Not-So-Grand Prize for CultureGrrl’s 100th Donor
Are Art Fag City‘s fans more devoted than CultureGrrl‘s?
Paddy Johnson, author of that art blog, today launched her annual donor drive that seeks to raise at least $8,000 in two weeks!
Art-lings, since I started rattling my tin cup for handouts last February, I’ve netted about half that. Something’s better than nothing, and I’ve also received a modicum of advertising income, some paid speaking and broadcast engagements and new article assignments as a direct result of the blog. Still, I’ve been doing this mostly for the love of it, not the money.
Last year, Paddy raked in more than $7,600 in seven business days. Granted, her blog is officially nonprofit, so contributions to AFC are tax-deductible. [CORRECTION: Paddy tells me that her blog itself does not have official nonprofit status: She says that AFC’s fund drive is sponsored by a nonprofit, which collects the money on her behalf, making those contributions tax-deductible.] As a one-woman show, CultureGrrl is not likely to be eligible for nonprofit status (which I haven’t sought). And as you all know, my commentary leans more towards the uncharitable than the charitable. What’s my “public purpose”—public nuisance?
As I serenely prepare to light all nine candles tonight for the last day of the Festival of Lights, my warmest thanks go out to CultureGrrl Hanukkah Donors 96 and 97 and CultureGrrl Repeat Donor 98. There’s still time for you to help me celebrate this holiday. And as I’ve already mentioned, this is an ecumenical blog (although I haven’t yet figured out how to change the colors on my “Donate” button, in the middle column, to red and green).
My 100th donor gets everyone’s holiday must-have, pictured above—an autographed copy of my completely outdated The Complete Guide to Collecting Art (Knopf, 1982)—definitely no one’s idea of a collector’s item! It does have a clever enough cover, though, by the late Fred Marcellino—the reverse side of a painting, with the book’s title on the affixed label. The same artist also did the original cover for Tom Wolfe‘s novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, making Fred an appropriate choice for a tome about art collecting!
Can I tie Paddy’s take by the end of this year? Not a chance, even with my 10-month headstart. What about my goal for a 2009 total of 100 CultureGrrl Donors by the end of this holiday season?
Now that DOES seem doable!