Join From the Heart Productions’ fiscal sponsorship program for powerful fundraising tools, tax-deductible giving, and personal support for your film.
Bring your story, your audience, and your fundraising goals together with BetterWorld, available through From the Heart Productions’ fiscal sponsorship program.
Create a campaign page that introduces your film, shows why it matters, and invites people to help you make it.
Accept donations online, build relationships with supporters, and explore fundraising opportunities beyond a single crowdfunding campaign.
Through From the Heart Productions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, eligible contributions to your sponsored film are tax-deductible. You also receive filmmaking education and personal guidance to help you put your fundraising plans into action.
Benefits of BetterWorld for Independent Filmmakers
- Create a Compelling Film Fundraising Page – Give supporters a place to discover your film and contribute. Add your story, images, trailer, team information, and fundraising goals. Explain where you are in the filmmaking process, what you need next, and how their donations will help move your project forward.
- Make Giving Easy – Let supporters donate from their phone, tablet, or computer through a mobile-friendly donation page. Available payment options include credit and debit cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfers, and donor-advised funds, depending on your campaign type and enabled settings. Familiar payment choices make contributing convenient.
- Offer Tax-Deductible Giving – Through From the Heart Productions’ fiscal sponsorship, eligible donations to your approved film project are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. BetterWorld automatically sends donation receipts, giving supporters a record of their contribution and saving you administrative time. Contributions involving goods or services may have a reduced deductible amount.
- Let Supporters Fundraise for You – Give cast, crew, friends, and community partners a way to help beyond making their own donation. Peer-to-peer fundraising allows them to create personal pages connected to your campaign, explain why your film matters to them, and invite their networks to contribute. Their introductions can bring your project to people you might not otherwise reach.
- Build Support with Recurring Gifts – Invite supporters to make regular contributions rather than a single donation. Someone who cannot give a larger amount today may welcome the opportunity to contribute a smaller amount each month. Gifts are processed automatically, helping you build ongoing support while you keep donors connected with updates.
- Show What Donations Can Accomplish – Connect giving opportunities with specific filmmaking needs. BetterWorld’s impact-giving tools let you highlight expenses such as an interview shoot, archival licensing, captions, or sound mixing. Donors can see the practical work they are helping support and understand how it contributes to your film’s progress.
- Accept Donations on Your Website – Add a BetterWorld donation form to your film’s website so visitors can contribute without leaving it. Place the form near your trailer, project story, or fundraising appeal to give interested visitors a clear next step. You can also share your fundraising page through email and social media.
- Host Fundraising Events – Bring supporters together for a benefit screening, filmmaker conversation, work-in-progress presentation, or special gathering. BetterWorld’s event tools help you create an event page, sell tickets, collect attendee information, and manage check-in. Coordinate with From the Heart to plan an event that fits your project and fiscal sponsorship.
- Raise Funds Through Auctions – Invite businesses, artists, and supporters to donate items or experiences that can help fund your film. BetterWorld provides tools for online and live auctions, including item listings, bidding, and checkout. Donated artwork, private lessons, or restaurant experiences give people another way to participate.
- Design Campaign Images with Canva – Create campaign artwork using your film’s photographs, colors, logo, and title treatment through BetterWorld’s Canva integration. Design a banner that connects visually with your poster, website, and social posts. Canva lets you customize text within your images; your campaign’s written description is edited separately in BetterWorld.
- Stay Connected with Donors – Access your project’s donation records and available supporter information so you can recognize contributions and follow up personally. Send thank-yous, share production milestones, and invite supporters to screenings. These conversations help people stay involved in your film beyond their first gift.
- Track Your Progress in One Place – Review fundraising activity across the campaigns, events, and auctions you manage through BetterWorld’s dashboard. Monitor incoming contributions and progress toward your goals. Having this information together helps you assess your outreach and decide where to focus your next fundraising efforts.
- Invite Donors to Help Cover Costs – Give supporters the option to contribute toward applicable transaction costs when they donate. When they choose to cover those costs, more of their intended gift remains available for your project. From the Heart can explain how the donation prompt and fee coverage work within our fiscal sponsorship program.
A Fundraising Platform Backed by People Who Know Independent Film
A campaign page gives people a place to donate. A fundraising plan helps you decide whom to reach, what to say, and how to keep going.
From the Heart Productions brings those pieces together.
Since our founding in 1993, we’ve helped filmmakers raise over $50 million dollars for their projects.
Our fiscal sponsorship program supports documentary films, narrative features, shorts, web series, and other media projects. Along with access to BetterWorld, filmmakers receive benefits that include:
- Personal guidance on developing a fundraising strategy.
- Film Funding Guidance classes.
- Monthly pitching classes.
- Feedback on trailers, marketing materials, and grant proposals.
- Access to grant opportunities that require a nonprofit fiscal sponsor.
You bring the knowledge and passion for your film. We help you prepare to share it with the people who may support it.
How to Start Fundraising with BetterWorld
1. Join Our Fiscal Sponsorship Program
Explore From the Heart Productions’ benefits, eligibility requirements, and fees, then submit your project for consideration. Learn More and Apply
2. Request Your BetterWorld Invitation
Once your project is accepted, email with your name, film title, email address, and a brief project description. Ask for your invitation to create a BetterWorld fundraising page through From the Heart Productions.
3. Wait for Your Official Invitation
Please wait for your invitation before creating a BetterWorld account or campaign. Your invitation connects your project to From the Heart’s fiscal sponsorship program. The invitation will arrive in an email from BetterWorld. If you don’t see it, check your spam or junk folder. If you still cannot find it, contact our team for help.
As a From the Heart fiscally sponsored filmmaker, you must use the link in this invitation. A page you create independently will not automatically connect to our program, and donations through that page will not qualify as tax-deductible contributions through From the Heart.
4. Leave Banking and Payment Setup to Us
Our team handles all banking and payment settings so donations are received through From the Heart Productions and properly connected to your sponsored project.
Please do not enter your own banking or payment information. To qualify as tax-deductible contributions through our fiscal sponsorship program, eligible donations must be received and administered by From the Heart Productions.
5. Build Your Film’s Fundraising Page
Use your invitation link to access BetterWorld, then add your film’s story, images, trailer, and fundraising goals. Our training resources will help you learn how to create and update your page.
When your page is ready, coordinate with our team before launching your outreach and inviting supporters to contribute.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the fees for fundraising through BetterWorld?
The total fee is 8%, which includes From the Heart Productions’ fiscal sponsorship fee, credit card processing, and the platform fee. An additional 1% applies to donations from outside the United States for currency exchange.
Donors have the option to help cover transaction costs when contributing, allowing more of their intended gift to support your film.
Can I set up my BetterWorld account myself?
Please wait for your official invitation from From the Heart Productions and use the link provided. This connects your fundraising page to our fiscal sponsorship program. Our team handles all banking and payment setup, so please leave those settings to us.
Are donations to my film tax-deductible?
Eligible donations received and administered by From the Heart Productions for your approved sponsored project are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. If a donor receives goods or services in return, the deductible amount may be reduced.
Will I receive help with my fundraising?
Yes. Along with BetterWorld training resources, our fiscal sponsorship program provides personal fundraising guidance, Film Funding Guidance classes, monthly pitching classes, and feedback on fundraising materials. You lead your campaign, with education and support from a team that understands independent filmmaking.
Who can I contact with questions?
Email or call 805-984-0098. We’re happy to help you explore fiscal sponsorship or get started with your BetterWorld page.
