In 2005, VANL-CARFAC launched the first of our Awareness Campaigns. The first campaign was produced to raise awareness of CARFAC National’s Guidelines for Professional Standards in the Organization of Fund-Raising Events. Increasingly, charitable and not-for-profit groups ask visual artists to donate original works of art for free, with no understanding of the social and economic conditions in which artists work. The Guidelines were drafted to assist charities and artists in negotiating a fair working relationship, wherein artists are compensated adequately for their work while charities continue to further their causes. According to the CARFAC Guidelines, an artist should receive 50% of the profits from charity fund-raisers, with an option to donate that amount to the charity if they so desire.
In June 2006, a second wave of this Awareness Campaign was launched, aimed at educating charities about the socio-economic conditions affecting visual artists in the province in the hopes they will incorporate the CARFAC Guidelines into their policies. Of the thirty charities contacted, approximately half have indicated they will adhere to the guidelines in the future.
This Awareness Campaign is ongoing on an as-needed basis. If you know of a charity that is not practicing fair dealing with artists, please contact the Executive Director at dave.vanl.carfac@gmail.com to ensure that an official copy of the Guidelines as well as a sample artist’s contract is sent to the charity in question. We also encourage you to contact the charity yourself to convey some of the following information.
Did you know…
* Only 33% of artists in the province report being able to make a living from their art? The rest are often forced to take on other jobs to make ends meet.
* The average annual income of Visual Artists in the Atlantic region is $13,371? This is 58% less than the average annual income for Canadians, which is $31,757.
* Visual artists in the province carry an average debt of $21,300 from their art training alone? Nation-wide, artists generally receive more education and formal training than the overall workforce, yet they earn substantially less than those in non-arts occupations – making it even more difficult to pay off their student debts.
* Despite certain professional fees and protections being written into Canadian Copyright Law, the majority of visual artists find it difficult to break even or make a profit from their work? The problem is not lack of exposure – 55% of artists have exhibited in publicly funded galleries, but only 30% have received remuneration for it.
-Statistics Canada, 2001
* There are national guidelines that outline professional standards in the organization of fund-raising events? Canadian Artists’ Representation (CARFAC) created these guidelines to assist charitable groups in their professional dealings with visual artists.
Why comply?
* By adopting the Guidelines for Professional Standards in the Organization of Fund-Raising Events set by CARFAC, the charity will contribute to raising the socio-economic status of visual artists in Newfoundland and Labrador.
* By agreeing to share the proceeds from the sale of an artist’s donated work, the organization will give that artist the financial ability to contribute to its cause.
* By fostering the notion that artists’ works are not simply mass-produced “products” but rather uniquely crafted pieces, the organization will ensure that buyers receive original works that they will cherish in the future.
* By approaching artists for donations with respect and understanding for their economic capacity for charitable giving, the organization will create goodwill among the arts professionals in the province and encourage them to donate more often in the future.
The following files are in PDF format. To open in your browser, please left click.
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To download a copy of the CARFAC National Guidelines for Professional Standards in the Organization of Fund-Raising Events,click here.
To download a copy of a sample contract for charitable fund-raisers, click here.
To download a copy of the Contract Annex, click here.