From the Heart Productions, Carole Dean, Roy W. Dean Grants Claims to be a nonprofit that gives grants and fiscal sponsorship to filmmakers Oxnard California

This person who never used From the Heart Productions wrote that they're a horrible scam. I have used FTHP and personally spoke with the owner throughout my fundraising. She is wonderful, encouraging and was truly an inspiration and source of guidance.

With the help of FTHP we were able to fund Normandy: A World Apart. Please, do more research. They are wonderful people and a wonderful fiscal sponsor for filmmakers.

- Rachel

At From the Heart Productions, all of us are extremely disturbed by this complaint report and sorry that someone felt they had such a negative experience with our non-profit that needed to respond this way.  This is the first report of this type in the 23 years From the Heart has been in existence. 

From the Heart is a certified 501(c)3 non-profit.  We are registered with the state of California and the IRS.  We were founded in 1993.  Our mission is to help filmmakers with unique projects that contribute to society get funding for their films and get them made.  We’ve assisted hundreds of filmmakers in this effort either through our Roy W. Dean Grant, our fiscal sponsorship program, or through our Intentional Filmmaking Classes.

In response to the writer’s points:

They say they did countless hours of researching From the Heart Productions, but “can’t find not one lick of credible information on the company”.

We are not sure where they researched, but our most recent 990’s are posted with the Attorney General of California.  You can search us there by going to:

http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y

Under Registration Type, select Charity Registration.  Under Organization Name, put in From the Heart Productions (without the Inc.)

You can also find our 990’s on Guidestar

http://www.guidestar.org/profile/95-4445418

They are available for all to see. Perhaps we could do a better job sharing that information along with our mission statement and non-profit structure with more non-profit information sites.  We will look into how we can improve that.

Our web site certainly “toots” our own horn.  What website doesn’t?   We are very proud of the work we’ve done helping filmmakers.   "Mia: A Dancer's Journey" won our grant and this year won an LA Emmy!  "La Juala de Oro" was fiscally sponsored by us and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival and 8 Ariel Awards (Mexico's equivalent for the Academy Awards) including best picture!

So, one place they might have started their research is to contact all the filmmakers we’ve assisted and those we work with now.

You can find on our site all the filmmakers who have won our Roy W. Dean Grant over the last quarter century with links to those films.  

http://fromtheheartproductions.com/previous-winners/

You can also find the all finalists for the 3 grants for 2015.  On our new platform in which we’ve partnered with Network for Good, you can find profiles of all our current fiscally sponsored films.  

https://fromtheheartproductions.givecorps.com/

On our partner page with Indiegogo, you can find all the films that are crowdfunding through us on their site. 

https://www.indiegogo.com/partners/fthp

Indiegogo also would have been a great place to research us.   We were one of the very first companies they asked to become partners with in 2011.  When you come up with a new idea and concept like Indiegogo, you want to choose partners you can trust.  We’re glad they chose us. 

They say when you “google map their business location, it turns up as a big beach house in a residential neighborhood”.

The house that comes up when you Google the location of From the Heart Productions is the home of Carole Dean, president and founder of From the Heart Productions.  She owned it before From the Heart Productions and now it serves as office and headquarters for the non-profit.  In addition to conducting company business, she also broadcasts her weekly podcast for filmmakers, greets visiting filmmakers, and has hosted seminars for filmmakers from the house.

From the Heart would rather the money raised go back to filmmakers than spend money on offices.  Everyone else with From the Heart works out of their homes as well. 

They say they won’t let you speak to human being without paying a $60 fee.

It costs nothing to speak to us!  But, obviously, there must have been some bad miscommunication with the person who wrote that for them to even suggest something so outrageous. 

Our phone number is 805-984-0098.  Anyone can call us 7 days a week whether they work with us or not or have paid anything.   We love hearing from filmmakers! 

If for some reason we don’t answer, it’s most likely because we’re on the phone with other filmmakers discussing their projects, advising them on grants, or helping them set their film up with Indiegogo, Seed & Spark, or Kickstarter.  Of course, we do sleep, so call between 7am and 7pm West Coast Time. 

