This week we have some really exciting news about The Elements of Mutual Aid. Yesterday, March 20, we launched our post-production fundraiser, and we’re already awestruck by the amount of generosity and support folks have offered. In just 24 hours, we’ve already reached 26% of our goal.
A lot of folks donating and encouraging their friends to donate are people we’re close with and who are familiar with this project, its vision, and how we’ve gone about filming it. Your support means so much to us personally; it’s really precious and humbling to see the folks that we love being in love with this project.
A number of contributors are also folks we’ve never met who are just finding out about this project. We’re really grateful for the trust they’re extending to this project. Your support tells us we’re on the right track as we work to communicate what this project is about and why it’s important to bring to life.
We know how hard many folks are working to survive and afford rent under capitalism. We know there are a lot of other projects and efforts that also need financial support. So we take receiving these funds very seriously and are fully dedicating ourselves to bringing life to a project that can serve the larger movement; this series aims to be a tool that opens pathways toward the worlds we’re building together.
In this fundraiser, we’re hoping to raise at least $20,000. The funds will allow us to finish our last couple months of filming and spend the rest of the year focused on editing. Our goal is to get this series edited and released as soon as we can so that it can be iterated on and remain relevant to the conditions it was filmed in. If we exceed our goal, we’ll be putting extra funds toward animating parts of the series.
We’re fundraising through the Seed & Spark platform, where we’re required to reach at least 80% of our goal ($16K) to receive our donations. Most successful campaigns gather at least 20% of their goal in the first week. By those metrics, we’re well ahead of schedule. We’ve also already made it onto Seed & Spark’s list of Highly Anticipated projects.
If you haven’t already, take a peak at the fundraiser. You can check out the trailer we put together to show off a little of our work and vision. And you can also scroll through the different incentives we’re offering for contributors.
Best of all, this fundraiser is premiering a limited-run t-shirt design made in collaboration with JustSeeds artist andrea ene. Shirts are just $40. For major contributors donating $1,000+, we offering a limited-run, hand-printed poster of this design as well.
We’ll keep sharing updates as our fundraiser progresses. In the meantime, if you can help us get this project onto your friends, comrades, and networks’ radar, it’s a really impactful way to support the project in both the short- and long-run. Share our content and website. We’re also offering production credits in exchange for contributions by businesses/collectives/groups whose values closely align with ours. If you know of any of those who might be interested in supporting this effort, let us know.
Lastly, if folks have suggestions or feedback for the series, our fundraiser, or our approach, please feel free to get in touch with us. We’re just two people and value other people’s input and perspective on this project.