How to Throw a Film Funding Party That Raises Real Money with Carole Joyce

Carole Dean interviews her daughter, Carole Joyce — a two-time Telly Award–winning producer and Vice President of From The Heart Productions. With decades of experience helping filmmakers develop, finance, and promote independent films, Carole Joyce has guided countless projects from idea to screen and has become a respected mentor within the independent film community.

Together, they explore how filmmakers can create intimate, inspiring fundraising events that not only raise money, but also build relationships, generate momentum, attract new supporters, and help bring important stories to life.

Join our new educational platform From the Heart THRIVE and get free classes on film funding: https://fromtheheartproductions.thrivecart.com/from-the-heart-thrive/

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Stay with us because what you're about to hear is one of the most effective grassroots film funding strategies for independent filmmakers like you.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

So glad you joined us on the Art of Film Funding podcast here at From the Heart Productions. I'm Claire Papan, co-producer, alongside Carol Dean, writer, producer, and president of From the Heart Productions, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers through fiscal sponsorship, mentorship, and five film grants awarded each year to filmmakers creating meaningful stories that matter. Today we're talking about one of the most powerful and often overlooked tools for financing independent films, hosting successful film funding parties. If you've ever wondered how filmmakers raise money outside the traditional system, how they build a community around their work, or how personal connections can turn into real financial support for a film, this episode is for you. Carol Dean interviews her daughter, Carol Joyce, a two-time Tele Award-winning producer and vice president of From the Heart Productions. With decades of experience helping filmmakers develop, finance, and promote independent films, Carol Joyce has guided countless projects from idea to screen and has become a respected mentor within the independent film community. Together they explore how filmmakers can create intimate, inspiring film fundraising events that not only raise money, but also build relationships, generate momentum, attract new supporters, and bring important stories to life. And Carol Dean, I know you love funding parties. So let's get started.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Thank you, Claire. Yes, I'm interviewing Carol Joyce today to give us her experience because she's been to many fundraising parties, help them get their money, and it's a lot of fun. So we need to get into the details about these parties because the money is in the details. So thanks for joining us, Carol Joyce.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Well, my motto is put the fun back into film funding. And the best way to do that is to throw a party. Because I love parties and you can have fun and make money too.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

So tell us about fundraising parties.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Well, I've seen many filmmakers use this funding party to help raise cash for their film. You also help to build a larger audience, and there are also many other benefits. First, you're expanding your audience and you're personally meeting people and having a heartfelt connection with people that will stay with you until your film is completed and distributed. Parties create an opportunity for you as a filmmaker to get close to your donors. You want the people from the party sharing on their social networks that they donate to your film and drive them to your website and your social media to join your community. As to the funding party concept, filmmakers have taken something that has always worked in the political world and now they make it work in the world for film. They use fundraising house parties to raise money for their film. And what I love about this is that the money you raise can be donated to you through your fiscal sponsor, and you do not have to pay it back. Donors can also get a tax deduction through their fiscal sponsor, and you get to keep the money. At the same time, you're meeting people, building relationships, spreading the word about your film to people who can continue to contribute long after that night. This is not the only way to raise money, but it's one of the most powerful tools you can include in your fundraising plan.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

So tell us what you're going to achieve with this funding house party.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Well, this is what a house party really does: it raises money, it builds awareness, creates community, creates long-lasting relationships, and it also brings in new donors. A house party works on several levels at once. Yes, you're raising money, but you're also introducing your film to people that have never heard about before. You're giving them a chance to connect with your story, with you, with your purpose behind the film. You're expanding your circle, you're bringing in new donors, and you're giving people a reason to talk about your project and share it with others. This is how momentum begins. You're adding new donors, and they can donate and post on their social media and help you in many ways.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

