Donating Art

Can anyone offer experience with this? Of what value is there in doing such a thing? Exposure? Good will? Contacts?

Donation will earn revenue for the organization - not me.

Perhaps this is an act appropriate for an artist reaching career-maturity? Certainly not a newbie into the field! ... Right??

It's for a 'good' cause... The artwork is sold in a silent auction (with the artist's permission).... Revenues are divided between a local crisis center and the organization.... And the organization is worldwide.

I am concerned about this opp because I have absolutely no control of the situation - and have no way of verifying records - or making the necessary contacts to pad my resume, adding to my client list, blah blah blah.

But being in an auction is a **good** thing... right?

Dammit! I guess the first thing to do is verify that this is a legitimate organization, huh!?!?

What would you do?

But think of it this way

I have donated art on occasion. But it went to those organizations I was involved with who then took the money earned from the sales and applied it to something I was in favor of. It's a nice way of 'networking' with those people who are involved in fund raising events. If you're not going to get some personal satisfaction from the donation, then why bother?!

A goodly number of us who have been supporting various causes for years are usually willing to donate art to support a charity we believe in.

Artists are always, it seems, the first folks asked for donations (with promises of BIG TAX WRITEOFFS).

One of the art orginations we are involved with has taken the position that these form of donations must have a reserve price which must be met and then the fund raising org. get a commission.

At this point, having seen folks treat these auctions like flea markets, I will not donate art to an organization unless a reserve price can be set.

From years of experience, my advice is: if you don't support the organization don't donate. Donations made with expectations are bound to disappoint.

Fred

'Flying_Naked_People' <http://www.rcip.com/nerdgerl/email.htm> wrote in

Quite right too! After all, if artists were all hanging about in garrett's with no money at all, then they would be in no position to make such donations!

There was a piquant smell around here a while back that thought that it was an artist, I'm certain that that smell would never, ever, make any donation. The pong's view was that only starving gattet type artists were worth anything no matter how crap what they produce might be.

I only avoid mentioning the name of the smell to make sure that it doesn't arise here again (it probably will, anyway, it hasn't any art to produce, only a pouring of paints, so it has time on its hands to come back an waste the time of a genuine arts group - little hilters are just like that, ignore them!).

So, what if the unnnamed, talentless creature donated 'art' to a charity? Surely they'd be justified in putting it into the skip?

I regularly give to a planned parenthood auction each year, after 3 donations , (and i began giving them larger pieces) I was informed that I could opt for a 40% commission. Well, the painting I gave them that year went for 1,900 dollars! My 40% cut was 800 which is what I would have tried to sell it for in a gallery which would then take their cut. I haven't been that lucky again but I can always count on a couple hundred dollars, AND the 70 dollar dinner (entrance fee) attracts doctors, lawyers and dope growers in this area! A nice group to get to know your work. But like I said, i did it for years before I realized it could be lucrative. Hey, talk to the organizers, the thing is, they can attract more artists, get cooler things to auction, have a more interesting event, etc, etc, if they let artists opt for a (and 40% not bad) commission. And if your like me, you've got a shitload of drawings, sketches, paintings that you can't throw away but they're not looking for gallery space either...

Good luck.