Giving promo updates / Newsletter
As another year comes to a close, I tried to find ways to provide the best giving incentives possible for supporters of our project.
Because we’re a fiscally sponsored non-profit endeavor, any thank you gifts / rewards perks must be less than half the value of the overall donation. This poses a significant financial challenge on our end, as we must find ways to keep manufacturing costs of items low, while maximizing potential tax benefits for our generous benefactors.
The current state of the economy doesn’t help; costs are rising, tariffs hinder international shipping, and, as I mentioned, our fundraising has lost significant momentum, while the scope and complexity of the documentary has seemingly multiplied.
It was very important to me, however, to either keep the price of the thank you items as-is, or, if at all possible, bring prices further down. To do this, I’ve been printing postcards in greater bulk, and found alternate printing companies that could perform the same quality work but at lower costs – including international print-on-demand services, so that shipping art prints worldwide wouldn’t be so ruinous.
Please take a look at our donate/contribute page for more info on what’s available. We’ve come so far on this project, but still need all the help we can get.
Revamping our newsletter and social media platforms
I’ve been working hard these last few months toward getting Richard Amsel’s life and work more visible on social media. Our project’s website simply isn’t enough, so every blog post and update is shared through Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and now Substack.
More on Substack: I’m experimenting with different methods in distributing our newsletter, as bulk emails can be intrusive and seem suspicious. Substack apparently offers an easier forum for people to subscribe/unsubscribe, and access posts more easily in an open forum. Let’s see how it goes with this one…
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From Oct. 19, 2026:
I’m sorry it’s been over a month since my last update. I was traveling out of state at the end of September, and, being a teacher, I had to do a lot of prep work to ensure my classes would be covered while away. I’ve also been busy taking classes as I work towards getting my California teaching credential, and a lot of things have temporarily fallen by the wayside.
The big challenge I’ve had, particularly these last few years, is how fundraising has lost significant momentum, while the scope and complexity of the documentary has seemingly multiplied. There’s animation, motion graphics, over 65 interviews, and decades of content being covered – including more recent happenings like the closure of the University of the Arts, the fate of the Amsel collection, and the existential threat artists now face with the era of AI. (More on that nasty “AI thing” later... It seems I have some mea culpeas to make.)
As a result, I’ve largely had to fend for myself in getting the film edited, and the process of post-production heavily consumes any available time and money I have. These are challenging times for everyone – the post-COVID, “happy tariffs” economy, the ever-changing entertainment industry (especially with company and studio mergers, massive employee layoffs) – and I know that many who previously supported the project no longer have the financial means to do so. I understand, and I’m right there with you.
Which brings me to another end-of-year fundraising promotion! As a reminder, this project has 501(c)(3) non-profit status through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, so in addition to our offering some cool rewards incentives – postcards, prints, and other goodies – your support can also benefit you come tax time. Please check out our Donate/Contribute page for more info.
Every penny is accounted for, and we need all the help we can get.
Through the end of the year, I’ll be offering a new, special promotion each month, for those of you who subscribe to and actively engage with us on social media. Each month, one active member from each of our online pages will receive 5 Amsel postcards, free of charge. (This means three giveaways each month, from October through December.)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardamselmovie
Another reason why I’m doing this is to help generate more word of mouth about Richard Amsel, and showcase online some of his lost or lesser-known work before the film and eventual book are completed. There’s a lot that I’ve yet to add to the official website, and our social media pages are a convenient means to expand the circle of interest in the interim.
Long before I ever started the film, I was working to catalog, archive, and digitally restore some of the many hundreds of images I’ve collected of Amsel’s oeuvre. I’ve spent years and (many) hundreds of hours painstakingly going through them, cleaning them up in Photoshop, as well as photographing a number of newly discovered/uncovered pieces.
This past summer, I finally finished. Virtually every scan, every photo, every digitized negative and transparency…all of them now ready to share with the world.
People ask me about the status of the book, and why I don’t start a crowd funding campaign for it just yet. The main reason is that I need to finish the locked picture for the documentary first, and the overall narrative is, even now, still in progress.
My intent for the book, as with the film, goes far beyond a mere showcase of pretty pictures. It is about a man’s life story, his personality, his complexities, as well as his work. I’m taking great care to create a record that can withstand scrutiny, be documented, and adequately preserve an artist’s legacy that might otherwise be lost. It’s costing me everything, and it’s also taking me time.
To those who’ve supported the project so far, I can’t thank you enough. To those discovering Amsel’s work for the first time, I warmly welcome you aboard.
Please help if you can. And if you can’t contribute financially, you can still help spread the word!
Warm regards,
Adam
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