Art and Creativity for Charity — The Value (or not?) of Creating for Altruistic Purposes

My wife and I recently went to a conference and retreat of a non-profit organization we are part of.

In connection with that, there was a two-day meeting of the Board of Directors of the non-profit and — after some discussion — we decided it would be a nice touch/gesture if I were to paint some (small, I grant you) examples of my handpainted stones as "giveaways" to everyone attending the board meeting.

A group shot of some of the stones made for this occasion

Promotional Tool — or Waste of Valuable Time?

One of the questions/issues artists and creatives often face is that of whether or not things offered "pro-bono" actually have value," beyond merely being a gesture that is appreciated, and that makes us feel good about doing the "right thing."

In this case, I spent quite a few hours on the creative process... with no real expectation of a "return" — aside from the creation of goodwill and "getting my name out there."

Does that have value?

Time will tell, I suppose... I did manage to create a special information insert, which pointed people to my art web site, and to my fundraising Patreon account.

Donation as a memento for conference attendees

Additional "Free" Creativity...

Of course, the "doing stuff for free" didn't stop there.

My wife was in charge of setting up a quiet space for the conference, which was to be used as a "Reflection Sanctuary" for people to have a moment of quiet during an otherwise very busy and packed events schedule.

We decided that I create an additional 40 (small) pieces to be put in a basket the Sanctuary, with a discreet sign saying the stones were free for the taking — as a remembrance of the event — but that a suggested donation of $5-10 would be appreciated, to be left on the "honors system."

In the end, every single one of those stones was distributed to attendees, and there was $169.00 in the basket at the end of the event.

Again, disregarding the money for a moment... there was "good will" and "name recognition" created, but whether any actually long term benefits will result remains to be seen.

A bit of a concession to "commercial cute," but people really loved them!*

Artists... and Silent Auctions at Events

Last, but not least, I decided to donate an item — a matching set of "Chakra Stones." to the event's charity silent auction.

Again, created some goodwill... and I was happy to see that the item actually got bids very close to the actual retail value of the item. That was certainly a plus.

Artists often get asked to donate items to charitable events... the ultimate question of whether this actually represents a promotional opportunity... or is it simply *"a donation."

In the end, my contribution amounted to about $700.00 in saleable merchandise, and we walked away with an unspecified amount of "goodwill and name recognition," as well as $169.00 to help cover our cost of going.

Worth it? Or not?

Only time will tell... and I am choosing to view the experience as "doing good," as well as just a small piece of a greater promotional and awareness campaign for my work.

Thanks for reading!

2019.10.22 AS-TXT-022