DONOR IMPACT MODEL

Because much of our film is being funded by the generous support of philanthropy, we will be setting aside an equity pool so that if our film makes a profit, the donations that supported it will also help fund an impact campaign for the film.

HOW IT WORKS:

  1. Donations made through our film’s fiscal sponsor are tax-deductible.

  2. The portion of our film’s $3.4M total budget raised by philanthropy during our $1.6M film-finishing round will create a Donor Impact Pool. This pool converts to “impact equity,” which means that if the film generates net profits, a matching share of those profits (up to a 25% cap) will be set aside to fund an impact campaign (in partnership with MAPS) to bring the finished film to underserved communities, raise awareness, and spark critical conversations.

  3. Donors do not receive any personal financial return; instead, if the film does well financially, their support ensures that a meaningful share of any profits will contribute toward additional impact.

Impact Profit Waterfall

Any profits from the film would follow a standard documentary “waterfall,” with net profits split 50% to creative and 50% to financiers. The Donor Impact Pool participates only on the financiers’ side and is capped at a 25% return on the amount donated.

Sample Waterfall:

  • If the finished film costs $3.3M and

  • $1.58M of that budget is raised through this Donor Impact Pool (about 48% of the total budget),

Then the Donor Impact Pool would receive 24% of any net profits (48% of the financiers’ 50% share), up to 1.25x the donated amount, after repaying costs.

So, in this example, if the film generates enough profit after first repaying the $1.72M of the budget generated outside this fund, then up to $1,975,000 could be generated and directed to an impact campaign (the original $1.58M in donations + $395K, a 25% return).

In this way, donors can help fund the film, and also have additional impact if the film generates a profit.

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