They mention a $60 “processing fee” to get a free consultation.

There is an application fee of $62 to apply to From the Heart for fiscal sponsorship.  Every non-profit that offers fiscal sponsorship has an application fee.  Some fiscal sponsors also include the stipulation that applicants pay to become a member of their organization as well.  We don’t require that.

The fee covers processing of the application.  This includes reviewing the filmmaker and project, submitting contracts, setting up bank accounts, etc.  This fee is tax deductible. 

Every filmmaker who is accepted by From the Heart receives a free consultation on their project from Carole Dean.   Carole is the founder and president of From the Heart as well as author of “The Art of Film Funding, 2^nd Edition: Alternative Financing Concepts”.  Her consultations usually cost $145. 

This consultation is not just a get-to-know-you phone call.  The filmmaker submits their projects materials to Carole in advance.  This includes the story or proposal, the trailer, their script, etc.  Carole then analyzes them before speaking to the filmmaker.  During the consultation, she suggests ways of improving the material to strengthen it as a movie and to increase its potential to raise money to get it made.

No other non-profit that offers fiscal sponsorship for films that we know of provides this.   If you are fiscally sponsored by another non-profit, apart from questions answered and project set up, they don’t offer in depth personalized one-on-one assistance.  We pride ourselves on that and feel it sets us apart.  

They say “their contract also states that are under no legal obligation to actually give you any of the funds they raise in the name of your project.”

We’ve actually no idea what this person is talking about.   From the Heart has paid every filmmaker the money that has been raised on behalf of their project since our inception.  That includes the millions we’ve raised through fiscal sponsorship. 

That money includes national, state, and private grants.  It includes money raised through auctions and parties.   It includes money from sale of property and stocks.  It includes the over $2,000,000 raised through our partnership with Indiegogo.  

Our fee for being a fiscal sponsor is very low.  It is at or below what all other fiscal sponsors charge.  Other than that fee, the money raised for a project goes back to the filmmaker. 

Some fiscal sponsors wait 30 days or more to pay the filmmaker the money that has been donated to them.  We pay twice each month.  We sometimes pay much faster than that upon request. 

They claim “when you look up reviews of them, they are all magically 5 star reviews, praising this unknown woman and all pretty much sounding the same.”

Magic had nothing to do with creating 5 star reviews.  They are a result of the love, respect, and attention that From the Heart shows to independent filmmakers.   The reviews may sound the same because we give each struggling filmmaker who reaches out to us the same care and as much time as we can offer. 

Carole Dean is far from an unknown woman.   She has devoted her life to helping filmmakers.  Before founding From the Heart, she invented an industry by buying back left over film stock from features then reselling it at a discount to independent filmmakers.  Without this low priced film, many independent projects born in the 70’s through the 90’s could not have afforded to get made.  She built her business, Studio Film & Tape, into one of the most successful privately woman owned companies in the US.

When she founded From the Heart in 1993, she created the Roy W. Dean Grant.   The grant goes to filmmakers who need help starting or finishing their films.  It was created at a time when documentaries and other socially relevant films were having a difficult time getting funding.   She put up her own money as a prize and convinced other industry vendors to donate their services to support these filmmakers.

As mentioned, in addition to founding From the Heart Productions, she has authored “The Art of Film Funding: 2^nd Edition: Alternative Financing Concepts”

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Film-Funding-2nd/dp/1615930914

She has taught at New York Film Academy.  She has appeared on film industry panels as an expert in film funding, independent filmmaking, and crowdfunding.   In 2012, she received the lifetime achievement award from Women in Film and Television Showcase (WIFTS). 

http://www.thewifts.org/2012Honoree_caroledean.php

To all filmmakers and donors, as well as the writer who complained, please call us 805-984-0098 or email us at the addresses found on our web site (this platform asked that we not list our email address) 

We look forward to continue supporting independent filmmakers and helping them get their films made.