IFFBoston: On Funding The Film Fest
Posted on February 3, 2009 at 2:32 pm | No Comments
While we’re all waiting for this particularly brutal winter to end, the crew behind the annual Independent Film Festival of Boston is working hard to make our approaching spring that much better. At this very moment, there’s a team of people spending their precious free time organizing the best damn film fest New England has to offer — traveling to Sundance and elsewhere, watching piles of screeners, inviting filmmakers, concocting schedules, and devising promotional schemes — all to bring us hours and hours of visual entertainment in late April.
What can get lost each year, in the exchanging of cash for badges, tickets, and fresh popcorn, is the simple fact that the IFFBoston is entirely non-profit. Not a single person involved gets paid, all funds made go towards mounting costs (which often involve the flying in and putting up some truly special fest guests) or back into the planning the next one. So as you’re thinking ahead to April 22nd, when the 7th (has it really been seven years?) edition of the fest kicks off, think about the preparation that’s going on behind the scenes. And in these fairly dire economic times, consider making a donation towards this year’s fest.
With the recession hitting businesses hard, apparently some IFFBoston sponsors are cutting back on funding this year, and the fest is in danger of losing the momentum they’ve been building for so long. I can tell you from experience that the IFFB has gotten bigger and better each and every year, and I can’t be alone in wanting to see that continue.
Any amount, from $10 to 100 times that, would naturally be appreciated. However, anyone who donates $1000 or more can get a visit from IFFBoston staff, who will show up at your house and serenade you with song (either requests or surprises, and be warned — word is they specialize in ’80s music, and have had mucho practice thanks to karaoke and Rock Band). While donations can be made anytime via PayPal, this particular offer is only good through the end of this month, as things could (hopefully!) get a little too busy for the crew in March and April to be out singing for our cinematic supper.
For more information on IFFBoston fundraising, including where you could send a check, head here. Keep in mind that the fest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so all contributions are totally tax-deductible, and you’ll get a note for tax time. You can also designate your donation as a gift, and the festival folks will send along a gift card notification to your recipient.
For those who look forward to the fest as much as I do, make sure you sign up for their mailing list (where they often announce special year-round screenings they help put on), keep tabs on what they’re up to with Twitter, and befriend them on Facebook (here’s the specific event page). Stalk them, thank them, worship them.
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