Donating…. For the RIGHT reasons!

I rarely donate now.

"They Always come in Threes"
Available at the Leesburg Center for the Arts
Wine Pairings Dinner Aug. 8th

 
I was constantly being asked for a piece of my work to charitable auctions. I was promised “You will get great exposure, this is your audience! “There will be an affluent audience with discretionary income that appreciate and buy art”. I would donate, then quietly sit back and pat myself on the back thinking I was a good person for giving to a worthy cause, I got a little niche marketing done and an added perk was the income tax deduct.

That is the fairy tale version of artists donating their work. The reality is often times your name as the contributing artist is not noted or publicized, the buyers are looking to get a great deal, not pay retail and the galleries that represented me were never happy about that, some of them even began including participating in charitable auctions as part of their exclusivity contracts. Finally it came as a shock when I learned that IRS tax codes only allowed me to deduct the cost of my materials to create the piece as a deduction, instead of the finished value of the art. It did not take me long to learn that donating my art did not benefit me.

AND THAT WAS THE PROBLEM! I was looking for how the donation would benefit me, not giving because it was a cause I believed in or had any passion for.

Now if you may see a piece of my work at a charitable auction I want you to understand that it is a cause I am absolutely passionate about!  That the donation is from my heart, I am not receiving any financial or marketing benefit.

I hope you will join with me in my passion for the cause, bid high and often knowing that the money raised is going to a cause I love and support dearly!

And I hope you get it for a great price!

"Something to Talk About" Bonnie Raitt