Benefactors, philanthropists and free money for personal use

First you should learn what capitalize means (In the context you used it).
Second you should learn the difference between personal loans & business loans as well as learning the difference between personal grants & business grants.
Third you should understand that people don't just "Give away money" in the way you want it to just be handed to you.
Forth you should actually produce something before seeking any type of venture funding.

There are very good reasons for all of these things you should do.

I want to monetize my cartoons and comics online.

Grants are monies you don't have to pay back. Benefactors and philanthropists run foundations with which they give grants to people.

Have you ever contacted benefactors and philanthropists about acquiring grants from them? Have you had success contacting these people? If so, what advice would you give about approaching them?

What foundations have you contacted about funding, if any?

I need money for materials, tools and resources.

I am going by what I have seen in the business show Shark Tank, which has people with business aspirations and inventions appealing to high profile billionaires and businessmen.

Billionaires don't give out money for nothing. They need to see if the product not only has value, but will be completed on time and make money for the billionaire, who would invest in the product.

I have never heard of anyone asking a billionaire stranger for money and actually succeeding. The only times I have seen it is when the creator is related or friends with a billionaire.
Example: The small animation house Laika Studios has not been financially successful, but it is still around because the studio president is the son of Nike founder Phil Knight (net worth $31.8 billion).

They're not going to hand you cash without any proof that you can deliver something of value.

I am interested in this too - let me know when you find someone so I can get on this freebie band wagon.

You have to make proposals and explain what you're going to do with the funding. Explain what you're going to use it for.

You have to do that when applying for grants to any foundation.

I tried using Matthew Lesko's book Free Money to Pay Your Bills:



and a few other books he had out:




I thought this was kind of a waste of time to be honest, but that could be because I never really followed through with using them. I haven't used any of his books in years.

If I remember right he lists resources for free money in his books, but doesn't really tell you where and how to acquire the funding. I could be wrong- as I said I haven't used any of his books in a long time.

This guy has a bunch of books out. He's been around doing what he does for years.

He used to have ads on TV, like these:




I recall seeing him on TV in the late '90s and early 2000's, around the time I was still in art school and after I recently graduated, but he's been doing what he does since 1980:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lesko

I've seen him in infomercials.

He has his own sites out like this one:

https://lesko.com/

This guy is still around doing what he does. I just found this:



He has channels on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwKJZfa7sWV_qKxQnLBUpjA

and on Metacafe:

https://www.metacafe.com/channels/Matthew+lesko/

You can find other Lesko-related videos on YouTube, Dailymotion and Metacafe.

You can also find Lesko on social media- on Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/matthewlesko/
https://twitter.com/leskofreemoney?lang=en

Hope this helps.

The Foundation Center has a site, Foundation Grants to Individuals Online:

https://grantstoindividuals.org/

Unless you can use this database at your local library for free, you have to subscribe to it.

Are you good at writing grant proposals? Do you have any advice about how to write any?

How much did the books cost?

How much does this cost?

I don't know off-hand, I think $20- to $30-something for a subscription. You are better off using the database than using the book Foundation Grants to Individuals which the Foundation Center publishes - they told me so in email. Find out if your local library even carries the Foundation Grants to Individuals Online database on their computers' system- you can use it free at your local library.

I didn't buy the Lesko books, I checked them out from my local library and used them. I think one or two I got on interloan.

Your local library should have books on grants in its reference section- you should look those up and use them too.

Which benefactors and philanthropists run foundations that offer grants that can help writers, artists, comic and cartoon creators, etc.? Do you know?

It looks like you are trying to get to Step 5 before finishing Step 1, which would be finishing a script.

Your chances of getting funds would be better if you had a professional portfolio of published works, but from what I can tell, there is nothing except your art degree.

Otherwise, you would have to pay out of pocket or get a bank loan. Or rely on Patreon and Kickstarter to get funds, like what many artists have done.

To repeat what Brian Michael Bendis said in his book (sidenote: I have mentioned his book many times. I strongly suggest you read it):
"I, personally, spent half my career not making a dime and the last half of it lucky that I could provide for my family. I can tell you firsthand, money has nothing to do with my writing. Money or no money, I am going to write. I know because I wrote without pay for over a decade."

That's kind of not the point. They won't hand out funds just because you ask nicely and promise to make stuff.

They pretty much always want to see that you can do it before they open their wallets.

Grants don't have to be paid back. That's true. They're also not charity. They aren't handed out just for shits and giggles. They come with paperwork usually -- and grant proposals are so difficult and arcane that there are people who work as grant proposal writers.

Understand why companies or organizations hand out grants. They often do so because they see a potential for helping someone who could not otherwise help themselves. Hence a startup in a disadvantaged area might qualify for a grant because they aren't able to develop a market as readily as a startup in a richer area.

And here's what Google found -- and I know you can Google; you've done it before. https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/guide/the-9-best-grants-for-artists-55606

You will need to read and do your own research. And this is putting the cart before the horse, anyway.

Have you made anything? I mean anything. For years, I've seen you talk about art, a lot. And that's great! But it's not moving you forward.

You don't need special pencils or paper to make art. You don't need money. You don't need software or a computer. Get a pencil and scratch paper and start drawing. Then draw some more. Yes, I know, you want to make computer art.

Do the pencil and paper stuff first. Get sorted everything from what your characters will look like to their proportions.

Make some art.

I've been writing and drawing stuff. I would still like to further my training. It's been kind of difficult for me to focus on this stuff, considering what I have to deal with in my personal life.

My own mother thought I was putting the cart before the horse. I want to take voice acting courses. I contacted a voice acting instructor who teaches voice acting in a voice over course through the Continuing Ed department at my old school. I wanted info about the different disciplines he teaches and I wanted to know what vocal exercises and warm ups I could do until I am ready to take his course. I told him I have been trying my hand at vocal characterizations in my spare time and that I have the potential to be a good voice actor.

I've been sending him emails and he said he prefered I talk to him over the phone. I did talk to him over the phone but I didn't understand everything he said. He said I could email him anytime. So I sent him another email telling him I couldn't make out everything on the phone and asked a few questions in it. I know he's busy. I called him a few days later to ask if he got my last email to him. I left him a message. I am waiting to hear back from him.

He is concerned whether or not I can even make the commute to get to his class.