Putting it together

Stuffed into my tiny New York-style mailbox Saturday was a big white envelope. I muttered grumpily to myself while trying to wrench it out without ripping it in half (Does she speak from experience, you wonder? Don’t ask…), only to have my grumpiness turn to joy when it was finally in my hands in one piece: It was from Fractured Atlas!

“Congratulations! You have been approved by our Board of Directors to become a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas!”

Ok, we are on! The Bhakti Project is now “open for business,” so to speak, although plenty of business is already underway. I’m talking with a designer for the logo; I have a meeting next week with someone who works in arts development (and got an email yesterday from a grad school friend who is doing similar work) to talk about the project and get some advice; I’m going to get some new publicity shots / headshots taken, hopefully in the next week or so (need a haircut first); we’ve done some exploring of recital reception/after-party locations; and of course musical preparation continues on a pace. But with fiscal sponsorship in place, it’s time to turn in earnest to fund-raising.

I need to write a fund-raising letter, and then send it out to anyone who I think will give it even a passing glance! I’ll post a copy of it here, when it’s done (by the end of the week, hopefully). For now, check out the new links under the Bhakti Project heading on the sidebar. You’ll find a link to the Fractured Atlas homepage and a link directly to the Bhakti Project donation site. Since this announcement of sponsorship could be seen as a fundraising effort even before I post my letter, I’d better post the “official language” from the FA sponsorship packet, designed to make sure everyone involved keeps the IRS happy!

“The Bhakti Project is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf on The Bhakti Project may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.”

Cool, huh?! I kind of can’t believe that this project is actually off the ground. I’ve often been more of a talker than a doer; “wouldn’t it be cool if…?” But here it is, an idea I had a couple of years ago that now, with the help of friends and colleagues and, hopefully, even strangers, is taking off. Cool, indeed.

Spread the word, will you? If you think the readers of your blog would be interested in getting involved, please feel free to link to these posts or directly to Fractured Atlas. If this is to be the first piece of music commissioned and payed for through the blogosphere, I’m going to need your help!

**Edited to add: We already have our first donation! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, SK in Atlanta!!**