ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

For 22 years, The D-Word has grown to become an essential peer-to-peer global community that creates a sense of belonging for documentary filmmakers from more than 156 countries. Particularly since the pandemic, it has become a much-needed space for the documentary community to connect with each other and reflect on the challenges of our time, both for our field and as individuals. As Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras has said of The D-Word, "It's a true lifeline for any documentary filmmaker."

In honor of our 22 years and the approaching year of 2022, we are aiming to raise $22,000 in our annual fundraising campaign.

The D-Word has never charged a fee to become a member of our community. Yet it is a goldmine of expertise, support, and community. Whether you participate regularly in our online forum or virtual F2Fs, have attended our in-person gatherings (remember those?), or pop in from time to time with a question for peers or to share what you are working on, you are part of a community that is 21,000 strong...and growing. All that we do is free to the documentary community and we want to keep it that way. However, we have very real expenses which is why we turn to our community for voluntary contributions once a year.

Your support helps us cover:

• Platform and design updates and upgrades for the online forum;
• Zoom and Otter.ai accounts for our weekly virtual F2Fs;
• A paid program manager (currently our only paid team member - the Hosts and Ambassadors are all volunteers). Our goal in 2022 is to add a paid communications manager.
• Honoraria for guest speakers at our virtual F2Fs
• ASL services when requested for our virtual F2Fs
• Outreach

Your support has made it possible for us to provide more than 50 virtual F2Fs on Zoom this past year. These included networking opportunities, work in progress critiques, and focused sessions with guest experts, including:

• Yance Ford and Judith Helfand on the art of the personal documentary
• Noland Walker, Poh Si Teng, and Jeff Seelbach giving feedback on elevator pitches
• Evan Anthony on deliverables in a streaming world
• Ryan Harrington and Christie Marchese on non-theatrical distribution
• Gwendolyn Alston and Angela Alston on impact producing
• Sean Farnel on film festival strategy
• Grace Lee, Marjan Safinia, and Juli Vizza on multi-character storytelling
• Jon Reiss on distribution and marketing
• Our members weighing in on the relationship between directors, DPs, and editors

We partnered with FWD-Doc on a session about disability and documentary, with the Double Exposure Film Festival to focus on investigative storytelling, with the Center for Media and Social Impact to discuss ethics, and with New Day Films to focus on the coop model for distribution. We hosted special topics with coverage from professional development events, including IDFA, DOC NYC, and the Double Exposure Film Festival. We also began our foray into offering member-facilitated F2Fs in other languages with a pilot session in Spanish. 

We have big plans for our F2Fs, special topics, and website improvements in 2022 and hope you will be a part of making them happen!

While we have become a resource for our members, we also take seriously our role in making a difference to our field:

• Afghanistan: When longtime D-Word member James Longley asked us to help get the word out about the plight of Afghan colleagues who had helped him make Angels Are Made of Light, our community immediately sprang into action. Our members stepped up to organize legislative impact campaigns and other activities to help fixers, interpreters, filmmakers, and families to safety.
   
• Equity: We are committed to the documentary field reckoning with inequities and prioritizing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our hosts have been working with other filmmakers on designing sessions on anti-racist allyship. Classifieds posted on our forum must be transparent about compensation since lack of transparency has historically disfavored women and people of color.    
   
• Mental health: The D-Word continues to focus on improving mental health in the documentary community. In partnership with Film In Mind, we will soon be launching a new initiative called DocuMentality that will include research, best practices toolkits, an interactive website, and events focused on normalizing the conversation around mental health in our field and working with partners to make it a priority for the field and those who entrust us with their stories.

Through our online and offline programs, The D-Word provides spaces for professional development, information sharing and relationship building, working towards greater sustainability and improved mental health for documentary professionals. We hope we can count on you to support our continued efforts in the new year. Thank you!

WAYS TO SUPPORT US

All contributions go through our fiscal sponsor (a 501c3 nonprofit) which means they may be tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

1. Make a donation by credit card. 

Note: If you are viewing this page on a computer or website, please select the yellow button that says "Support" (NOT the one at the very top that says "Donate" which is a test link for IDA).

If you are viewing this on a phone, select the button at the top that says "Donate."

2. Send a check or donor advised contribution to us via our fiscal sponsor, The IDA:

Make the check payable to International Documentary Association but note it is intended for The D-Word in the memo line. Make sure it is postmarked for the year you want it to count towards in terms of taxes. Checks may be mailed to:

The International Documentary Association
3600 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1810
Los Angeles, CA 90010

If you need IDA's letter of determination, please contact us at [email protected] and we can send that to you.

3. Make a contribution by a wire transfer or ACH: If this is your preferred method of contribution, please contact us at [email protected] and we can provide the information.