Art as Donation
Ξ May 10th, 2010 | → 7 Comments | ∇ General |
I have just hung up the phone after a lengthy discussion with a very dear friend that lives in Winnipeg. The focus of our discussion dealt in large part about the donation of art to fund raising events that are going on just about every week. I have been a huge supporter of many different organizations over the years. I’d like to tell you a little about how it all began and where it is today.
When I started to show my art in public it was not long before I started to receive calls concerning whether I would donate a piece of art to an upcoming event for a local, national or international charity. The obvious selling point to me was that there would be plenty of people in attendance that had the wealth to purchase art and that this would be a great venue for my work to be seen. I gave something and waited with quiet trepidation for the art buyers to start calling. That didn’t happen…this time, was my thought. I tried on a number of other occasions and each time I was disappointed in the lack of interest that was being shown for my work outside of the auction. “Maybe my work just doesn’t measure up”, I thought. I continued to give work for a while and then as I became familiar with some other artists in my community that had done much donating I started to hear their voices. Many were very disgruntled with the whole idea of making anymore donations to fund raisers because of this same result. The calls come very frequently I can tell you that. Just think of how much art you have encountered at fund raising events. I was asked many times to donate to a very well known national organization and that same story was always used to try and get me to give up my work. I went out on a limb and said that if they were willing to pay me half of what was raised then I would certainly be willing to cooperate. This was met with a reasonable level of shock by the person that had called. I told them that they should really think about what they were doing and that alienating artists from donating was the result of their way of doing things up to that point. They just hung up and moved down the list knowing that there would be plenty of artists that had not heard the song and dance before and that they could fill their quota before the event. Since that time, other than a few select charities, I always go into my donation agreement with a 50/50 split or some other mutually agreeable level of cooperation. This was first proposed to me by the Atlantic Salmon Federation. This was how they did their business when it came to donations from artists and it had worked very well for them. They receive quality product from good artists and a relationship grows out of that mutual respect. They were one of the only organizations that seemed to realize that an independent artist is about as rare and endangered as the mighty fish that they work tirelessly to save from extinction. I have been donating work to them for ten years now and a healthy sum of money has gone towards salmon conservation and to the feeding of my family.
As many other organizations large and small contacted me I became an advocate for artists ( I hope ) by always bringing this point up as a topic of discussion. If they were willing to work with me then I was willing to work with them. They would tell me that was not their policy and I would tell them to call back when they changed their policy. I was asked to be present in a number of committee meetings to discuss this point of view as they had been finding it much more difficult to find artists to donate. I only hope that my appeals were not falling on deaf ears and that artists have benefited from those meetings. I have noticed that the national organization that I mentioned earlier is now sharing with artists the proceeds of their fund raisers. Things can change.
Often times when a fund raising event is being held many corporations or businesses want to contribute in some way and they find that a cash contribution is not always the way they would like to go. I have had situations whereby an individual, business owner or corporation have purchased a piece of art from me and then donated it to the fund raiser. Win win in my view. Many people do not know that by purchasing art from a living Canadian artist the tax benefit is the greatest. They are getting to make an excellent contribution to the cause of their choice, the charity benefits from their generosity and the artist is not left to wonder whether someone will notice their work and call them sometime after the event. The income that the artist raises from this type of cooperation is a way for private industry to support the arts. There are many advantages for small and large businesses to purchase original Canadian art. Many business owners are not aware that the Canadian tax law allows business owners to purchase and write-off original Canadian art in its entirety. They are amazed to find out that the acquisition of original Canadian art is included in the capital cost allowance for all Canadian businesses, so long as the artist was a Canadian citizen when creating the work and the work of art is an original worth a minimum of $200. The Canadian Government allows original Canadian art to be depreciated through the capital cost allowance for business, not as a loophole, but as enticement for Canadian business people to support Canadian art and Canadian artists.
When I first moved to NB in 2005 I went to a meeting at the Sussex Artists’ Co-op http://sussexartistsco-op.blogspot.com/. The meeting was intended to spearhead an organization for and by artists to assist in giving us a voice on a provincial level. The organization that was eventually formed is called ArtsLinkNB http://www.artslinknb.com/ I was very surprised to learn at that meeting that the average annual income of a professional artist in New Brunswick was less than $10,000. http://www.rabble.ca/babble/labour-and-consumption/canadian-artists-living-poverty-43-earn-less-10000 This is well below the poverty line and one of the reasons for the organization was to address this concern. I believe that if people knew this fact then they would not be so quick to ask artists continually to make straight donations to their fund raising events and they would also find ways to support those that do give after the event is over.
I hope that I may have shed a little light on an area that I have been dealing with for many years. My attempt to clarify the artists predicament is not to gain sympathy yet understanding. When we work together toward a common cause then everyone involved comes out on top.
As usual I would like to hear your comments. You can go to the comment section of this site or email me. Thank you.
I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people
Vincent van Gogh