So tell me how this works. You find someone to open their home to you?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Yes. The foundation of a successful house funding party is the host. Now, this host, they must love you. The host must love the film. The host must commit financially, and they must invite their network. Everything begins with the host. This is the most important decision you make in the process. The connection with you and the host has to be real. And anything else, and before anything else happens, they must make a commitment to the film by donating to your film because later they're going to stand up in front of their friends and say, I've donated to this film, or I'm writing a check right now, tonight, for this film. This changes the energy in the room. Then that's their network. They also have to open up to their address book and invite all their friends personally. This is what drives the party. It's social as a group of friends that are friends of the host or hostess, and these people also support the host. She finds two more people to help her with the night, right? To help organize, um, mingle, make sure nobody stands alone and keeps the momentum of the energy going. Um, and those two people also have to invite their friends so they can donate and help at the party. This is an important part to create trust and likability of the filmmaker. It's building the community for the event. Now, what the host provides is a guest list, a public endorsement, you know, of everybody at the event or on social media, and also they must donate to your project. The host is doing very important things all at once. They are inviting their friends, people that trust them, they are opening up their home. And the last part that matters the most is that it's a personal space, it's a special space that most people don't get into. People love to go to homes that they don't ever get a chance to go into. This is a special part of the event. Guests are being invited into this new kind of experience. It feels more intimate, it feels more meaningful. Some people come simply because they're curious about the home. And once they're there, they're a part of the event. All of that starts the contributions to the film at the event. And I just want to personally say, you know, living in Hollywood, everybody wants to go into those Hollywood homes. They want to get into these Beverly Hills homes, they want to get into the houses in Hollywood Hills because that is where the magic happens. So that's um very enticing for people to be able to go into a special home. Now, what else the host must also do? Um, you must get a commitment from the host to offer the food and the drinks. And if they don't, you need to take it on. But it's worth it to get the host to give you their house, invite their friends, um, personally help with the invitation, and also the follow-up calls to make sure that they um people come to the event. So they have to smile and dial before the event and after the event. Okay, so beyond this core responsibility, um the host may choose to do more. They may send out the invitations themselves or send out the emails themselves or make some phone calls themselves. And ideally, they may also help with the follow-up calls after the event. But if you don't want to ask them to do that, you can take on that role and handle that yourself. But the more involved the host is, the stronger the event tends to be.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Well, explain what the host committee does.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Okay. Uh the host committee is one of the most powerful additions to the process. This is a small group of people who support the host and the event. They may help with the decorations, the food, the invitations, the follow-up. And because each of them contributes financially, you're raising more money before the party even starts. This is one of the things that helps make house party so effective. And you will raise money before the party even starts. Now, I have to say that um when I'm mentoring people to do a house party, I really make sure that they have at least 10 people on the host committee because each 10 people can probably bring um 10 more people that are like-minded uh people that you would like that are on the same vibe. I was always asked to be on the host committee and bring 10 of my favorite friends because people always loved me and they knew that I would bring the same type of people that would really resonate to my project or their project or it or just the right kind of crowd. So the money comes before the party. So um before the party even happens, you already have money coming in. The host contributes, the committee contributes, the invitations go out, and there's something that surprises a lot of people. 60 to seven of the people you invite will not attend because some of them will just send money. Why? Because you're giving them the opportunity. You include a card or a message in your invite that says, I'm sorry, I can't come, but here's my donations. A lot of people respond to you with that, either checks or credit cards before the party. There are even cases when donations continue to come in for months after the party because people take time to decide or gather the funds they want to give. Often by the time your event begins, you may already have some momentum. A lot of people they calculate how much it's gonna take for them to get to the party, right? They think, well, it's $100 to get my clothes royal clean, gas, hair, and makeup. I'll just send them $200. It's easier for me because they know that when they're gonna get there, they're also gonna be donating. So expect donations before the event. Now, the importance of the details are if you miss one detail, you could lose money. So every detail matters. The most important factor is having the right people in the room, not just a large group, but people who have the ability to give money to your film, are open to supporting a film funding campaign and people who trust the person who's invited them. That's why you choose a very good host committee, and the host committee ensures that that will happen. This is not accidental, it's intentional. You want a group of people who are there to meet you, learn about your film, who have the money, and to share and to donate. Getting a tax donation is important.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

