NYWIFT Masterclass: Creative Strategies for Financing

Join this Fall’s Masterclass Series: Creative Strategies for Financing with Emmy-nominated Impact Producer Simone Pero.

You have a great project in-the-making yet the financing options and the state of the industry seem overwhelming. Whether this is your first film or twentieth and you find yourself asking:

“How will I close my budget gap?”
“Where can I find new funding sources?”
“I have a strong vision and plan for my project, but where do I go from here to get the financing off the ground?”

This three-part masterclass will offer you new insights and approaches to the fundraising process. We will explore how to effectively plan your path forward from a holistic, strategic point of view to the practical development of a targeted finance plan. Participants will walk away from this course with renewed inspiration and a step-by-step roadmap to follow in building presentation materials, identifying funders, and creating a sustainable tribe that will support you, project after project. The class is geared toward narrative or documentary films, but also can be applied to any type of artist and creative project. Assignments will be given so that students will have an opportunity to receive personalized feedback in the final session.

Price: $25 for Members* / $45 for Non-Members

Price includes admission for all sessions. (All the sessions will be recorded and sent out after to all registrants.)
*Executive, Platinum, and Leadership Circle members attend for free. Contact membership@nywift.org to join or upgrade your membership. 

Register

Session 1 – Creative Strategies for Financing

Date: Wednesday, October 30th
Time: 6:30pm-8pm ET

Session 1 will focus on designing your financing strategy, with a look at out-of-the box financing options from philanthropy to sponsorships to crowdfunding. This session will also cover the key elements of a successful financing plan and how to supercharge your fundraising pitches. Class exercises will guide you in articulating that specific connection for the funder to your project and to answer the burning question, “why should they meet with you?” This session will provide a one sheet fundraising pitch template.

Session 2 – Building An Ecosystem for Your Project

Date: Wednesday, November 6th
Time: 6:30pm-8pm ET

This session is about rolling up your sleeves and diving into identifying your ecosystem of supporters. You will work on pinpointing your audiences and spheres of influence to unearth the best funding sources for your project. This session will give you game-changing new insight into creating a contextual match between you and prospective funders. Case studies will be provided for inspiration.

Session 3 – Connecting the dots. Putting your plan to work

Date: Wednesday, November 13th
Time: 6:30pm-8pm ET

Connecting the dots from sessions 1 & 2 and putting your finance strategy into action is the name of the game for Session Three. You will be guided through real-life scenarios and role play exercises to provide the muscle memory for writing that pitch email, presenting your project on a Zoom, picking up the phone or meeting a prospective funder at an event. You will receive practical, firsthand tips on what to do, and not to do. This session will include a speed round of personalized feedback for class attendees.

About the Instructor:

“An artist’s creativity isn’t only to be seen on the screen, on the page, or on the stage. Helping creators think, design, plan and execute outside the traditional-financing-box is my superpower and passion! Let’s elevate your approach together to make your mark on the world… creatively, commercially, and with lasting impact.” – Simone Pero

Emmy-nominated producer Simone Pero is founder of For Impact Productions, a sought-after purpose-driven impact company focused on the arts and storytelling in all its forms. Pero’s portfolio includes the soon-to-be released movie LILLY starring Patricia Clarkson about fair pay icon Lilly Ledbetter, and THE TALE starring Laura Dern which was nominated for 25 awards including two Emmy’s and a Golden Globe, distributed worldwide by HBO Films. Pero is executive producer on the acclaimed New York Times Critic Pick documentary THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING with Geena Davis which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won a Gracie Award. She is also a co-executive producer on Yvonne Russo’s forthcoming documentary VIVA VERDI! and associate producer on Russo’s Disney Onyx doc-series about Annie Mae Aquash.

Named by Cynopsis Media as a Top Woman in Media in Community Building, Pero is an active leader in the media and entertainment industry, serving on the President’s Council of New York Women in Film & Television and as the organization’s former Board President. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Television Academy, and the Global Impact Producers Alliance. Pero is on faculty at the Stony Brook University Killer Films MFA in Film program and serves on the Center for Media and Social Impact Documentary Power Research Institute’s Advisory Group. She is a former corporate executive at MTV and Rainbow Media/Cablevision (now AMC Networks), and launched her career at the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau and on the Clinton/Gore ’96 advance team.