 3 or not to 501 (c) 3
That is the question…
• Non-Profit: Why or Why not?
• What do you gain?
• What do you lose?
• Success/horror stories

27. What would your ideal administrative
structure be?
• Assuming the world stays roughly the same
• How would you want to function
• Think about hours in the day you could spend
doing admin for your art practice

28. Funding
• Where does your money come from?
• Where do you want it to come from?
• Is there anything other than funding
opportunities that drive you to become a non-
profit?

29. Specialized Knowledge
• Some fields require really specialized info:
– Taxes
– Legal
– Bookkeeping
• How do you handle these aspects of the
work?

30. Some real world examples…

31. The Small Non-Profit
Vampire Cowboys

32. • Vampire Cowboys is an OBIE
Award winning “geek
theatre” company
• Creates and produces new
works of theatre based in
action/adventure and dark
comedy with a comic book
aesthetic
• One new piece a year
• Two artistic and one
development staff members
• Shows sell out before they
open
• Only theater company at
NYC comic con

33. Journey to their current structure:
• Producer/Managing Director took
earlier interest in Artistic Director’s
work.
• Then A.D. married that person.
• Also work with universities to help
shoulder the producing / admin
burden.
• They do not pay themselves and don't
plan for this work to be their main
source of income.

34. The Individual Artist
SuliHolum

35. • Performer, playwright and director who
creates “work that is highly physical and
often bridges the line between theatre
and dance.”
• Received a Drama Desk Award and
Helen Hayes Award nomination as
freelance actor and recipient of a 2011
TCG Fox Resident Actor Fellowship.
• Founding member of Pig Iron, now and
generative artists on her own projects
most recently in collaboration with a
playwright Deborah Stein.
• Other support: Independence
Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship
and a Shell Fellowship in Drama
Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, The
Orchard Project, The Playlabs Festival at
the Playwrights Center, NACL, Actors
Theatre of Louisville, New Dramatists,
and HERE Artist Residency.
• A board member on Nichole Canuso
Dance Company

36. • Just formalizing partnership with Deborah Stein and “on
track to non-profit” - Want to create a platform to
create and perform
• Why head to non-profit?
– “Funding”
• Depends a lot on city, said Philly funding seems very
company focused
– “If the funding in NYC were like Philly, more people would
do it”
“There are no grants
• While resident artist at for performers.”
HERE, some people adamant
that individual artist is best
• These were mostly writers
• There are a lot of grants for
playwrights.

37. • It would be great to have “someone else.”
• Right now all company development is unpaid
– “As the needs arise, we rise to meet them”
• No rush but expects non-profit to happen eventually
• On Nichole’s board – saw how she had to learn how to
use the board.
• As an individual, as a tiny company, having the board
relationship is really useful.
• Get a sense, a feel, of community around your projects
• As a board member, it’s very clear that the locus of
power is with Nichole. The company is Nichole and
wouldn’t exist without Nichole.
– “But you could definitely end up with a crazy person on the
board.”
• Sees a big dividing line between companies with a space
they own

38. Side Note on LLC
• Not 501 c 3 but Trey and Geoff go back and forth
about it
• Created one LLC for All Wear Bowlers, another for
Elephant Room – earned income
• Trey applied for The Field for contributed income
– they helped with grant writing, tax deduction
• “The nice thing is they can come and go. It’s just
them, no relationship with board.”
• They could go for-profit because they were
actually making money - but the LLC can be an
equivalent amount of work
• What Trey and Geoff found is pretty
ideal, something they fell into, what happens
when you have one or two shows that are a big
hit.
• “But you can’t rely on that happening”

39. Fiscal Sponsors
A Chat with
Eleanor Whitney
at NYFA

40. • Established in 1971 by the New York State Council on
the Arts as an independent organization to serve
individual artists throughout the state, the mission of
the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is to
empower artists across all disciplines at critical stages
in their creative lives.
• “We do this through three main program areas: cash
grants and fiscal sponsorship, online resources, and
professional development training.”
• Fiscal sponsorship operates at national level – ~ 700
artists/groups and about 100 emerging organizations
• Fiscal sponsorship program for 40 of their 41 years

41. • Services for individuals include things like
1099’s if you opt into it, some light
bookkeeping (but only for your contributed
income), no tax help
• For emerging organizations more services
– Full bookkeeping
– We become their bank account
– Payroll
– Much more personalized
– But you have to incorporate as non-profit at the
state level

42. • A lot of what we do is education. Many people
haven’t done fundraising before.
• It’s a professional development opportunity
• Many of our artists need more
guidance, oversight as they’re starting out
• Mentioned lag time for grants, cash advances
– That’s our job, to provide oversight, in some
artist’s cases, for the first time

43. • Do you think fiscal sponsorship is a permanent
solution?
– Not sure, depends on the person
• I think a big question is where do bigger funders
stand on innovation
• If you keep running into things maybe there are
too many cooks in the kitchen
• A time share: lawyers, bookkeepers,
administrators
– That sounds awesome!
– But that kind of stuff has to be local
• FYI, had a very similar convo with Fractured Atlas