Use Budget Apps: Thankfully, there are budgeting apps that track expenses and manage debt. Mint and PocketGuard do the job well, but there are others. Check out the App Store or Google Play.
Budget Templates: There are also several options for tracking your budget in a simple spreadsheet. Check out tiller or aspire for easy-to-use templates.

TIPS:

Limit Media Exposure

Pro-tip: We recommend downloading an app like Offtime, Flipd, or Freedom, which limits social media time.

Practice Mindfulness

Pro-tip: Check out mindfulness apps like Headspace and Calm.

Share Positive News

Tip: Check out the Good News Network and Positive News — two platforms that only post good news! These stories provide your followers with some much-needed positivity and inspiration.

Support Local Good Causes

Tip: Check out this directory: https://www.guidestar.org/NonprofitDirectory.aspx and spread the love.

TELL YOUR FOLLOWERS ABOUT WILL ROGERS

Here’s some really good news! Here at the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, we’re helping industry veterans deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis with emergency financial assistance. We have a long history of helping people in the motion picture industry, and we know veterans need help more than ever right now.

Donate here: https://web.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?tsid=15566

Frank Martinez

August 4, 2022

BoxOffice Pro Magazine: Film Row’s Melanie Valera & Jeff Wilk

Frank Martinez

August 4, 2022

Launched as an extension of the Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneers Foundation in 2019, Film Row has emerged as one of the most important industry groups as the motion picture business rebounds from the pandemic. Conceived as a mentorship and networking group meant to develop young executives into the next generation of industry leaders, Film Row works with members in exhibition, distribution, and the vendor community across a range of educational and fundraising initiatives. Boxoffice Pro spoke with Paramount’s Melanie Valera, the group’s founding president, and Warner Bros.’ Jeff Wilk, its current president, on their experience in getting Film Row off the ground and what the future holds for the organization.

How did Film Row come together and how did you get involved?

Melanie Valera: We started back in March of 2019. Todd Vradenburg, the former Executive Director at Will Rogers, and Christina Blumer, the current Executive Director, approached us to form this group and put something together. They gave us carte blanche to put something together that could encourage and engage our industry, and find a way to connect to one another.

Jeff Wilk: I’ve always been into philanthropy and all of my mentors and peers mentioned a couple of great organizations in the industry to get involved with. Over the course of my career, I went from attending events to help plan events for some of these organizations. That’s how I came to know Todd Vradenburg. We got close and every couple of years, I would mention that I wanted to get more involved at the leadership level of Will Rogers. He kept saying, “Your time will come, be patient, keep doing what you’re doing.” He came knocking on our door a couple of years ago and said, “Look, when it comes time for your generation to take the reins and lead Will Rogers, we’re finding that you haven’t had the experience and you’re put in these roles without being sure what to do. So we want to start more of a junior organization that can help prepare you.” Essentially, a farm league for Will Rogers.

That’s how we started Film Row, with a focus on educating and preparing the next generation of leaders. Our tagline is to help cultivate the next generation of pioneers and trailblazers in our industry. Our three pillars are education, philanthropy, and networking. Education: How do you teach people to speak publicly? Something as simple as an excel class or a tastemaker series. Philanthropy: How do you volunteer your time? How do you make a difference? We’ve done three food drives at the LA Food Bank, and those have been fantastic. Networking: We’ve done cocktail parties, one at ShowEast and we had our kickoff party at the Montalban Theatre’s rooftop a couple of years ago.

This industry can feel intimidating for young and new executives, especially since you have so many multi-generational members of the industry in both distribution and exhibition. How is Film Row leveraging that to the advantage of newcomers to the business?

Jeff Wilk: We definitely want to tap into that long-standing industry knowledge. You have people in this industry that started as interns and are still working at the studio 40 years later. You have multi-generational executives on the exhibition side, and you also find that among vendors and studios. It’s really important that we share that knowledge and we’re fortunate the executive board of Will Rogers and other leaders in the industry have raised their hands and offered to share their stories—the good, the bad, and the ugly—to help the next generation. We have the luxury of having these leaders participate in our Lunch and Learn series. Our first one was at Paramount, on the studio lot with Kyle Davies, the president distribution at the time. We had somewhere between 15 and 20 people, he answered a couple of prepared questions and opened the conversation to the group in a very organic way. It’s difficult to get that sort of exposure with executives. It’s an opportunity to take lessons from those conversations and blaze your own path.

Melanie Valera: We are currently in the second round of our mentorship program. We had 130 participants and 65 pairings in our first round. We were blown away by the response we got and the feedback we received afterward has been incredible. There has never been any sort of program like this, that pairs people from different studios, exhibitor partners, and vendors. It’s a really fulfilling program for both the mentor and the mentee.

We’ve registered over 150 participants in the current round. It’s another way we can all connect with each other. We’ve got quite a few theater managers who are participating in the program. From an educational standpoint, I feel like we’re really on par with the goals we set out to achieve. In the fundraising aspect, we are always trying to build a fundraising component in our events. We had an in-person trivia night prior to the pandemic and had quite the turnout, it was a great fundraiser.

How difficult has it been for Film Row to operate during such a difficult time for the film industry?

