In 2016, I applied to a few grants and residencies to fund Black Man in America. Naturally, I got none of them. You know that whole annoying thing of having to have a record of great work so you can get the opportunity to create great work 🙄? I realized that if I waited until a grant or fellowship came my way it might be five, six years before I had at least the necessary $10K to make the project happen. So, I weighed the possibilities… An unknown possibly infinite time to wait for a grant or fellowship or sponsor versus three months to set up and get money from a crowdfunding campaign. I took the three months.
I don’t know if I know you or not but … I know you… cuz you’re like me. I know that if you don’t create what you want in this world, no one will. At least no one will do it like you. And you might just go crazy if you don’t. I know that you are deeply aware of how money restricts people from living the lives they deserve as human beings, but money is keeping YOU from creating what you’ve been called to create.
You’ve already taken so many risks and made so many sacrifices that regular people wouldn’t dare to. While other people are binge-watching Real Housewives and Love & Hip Hop, you’ve dedicated your life to creating truth and good in the world. My question is: are you going full force? Are you in any way letting money get in the way of your creation? Because you are so much bigger than that. You are bigger than a stupid piece of printed paper.
What would be possible if you had access to all of the money you needed to create your ultimate vision? There are people out there are waiting to give you money to create what you want for the world. There are people who are yearning to experience what you have to create.
What would life be like for you if you went full force and didn’t let money get in the way of creating? What would create? What would your life be like? You can decide at this very moment that the only thing in your way from creating what you want: is information. You simply need to learn how.
stop waiting. get my step-by-step guide on how we raised $18K
To read my beastly step-by-step guide explaining how we crowdfunded $18K with no following or fanbase, click to view this awesomely detailed post I wrote 🙂Â
a little backstory
It was a chilly January 2018 day in the current dimension when 30-year-old unnecessarily educated Justina, queer artist child of black Panamanian immigrants, learned she had three months until her cushy job would let her go. Stunned that her comfortable safety net had broken, she stared at the email for 60 seconds before she resumed binge-watching Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Two weeks later, she had a nervous break down. BUT. Finally, she will play. She will create. And hopefully never work again. Oh, and now she has a journal. More on her/me here.
my money journal: crowdfunding edition
This, my money journal, is a reflection on my successes & failures to make money doing what I actually love. I want to share it with you cuz… I bet you’re on this journey too. Â In the first series of my money journal, I’m sharing my first big success as an artist. At the end of 2016, I was listening to my boyfriend’s song Black Man in America when a vision for a dance film struck me. Five Black men seated at a white table with guns. Don’t worry. It is nuanced. By January 2017, I was storyboarding. By June, my boyfriend was on board, we determined we needed $16,000 to bring it to life, and we launched our crowdfunding campaign. With no fan base and no real fundraising experience. On August 6th, we filmed. I was freaking out. I had opened a credit card just for this project, was $4,000 in debt and owed our cast and crew $7,000 more. I was all in. By August 20th, 400 backers had given a total of $18,000 for Black Man in America to come to life, exceeding our goal. In this crowdfunding series of my money journal, I’m going to share how we did it, because – imagine what you could do with $5K ,$10K, $20K to bring your visions to life. It’s our tiiiiiiiiime. (Shine bright, shine far…)
