Animation Resources Needs Your Help- PLEASE SHARE
Many people, even our own members don't realize that Animation Resources and The Animation Archive are not funded by grants or large corporate sponsors. All of our operating funds come from the annual dues of our members. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the money we raise is used exclusively for our projects, and the amount of income from dues dictates what we can and can't do as an organization.
Over the past decade, we have been serving the worldwide community of animators, cartoonists and illustrators, and our membership numbers have steadily increased; but not at a rate that allows us to do everything we want to do. We've been forced to cut corners. The last time we bought a new computer was in 2004. Since then, we have been making do with equipment donated to us by members. We recently retired two Mac G5 towers from 2004 and 2005, and we currently have two iMacs and a MacMini, all of which are over seven years old. They have served us well, but the time has come to buy a current computer that is capable of taking our organization to the next level.
Board Members Davey Jarrell and David Eisman have been working on a new project to benefit our members and the general public, a live streaming initiative, but our current equipment isn't capable of filling the needs of the project. We need your help to raise the funds to purchase the necessary equipment.
Here is what we would like to do...
Before COVID, we hosted seminars and screenings in the Los Angeles area. Along with Advisory Board member, Steve Stanchfield we produced a screening at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood that was very successful. Our Animation Creative League hosted programs with guests like animator Eric Goldberg and Twilight Zone writer George Clayton Johnson. The members who attended got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from people who are at the top of their fields.
Due to the pandemic, we have been unable to host in-person gatherings; so Program Director Davey Jarrell has been conducting monthly get-togethers in Discord. These have been recorded and edited to serve as downloadable podcasts in our bi-monthly Reference Packs. Davey has produced some amazing programs... an analysis of Chuck Jones's timing techniques on the Grinch special, a panel discussion on the proper use of reference, and interviews with professionals like Joe Murray, Lenord Robinson and Craig Bartlett.
Our Discord Discussions are very popular, but they are limited to audio only. We don't have the facilities to live stream video. Davey has teamed up with David Eisman to spec out what is needed to be able to live stream video from multiple locations to audiences on YouTube and Facebook. They are also looking into recording the live streams and editing them to produce programs that can be shared in our Reference Packs and syndicated to schools and other animation organizations. This would take the wonderful programs we produce beyond just Los Angeles to the whole world. Davey and David have plans to do virtual screenings of rare films from our collection, seminars on storyboarding and acting, profiles of great artists along with original artwork, and informal virtual get togethers where artists could come together and socialize and share information.
As I said before, our most recent computer is over seven years old. It just isn't capable of doing what we need to do. In addition, we need sound equipment, cameras and lighting. We've gone as far as we can with the money we have, but it isn't enough to get this project started. We've allocated all of our current funds to the project and we have come up short of the figure we need to get the live streams rolling. We will need more money down the road for this live streaming initiative to reach its full potential, but right now we need at least $2,500 to get it started. In the past, as the President of the organization, I've reached into my own pocket to help fill Animation Resources' funding shortfalls, but right now, I'm afraid I'm not able to do that.
We could do a Kickstarter or GoFundMe campaign, but those are a lot of work, and with our small group of volunteers, a project like that would inevitably take resources away from our important job of curating and producing content of interest to artists. We have decided to turn to our members and social media followers for help.
Here is what we are asking...
We would like 25 of our supporters to donate $100 apiece. That wouldn't be a burden on anyone, and it would get us started. In return, for every $100 donation, we will give you a discount code for a free one year membership in Animation Resources that you can give to a friend or colleague. More members mean a more solid financial footing for our organization. We're confident that once people see what we are doing, they will want to sign up to be ongoing annual members. If you don't have anyone you would like to gift a membership to, let us know and we will use the credit to sponsor two students in our Adopt A Student program.
If we reach our goal, we will do two things... We will increase the number of rerun Reference Packs from one every four months to one every two months. This means that members will be able to download a Reference Pack every month. We will record many of our programs live, and the live stream will be open to the public. After the stream is over, we will format it and edit it and put it in the Reference Pack, so members can download them and save them forever.
If you can't afford $100, please donate what you can. If you've been thinking about signing up for a membership and haven't gotten around to it yet, this is the time to join. If you have no money at all right now, share Animation Resources with your friends and encourage them to join. Print out our brochure (see below) and give it to people you think would benefit from what we have to offer.) We don't just want donations... we want new members to share our treasures with. Members are even more important than money.
You can donate right now using this PayPal link... https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=27R8BBRKT66VA
Or you can pay on Facebook, here... https://www.facebook.com/donate/4678643948901838/
After you have donated, drop us an email at [email protected] and let us know where to send the discount code for a free membership.
Raising the bar with our live streaming initiative will make things better for the whole art form. Don't stay on the sidelines. Be a part of Animation Resources and join our team to build the foundation for the future of animation.
Here is a link to our membership brochure. If Animation Resources is important to you, please print this out and share it with your friends. https://animationresources.org/arbrochure2022.pdf
