Become a Social Impact Entertainment Producer

*Note: this article was originally published on Impact Entrepreneur. You can read the original article here.

Many people dream of earning a producer’s credit while helping to catalyze the production of a movie, video game, musical, or play that they care about. However, few understand that this dream is within their reach. A new wave of interest in impact-investing has resulted in innovative ways of using donated capital to generate real social and environmental impact. For example, donors can invest in for-profit social impact entertainment productions that align with their core values. We are increasingly seeing donors use financial vehicles like Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) and receiving producer credits for their investments in these productions, while also receiving corresponding tax benefits.

Social Impact Entertainment (“SIE”) is not a new concept. Society has long recognized media’s power of stories to drive social change by highlighting important narratives, shifting attitudes, shaping culture, and generating empathy and activating people to effect measurable change. Seminal films like Blood Diamond and Food Inc. brought global attention to issues relating to conflict diamonds and animal cruelty in the food industry respectively. The entertainment industry increasingly uses its platform to address societal issues. In the last few years, acclaimed films like Hidden Figures, Roma, Moonlight, and Don’t Look Up have raised awareness regarding issues of sex, class, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate change, among others. In addition to movies, television, documentaries, plays, novels, and video games can also qualify as SIE if they incorporate messages that drive social change.