So the host committee donates to the party too, right? Yes. Everyone on the host committee has to donate because they need to mingle and tell people I support this filmmaker, I have donated. So that creates a whole power structure in the room that the person with the home and her committee have all donated. This is a really powerful way because then you feel comfortable. And it's uh then it's not a decision, do I? It's how much is becomes the question. Now, tell us the outline of the party. So, how do you structure the event?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Well, first of all, remember this is your production, so they're gonna judge you on how this event goes and how you produce it. You know, you really want to make sure that you really map out your event. Okay, the host speaks first, then you speak, then you play the trailer, and then you have questions and answers to follow. And then somebody makes the ask for the donation. Now let's just start this again. The party structure, the party self follows a very clear structure. Okay, so let's start again. The host speaks first, then you talk about you, the filmmaker, who you are, and why they trust you and why are they supporting your film? And that's where you bring the passion to the film. Get everybody excited. That's important because people give money to people. This is what all the work is about: getting you on stage, you, the filmmaker. It's time for you to share. You don't ask for money at this stage, you just tell your story, tell your passion, tell your purpose. You explain why you're making this film, what it means, what it can do, and then you share at least three benefits of the film. Then you show your trailer, and after that, you open up for questions. Consider having somebody in the group ask you a question or two, just to break the ice so other people open up and ask questions. We want to make sure they're good questions that moves the project forward. You may want to have people ask about your trailer, how you made it. People have no idea how much you spent on that trailer. You probably spent $10,000 to $20,000 and six months of your life creating that trailer. So you need to share that with the audience and um have your people that are asking the questions help to let the other people in the room know how hard you worked on that trailer and how important this project is for you. Then you share your intention for distribution. Are you intending to bring this to PBS? Where are you gonna show this? Are you doing community screenings? Tell us when and where the audience will see the finished film. Your presentation needs to answer the key questions that people have. Why are you making this film? What is it uncovering or addressing? Where will it be seen? What impact can it have? Benefits, and what do they receive? So you want to offer things. You may offer credits on the film. Um, you can say for $200, you'll be unlisted on a card with 30 people, or you can say your $500 donation will be listed with a big thank you with just five other people or $1,000, an associate producer. Keep going with higher amounts and more credits recognition. People love to be a part of the filmmaking community. Some filmmakers offer things like experiences or facials or weekend getaways or wine, or they get on the phone and they find, you know, donors in the area that can also give fun things that you can also give away for donations. People enjoy supporting you and they appreciate receiving something in return.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

So you would get on the phone and find wine companies or beauty uh parlors that have facials that you could give that. Because what I've seen at these parties is that uh the guys want to say, well, let's donate. And the wives say, wait, I want to see what's in it for me. What have they got? And so giving the women a goodie for a certain dollar donation can also help bring in more money.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Yes, I had a filmmaker uh had an event, they had necklaces, they had photos, they had art, and everybody was going around the room saying, Oh, give a donation because I want that necklace, right? So you set up a nice table with all these great uh you know gifts that people receive for donations, and trust me, people will walk out of that event with the gift and give you a donation. So let's talk about um what you want to make the story stick. Your story needs to be something people can remember because some will leave before the donating part of the project happens. So we need them to remember your story. So what you want to say to the audience has to stick with them. Here are some of the components of a sticky story that are that I recommend. What you should say is something emotional. You need to touch my heart and I will open my pocketpick. You need something concrete. People love statistics. 51% of the blah blah blah uh know this. That helps. Also, something credible. A statement from a doctor or a lawyer or a politician works. Something shocking. Wake them up with something shocking about your phone. You're not just speaking to the room, you're giving them something they can repeat later.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yes, because uh as a nonprofit sponsor, uh we want to have really good parties. So that's why we give guidance and consultations to help you. Once you understand what a party is, you can call either one of us and we'll go over what your benefits could be to give them, what the benefits of your film are to share with them. So you must have seen some wonderful things happen at filming parties. So tell us one story of a party.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Okay, we did a film funding party at Jane Seymour's house. She opened it up, it was beautiful, it was a Malibu. Her house is on the side of a mountain, so the whole mountain was an organic garden. So she had um cooks there chopping up the food fresh from the garden and serving it to everybody that was there. And it was such a beautiful experience with you know the ambiance, and everybody wanted to go to James Seymour's house. And then the fundraising started. Jane Seymour got up and she was the host, and she said, I have donated to this project, it's very important to my heart, and I'm gonna even donate more. So she had a piece of handmade. art that she had that she had created and she stood up with her art and she says I'm gonna give this piece of art for a $5,000 donation. Who wants to donate? And somebody raised their hand and said, I will give the $5,000. And so the person walked up, they took the art, they took their photo and it was a very momentous moment. And that just started the whole fundraising ripple effect where everybody started donating. Everybody wanted their picture taken with Jane Seymour. It was a successful event.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Okay. Wow that sounds like fun. So just get back. I just want to cover who speaks first. So it's the hostess uh who talks first. She talks about who you are and how beneficial your film is. Then she turns it over to you the filmmaker. You play your trailer and then you have Shills ask you questions. You answer those open up to the room. This is where the filmmaker shines and then another person comes on and they make the ask because it's not you. You should never be making the ask at the party. It's someone let's say from the host committee or someone that's a friend of yours who has uh love and support for you and they get up on the dais and speak and say I've donated to this film. I've known her for 20 years and I've watched her grow as a filmmaker. People will then respect that much more. That's when the money comes in. So now let's get back. So with Jane Seymour she got the 5,000 and and then everything was wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

