Chances are that if you’re doing something worth doing, others are doing something similar too — probably not the same, but close enough. Or maybe they’ve found out about you and are trying to raise money/awareness for you without your knowledge…
Are you doing anything to help them help you?
I was talking to a friend of mine earlier tonight about his work with Journalists for Human Rights, and he let me in on a little secret: they had no clue that this was going on a few weeks ago until virtually after the fact. I’m also pretty sure that Sketch had no clue about the production of The Ugly Duckling that I financed back in November with the clause that at least half of any profits would be donated to their organization (the rest would fund the cast/crew wrap party).
How much clout could JHR have given to the Varsity’s “Rock Show” if they showed up with banners? Or maybe a rep from the UN-funded non-profit could have given a speech, schmoozed, and found a new intern (which I know they were searching for) there! Could Sketch have brought someone who’s found success through their program to Duckling to thank everyone for their donations?
These are just the two examples that are coming to mind right now. But it seems as though groups focus their support on their own initiatives, not those of their supporters. Seems like a backwards way to go about things, n’est-ce pas?
Like I said before: if you’re doing something worthwhile, then someone, somewhere, is doing something similar, supporting it, or at least talking about it. Are you making it easy for them yet?
