Dear Charities and Non profit Organisations,

As a face painter, I often am approached by numerous charities, all wanting me to paint at their event. Many, request I do this for free or even pay them to do so.

I wish I could paint for every single charity that approaches me. Face painting at any event draws huge crowds. It’s a very popular stall. Unfortunately, I’m a business. This is NOT A HOBBY . This is how I pay my bills.

My supplies cost a lot, one small 30g pot can cost £14.99. That’s because all of my paints are cosmetic grade, approved for use by the FDA and EU. I follow strict hygiene routines, using one sponge per child per colour, rinsing brushes religiously and providing galloons of clean water. I’ve paid for training and spent probably thousands of hours practicing those designs so I can complete them quickly and looking like I could do them with my eyes closed.

Once I commit to an event, I need to make sure my children are cared for. That could, at times be a paid sitter, or my husband. I have to plan their activities around my work. Ofcourse, I need to actually get to the venue, which could be a lengthy drive. Cars need petrol, insurance and tax along with regular maintenance. All things that I have to pay for.

Any professional facepainter worth their salt will have insurance. Believe it or not, there’s no law insisting we do! We carry Public Liability Insurance so if anything were to go wrong we’d be covered. From us dropping that red paint on your pristine white carpet to poking a child in the eye, we’re covered. All documentation we will happily provide. Alas, insurance does not come free.

So, before I even pick up a brush, I’ve spent money. No, invested money in becoming the professional I strive to be. To then be asked to attend an event and paint for nothing, or even pay for the privalige seems crazy to us. We appreciate what charities do, and sincerely, we want to help; but we need to meet in some middle ground.

For Charities, I offer a few alternative options to try and help them source a qualified, safe face painter.

Scenario One; A Sponsor
A lot of charities find a local business or similar to cover my rate. In return, I’m happy to paint with banners saying “Fantastik Faces Face Painting” sponsored by __. If they wish to leave badges or pens or flyers in my tent they’re more than welcome to. Of course, any advertising that is done by the event names the business as the sponsor. With regular shout outs throughout the event, this can be great advertising for the local business

Scenario Two; Charge The Public & Recoup Your Costs.
This has worked for others in the past. I’m paid my fee, and then the charity has someone collecting money on the day. I’ll advise how many children I can paint or expect to paint in an hour, and we can recoup that way, and maybe even make a profit!

Scenario Three; Pay Per Face.
This Scenario is a difficult one. I’ve had people approach me asking me to pay a pitch fee to paint at their event. I’m not a vendor. Face painters are entertainment. They are a great addition to any event. Did the magician, DJ or clown pay to be there? I’m not a burger van, I can’t sell 80 faces an hour. What I do takes time to create. Depending on the complexity of my designs I can paint between 12 to 25 children in an hour. The fairest way to approach this scenario is to offer a percentage of my over all profit on the day. If your event isn’t established or has been rained off, we’re absorbing the damaged between us. If the event is a huge success we’re both going to benefit. I’ve unfortunately attended events, where only 5 children attended, and only one had their face painted! I’d turned down 2 parties that day, paid £15 petrol to attend and arranged child care. I made a promise to myself that day that I would only offer this option to ESTABLISHED, WELL ATTENDED events

Working for charities is something we love to do! I do this job to put smiles on the faces of little ones (and adults too!!!), I happily offer a 10% Discount on charity bookings, with proof of a valid charity number. That’s the only discount I can offer. Please be kind when approaching a face painter for free work. We’ve invested thousands of pounds into our set up, insurance and training. We’ve poured our heart and soul into our business. If we could help we will (and often do! I myself offer 2 charity gigs a year), but like any small business, we have overheads to meet. Bills to pay. Families to support.

Thank you for reading, Rachel xx

#paytheartist