If you are visiting this page, you probably already know that Von Babasin has been accepted for fiscal sponsorship by the New York Foundation for the Arts to produce a documentary film about the life and career of his father, jazz bassist/producer, Harry Babasin. This fiscal sponsorship recognizes that the only thing that Von needs in order to produce this film is financial support. NYFA acts as a non-profit conduit to receive contributions on Von's behalf, making all donations tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Taken from the New York Foundation for the Arts website: "NYFA is one of the country's most respected not-for-profit arts organizations. Because of our exemplary reputation, funders consider our Fiscal Sponsorship Program to be the gold standard. When you apply for grants using NYFA, funders know your project has been thoroughly reviewed and vetted, which improves your chances of receiving their support.
Fiscal Sponsorship is a critical way for individual artists, artists' collaborative projects, and emerging arts organizations in all disciplines to apply for funding usually available only to organizations with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The right fiscal sponsor will not only allow you to manage your project efficiently, but can actually help you to raise more money and realize your artistic vision more fully. We see ourselves as your partner and do everything we can to help you manage your administrative tasks, so you can spend more time creating."
However, after submitting proposals to more than 500 foundations that support arts and culture, it has become apparent that a grass roots campaign is also required to raise the funds to produce this culturally important documentary. While the overall budget of this film will fall between $500,000-600,000.00, only a fraction of the overall total, $100,000-200,000.00, is required to cut a work in progress reel and get the production underway. Though no donation is too small or too large, as example, if one thousand people each donated $100, the existing archives could be put together and preserved in a digital format for the film's content.
Please consider helping this production for cultural preservation and to help define the artform known as "West Coast Jazz".
1. Contributions in support of sponsored projects and organizations made by check must be made payable to "New York Foundation for the Arts."
2. Contributions for sponsored projects and organzations can be mailed to:
3. To recommend how you would like your contribution to be used, you may send us a letter containing the wording in the simple form below:
Contribution Recommendation Form for Use with Checks
Please find enclosed a contribution for the New York Foundation for the Arts in the amount of $____________. It is my wish that this contribution will be used to support "Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood" , a project that you sponsor.
If you would prefer to donate online to this film with your credit card, you can go to NYFA's secure donation page by clicking on the NYFA link below -
Make sure to specify that the donation is to go to Artist-Von Babasin, or, Project-"Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood".
Questions?
If you have questions about a contribution that was sent previously or how to make a contribution to NYFA in support of a project or organization, contact the Fiscal Sponsorship program at (212) 366-6900 x223, or email sponsor@nyfa.org.
Now, you might think that this film would be a perfect candidate for support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Alas, they no longer work with fiscal sponsors, so, though the NYFA sponsorship is validation for Harry's contributions to music and Von's life's work, he does not qualify. The Sundance Institute and the MacArthur Foundation both support documentary filmmaking, they just don't support documentaries of a biographical nature. It seems east coast foundations perceive this as a west coast project, though donations are paid directly to NYFA, of course based in New York, while California foundations consider it an east coast project, since the sponsorship by the New York Foundation for the Arts sends their money across the country. There have been no less than 250 rejection letters from everyone from Bill Clinton to Andy Warhol, from Occidental Petroleum to GlaxoSmithKline, from Doris Duke to Carnegie, all appauding Von's efforts to make such a culturally important film, and exactly why it wasn't a "good fit" for their financial support.
Mind you, all of these foundations do many wonderful things with their available funds and this by no means is meant to in any way reflect poorly on them, it simply is what it is. In all fairness, this project has made it to at least 20 different boards of directors for further consideration. It's currently under consideration by the board of directors of the Annenberg Foundation, though they have already turned it down previously. In the process of writing proposals over two and a half years, Von has gained invaluable allies that will be working directly on the project or serve as advisors, so the film continues to gain a more prominent profile.
It's a good story for all the right reasons. An inspiring story of a first generation Armenian-American who innovated a Latin Jazz artform and influenced in ways that continue to shape the landscape of jazz today. Though, this is not merely a son honoring a father - this film will help to define an entire artistic movement and bring well deserved recognition to a host of great west coast jazz musicians, as well as serve as an educational resource for generations to come.
Harry Babasin's life was dedicated to jazz. Not only his own contributions to the artform - the preservation of this important time in music history. Harry's life was cut short at the age of 67 when emphysema took his life in 1988. His sons, Von and Perry, have carried their family's legacy forward over the last twenty years, getting the history books rewritten to include these amazing accomplishments, generating worldwide press, and building a west coast jazz museum, not just for preservation but to continue the innovative evolution of the artform.
This film is the culmination of Harry's life work - it will get made - it's only a matter of time - and it's only the beginning.
With Barack Obama raising $775 million for his presidential bid; with People Magazine paying $14 million for pics of Brad and Angelina's twins; with the airing of a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl going for $3 million; with Exxon Mobil reporting profits of $1,300 a second for the entire year of 2007 and a record $11.68 billion for the second quarter of 2008 alone;
this total budget of $500,000 would be well within reach of the right individual(s) or organization(s) who care to see this story gets told.