Jeff Wilk: Melanie was really key in getting us off the ground. We worked really closely with Christina and Todd from Will Rogers, but it was really [Melanie’s] hard work and tenacity that got us going. When Covid-19 hit, Film Row didn’t skip a beat under her leadership. In the early days, we were focused on growing and getting our name out there. Defining what we were looking to do. Yes, we’re an organization for young executives: what does that mean? We took learning lessons from different types of events, initiatives, and people getting involved to fine-tune our approach. We’re constantly learning and trying to experiment with new things.

As we look forward to the final months of the year, how is the rest of 2022 shaping up for Film Row?

Jeff Wilk: We’re shaping that now. We timed the changes to our management to coincide with those at Will Rogers. That’s how we found ourselves starting Q1 of 2022 with a new board—and we hit the ground running. We’re all excited to get out and do in-person events again and continue our Cafe a Zoom series, our virtual coffee events with executives. We like to do in-person events but we don’t want to slight anybody that doesn’t live in Los Angeles, which is why we have so much virtual programming.

Melanie Valera: The idea initially was to start in LA because that’s where the bulk of the industry is located. I would love to see us expand into other parts of the country, it would be amazing if we could launch different chapters. We have people tuning in from Canada, Argentina, and [other countires] who are interested to learn about our program. Right now our Lunch and Learn programs are held locally in Los Angeles, which makes it difficult for others in the country. It would be amazing to see the future of this group expand out to other parts and places of our business.

Frank Martinez

October 5, 2020

LEAD Press Release

Frank Martinez

October 5, 2020

WILL ROGERS MOTION PICTURE PIONEERS FOUNDATION PROFESSIONAL GROUP LAUNCHES DIVERSITY EFFORT

Film Row - an emerging professional group - launches LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advancement and Diversity) committee committed to empowering underrepresented minorities in the entertainment industry

LOS ANGELES – September 28, 2020 – The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation (WRMPPF) announced today the launch of Film Row LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advancement and Diversity), a committee dedicated to providing resources to encourage a more diverse and inclusive environment in the film industry. The committee is a major milestone for Film Row, considering the emerging professionals’ group itself just launched in the Spring of 2019.

The group hosted a virtual speaker series this past Thursday, which addressed fostering diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. The discussion was moderated by Heather Morgan, Vice President Content and Programming for Harkins Theatres, and featured panelists: Wendy Armitage, SVP, Marketing Clearances and Ratings, Sony Pictures, Kimberly Graham, Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Nielsen, Rolando Rodriguez, CEO & President, Marcus Theatres, and Todd Vradenburg, Executive Director, Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.

More than 200 people registered for the inaugural event, and the feedback was encouraging.

Film Row LEAD is comprised of a diverse group of motion picture distribution and exhibition professionals committed to empowering underrepresented minorities in the entertainment industry through education and career development. The objective of Film Row LEAD is to expand the film community by offering workshops and giving professionals more exposure to studio executives, exhibition partners and vendors and thus having more potential applicants with a diverse background who can apply for positions throughout the entertainment industry.

The committee is chaired by Shelly Kratzer, a longtime member of the film industry with nearly two decades of theatrical film distribution experience. Kratzer and her team have devised a well-rounded approach that seeks to merge professional development, diversity and meaningful inclusion and community outreach. LEAD plans to offer various resources including, a speaker series, university partnerships, an internship program, a mentor program, and volunteer activities. "Here at Film Row LEAD, our goal is to ensure everyone has a seat at the table”, Kratzer said. “If that means building a bigger table, then that's exactly what we are here to do. We want everyone to have the same opportunities.”

Since its launch last year, Film Row has hosted several events including lunch and learns, social gatherings and volunteer service days – many of which have benefitted the Pioneers Assistance Fund (PAF). During these challenging times, Film Row creatively pivoted from in-person activities to an online trivia series which helped raise thousands of dollars for the PAF. “We are honored to support industry members in need through the Pioneers Assistance Fund COVID-19 Emergency Grant program,” said Melanie Valera, Vice President Theatrical Sales at Paramount Pictures Studios and President of Film Row. “To date, the program has spent $2.7 million and provided more than 8,000 emergency grants,” Valera continued. “We are grateful to supporters of Film Row and to all the members of our industry who have contributed to the Fund.”

About the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation

Named after one of the greatest humanitarians, philanthropists and entertainers – Will Rogers – the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation perpetuates his legacy through the works of three programs, Brave Beginnings, the Pioneers Assistance Fund and the Will Rogers Institute.

A hospital created for Vaudevillians stricken with tuberculosis, the National Vaudeville Association Hospital was renamed the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital in 1936, as a tribute to Will Rogers. The hospital became a national training facility for doctors treating patients with tuberculosis, becoming known as the Will Rogers Institute. In 2002, the Will Rogers charity merged with the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers (FMPP) and became the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.

The Pioneers Assistance Fund (PAF) continues the mission of FMPP by helping individuals in the motion picture distribution and exhibition community who are encountering an illness, injury or life-changing event. Social workers provide confidential consultations and financial assistance on a short-term or long-term basis based on unique and individual needs.

The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation operates Brave Beginnings, PAF, and the Will Rogers Institute. To learn more, please call (888) 994-3863 or visit www.willrogersmotionpicture.org.