Artist Profile | Alex Cubis

Alex Cubis is an Australian actor, writer and producer who used the ACF and Fractured Atlas (USA fundraising platform) to raise funds for his campaign, ROCKETMAN. He is currently developing a film, play and TV show which will premiere on Channel 7. We talked to Alex about the nuances between fundraising in Australia compared to the United States.

Joanne Donor | Our Donor Research

In 2018, we surveyed those who had donated to the ACF from that year. The results were surprising! We’ve painted a picture of who the average donor is and her name is Joanne Donor.

Minimum viable marketing for the arts

As an artist or an arts producer, you know what it’s like to do everything on a shoestring – including tying your shoes with actual string because you know what? It gets the job done and it’s extremely affordable. But when it comes to marketing there’s a fine line between doing it on the cheap and doing your project a disservice.

How to develop a strategy and plan

It’s a question that has troubled armies, governments, moguls, arts practitioners and producers for millennia. Do I need a strategy? What kind of strategy? And while we’re on the topic, what is a strategy? While the details vary hugely depending on whether you’re planning a land war or a short film there are some constant principles you can apply.

Define your marketing budget

Easiest question ever, you might think. My marketing budget is literally zero, or as close to it as I can manage. Question answered, the problem solved. However, the truth is that you will definitely spend something on your marketing.

Finding an audience who will support your art

When you’re in the creative throes of making art, the audience is rarely topmost in your mind. Whether it’s the work itself as creation or response, the role it plays in your community or your portfolio thinking about finding an eventual audience can be equal parts intimidating and inspiring.

How to measure your marketing results

It costs time, effort and usually money so it’s essential to understand where that is going in order to assess if you should keep going with your marketing activities, iterate slightly or change tack altogether.

Building your brand online and offline

Talking about your personal brand, your branded presence, whether you’re on-brand or off, if you know your brand identity- it all starts to sound pretentious and pointless. Even worse, it sounds overtly commercial. That’s because sometime between the 80s and the 90s brands became synonymous with logos and those logos were usually big and brash.

Receiving a grant on the ACF

Many Trusts and Foundations can only issue grants to organisations with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) and Tax Concession Charity (TCC) status. Individuals cannot have these statuses, and if you are an organisation you might be in the process of setting this up, or not yet eligible. This is where the ACF can help!

Our fastest million dollars raised for arts and culture

Since July 2018, the ACF has received over $1 million in pledged donations. This has been our fastest ever one million dollars — raised in just four months. To celebrate this milestone we contacted the donor who helped us achieve this milestone and the artist they chose to donate to.