Ever thought that art could meet a great nonprofit purpose—even if your mission isn’t art related? Well, yea, it can happen. And by focusing on Collaborative Art, you can kick your fundraising up a notch with another revenue stream. Here’s the scoop, people love art because it challenges them to look at the world just a little bit differently. So, for a nonprofit, it’s a chance to get super creative and raise funds.

What is collaborative art?

Right about now, you’re probably wondering, alright, what is Collaborative art? For starters, think of it like a puzzle. It’s a chance for many people in your community to come together for a good cause. Anyone can become part of a collaborative art project. All it takes is people wanting to become part of a bigger picture, so to speak. When you do a collaborative art project, all the parts come together—yea, like a puzzle—and make the whole.

As an example, many schools do collaborative art projects with their students. (Here’s a sample from a 9^th-grade class). In short, it’s a chance to get people in your community to play a part in your art campaign, which you can tie to your fundraiser. Another example is doing a collage of people (ahem, your donors) for marketing and fundraising. In that case, you ask everyone you know to give you their best look. Then, you use it to show your donors in your campaign.

Why collaborative art for nonprofits?

When you align a collaborative art project with your marketing and fundraising efforts, it’s a chance to get people in your community engaged and involved. Moreover, it’s also an opportunity to show the public the faces or art of your best supporters. And you know what that does? It makes other people want to get involved! So, you amplify engagement and give your efforts a new spin, you make a memorable impact, and you can create limited editions or even merch to sell from your art. It’s also a chance to get super creative and have fun!

Getting your collaborative art project started

Right about now, you’re probably excited and marinating how you could create a collaborative art campaign for your marketing and social media and, of course, your fundraising. Well, let’s cut to the chase!

1. Set clear objectives: For starters, figure out what you want to achieve. Do you just want to increase your brand visibility or tie it to your fundraising efforts?
2. Pick your artistic canvas: Next, think about the form of your collaborative art project or campaign. Will it be a mural? All digital? Involve photos or art submissions?
3. Spread the word: You know what happens next. You have to promote it! So, get out the word across all your social media channels, newsletters, and site.
4. Rally the troops: Make sure your best supporters, and those most passionate about the idea, are talking it up. Provide guidelines about your art project so everyone’s clear.
5. Get creative online: As with any art project, get creative! Create a landing page to help promote the submissions or creation of art for your marketing and fundraising.
6. Embrace diversity: As your submissions and contributions come in, leverage social to show each of the parts…But, wait to give them the final look at the whole! In short, tease it out.
7. Document the journey: Your nonprofit campaign should be documented and shared. So don’t forget to take videos, photos and share behind-the-scenes on social!
8. Showcase the masterpiece: It’s time for the big reveal once you’ve got it together. Create an event for the big day when you showcase the masterpiece of nonprofit art.
9. Fuel your cause: Turn your collaborative art into a fundraising machine. Offer prints to sell merchandise, or even auction it off to the highest bidder in a fundraiser!
10. Express gratitude: Finally, give thanks…lots of it! Thank all of your supporters and everyone who contributed to the project and fundraiser and something fresh and memorable.

More than a few strokes of paint

So, there you have it! A collaborative art project for your nonprofit is a great way to do something different with your marketing and even fundraising. In other words, a chance for your community to experience a different approach to your organization. Go ahead. Get started. Paint a new and brighter picture for your nonprofit.

Get more amazing ideas and strategies for your nonprofit with our webinars, ebooks, YouTube, or Facebook.

© 2023 Funds2Orgs. All Rights Reserved.

The post Brushes with Impact: Doing Nonprofit Collaborative Art appeared first on funds2orgs.com.