So um yeah you all you also need to have uh your host committee kind of walking around the room and kind of marking up okay that person donated that person donated and then they can also tell you like see that one over there they haven't donated yet so you can kind of target everybody in the room a little bit before they leave as well.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

And then afterward those people who did not donate this is where the host committee uh calls them or you can call them the thing to say is uh you you were at the party did you like the filmmaker and they're gonna say yes well I really enjoyed the event I love the filmmaker I I like her film but you didn't donate is there a reason oh yes because I had to talk to my husband and he's been out of town but I'm working on that. So you would get them to make a decision. That's what the call is about because usually some people have to go home and ask their partner brother mother other significant person in their life to get an approval. So that second call after the event can bring in money. So um tell us about the planning Carol.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Well first of all the trailer is your best asset for filmmaking so let's make sure that you have the trailer done correctly your trailer should create an emotional connection also be visual proof that you can make a film and these things drive the grip the giving the trailer is one of the most powerful parts of the night this is where people feel the film the emotional connection is what leads them to giving it's not just about showing the film it's about making people feel it brings trust to your audience after the trailer you take questions this is where you really connect you learn what resonated with the people you hear what stood out you listen and because sometimes they will show you something new about your film another angle another audience and this is where the trust deepens I can tell you parties without this interaction do not do well financially make sure you have all these things involved okay so the filmmaker does not ask for the money tell us about that um no the filmmaker does not ask for the money somebody has donated support supported the film they make the ask now comes the moment when somebody makes an ask for a donation you need to be clear and direct and when you ask and you're finished asking you stop talking I call it drop the mic you need to give time to decide after the party you follow up your host or or one of the communities committee calls the attending they may say something like thank you for coming to the party do you like the filmmaker we have noticed that you didn't donate is there a reason most people say I had to talk to my husband partner etc and now I know I can donate and I will send a choke a check or a wire and you tell her where and how to mail it some people need more time some people need approval some people need a reminder about 30% of your money can come from this stage and some people may be looking at doing a larger donation rather than a Zell or a wire from their phone at the end of the party ask if somebody would like to host another one people are feeling good they're connected they're engaged they've had a great time that's the moment to ask this is how the process works great so I think that you need to allow 60 days to plan and to prep this allows you time to organize everything properly from the host to the guest to the list to the invitation and to the details this isn't something you rush and I really encourage people to get everything donated do not spend any of your own money throwing this party a good producer does not use their own money they convince people to help them and if you start off having a house party without any expense as pure profit from there. A successful house party raises money before during and after the event it builds relationships expands your network and creates momentum and when it does right it works.

SPEAKER_02 28:59

Wow thank you so much Carol Joyce no wonder filmmakers love to work with you you're totally dedicated to supporting and nurturing filmmakers and thank you for being with us today and from the Hard Productions Carol Joyce and I truly believe filmmakers have the power to change hearts open minds and bring healing and understanding into the world through story. Never give up on your film. There are people who want to support meaningful work and sometimes all they need is the opportunity to meet you hear your passion and understand why your story matters. So every year we proudly award five grants to independent filmmakers and we provide support fiscal sponsorship and mentoring to filmmakers around the world and Carol Joyce gives her own storytelling awards on top of the Roy Dean Awards. So we invite you to visit us at From theheartproductions.com check out our Thrive account where we created many free classes on film funding just for you. You can explore our grants our resources our classes and become part of a community built to support storytellers from the heart so keep making your film because you are the magic Hollywood need you thanks for listening and we'll be back next week