A penny for your music: A fundraising idea for local musicians

By Jess Santacroce
Music Writer, Phoenix Radio

Independent musicians, and other independent artists, often need to raise funds for their career. Without the backing of a major label, everything from recording session fees to maintaining your instruments to paying the cover charge for your guests at open mic events falls to the artist or band. While most reinvest income from their music into these things, it may not be enough to cover all expenses, and in today’s economy, day jobs, never mind side jobs and profitable side hustles, are increasingly hard to find and secure. Fundraising projects can fill in the gaps. 

One workable, and even enjoyable fundraising project is known as a “penny challenge.” The penny challenge was invented and developed by a YouTuber named Ryan Trahan between 2017 and 2024. Trahan’s penny challenges evolved and changed over the years, but always followed one of three basic patterns. Each of these versions of the penny challenge he created can easily be adapted to serve as a fundraiser for an album, tour, merchandise launch, or other expenses related to your music career. 

Turn a penny directly into the amount you need for your project

Ryan Trahan’s original penny challenge began eight years ago on his YouTube channel. He started with a penny, and proceeded to buy and sell items until he reached his goal of $1,000. In addition to buying and selling items during his penny challenges, Trahan also invested portions of the money he earned or swapped things to enable himself to provide services that generated even more money. One of his most common methods was to start by finding someone who would give him some small item for a penny, flip that item until he had enough cash to purchase a case of water or soda, and then sell drinks for two dollars each. Purchasing some cardboard, a pen, and a basket and offering to draw caricatures or tell jokes for a donation was another lighthearted way Trahan raised funds. In later versions of the challenge, he signed up as a driver for a food delivery app and used some of the money generated from the penny to purchase a bike to make deliveries. The only rule that must be followed to make this type of fundraiser a true penny challenge is that all funds must either come directly from the penny, or be something that you can do without spending any money at all. 

For many musicians, this version of the penny challenge might amount to a modern twist on the well-known practice of playing for tips. Instead of simply setting out your case and playing in public, you could start with a penny, flip it until you could walk into a pawn shop and purchase a cheap guitar or pay your friend to rent their guitar for an hour, then see how much money you can raise playing that instrument and singing. 

Start with the penny, end with your desired items or services

In 2021, Ryan Trahan adapted his penny challenge into his own version of the “paperclip for a house” experiment conducted by Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald in 2005. In Trahan’s version, he traded a penny for a house to give to a subscriber who needed a new home. This challenge started with a pen he traded for the penny, which he traded for a tiny blue plastic dinosaur, and then half a container of mints that was traded for some headphones. While Trahan took a little more time to complete this challenge than his originally stated goal of a single week, he did succeed in getting a house for his fan. 

This version of Ryan Trahan’s penny challenge has been successfully duplicated locally, just on a much smaller scale, both in terms of the items obtained and the importance of the end goal. When I wanted to trim and color my hair and get new versions of the other few cosmetic items I use, I started with a penny and used a combination of trading, using apps I had already signed up for, and couponing to get the items without spending any cash earned from any of my actual work. The one alteration I made to the original challenge was allowing myself to use any free points I already had accumulated on any rewards apps I had. 


Use the penny to reach another goal while those who wish to support your career make donations

In the most elaborate version of the penny series, Ryan Trahan set himself a goal that had nothing to do with raising funds, but turned the challenge into a fundraiser. In one, he survived on a penny for a week to raise funds for the Central Texas Food Bank. In another version, Trahan challenged himself to travel across the country for thirty days beginning only with a penny. Fans who watched the series were invited to donate to Feeding America. 

Local musicians could post a similar, local challenge on their own YouTube channel, with a connected fundraising page to allow supporters to invest in whatever project or career goal you set. This would also make a great fundraiser for local charities that support musicians and their neighbors in need. 





Sources: 

Trahan, R. Penny Series. Ryan Trahan YouTube Channel
This article is not sponsored or endorsed by this channel or anyone who appears on it. It is only used as source material.
 Link: Ryan Trahan - YouTube 

Santacroce, J & L.  Artist Cafe 315 website.
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 Link: The penny challenge revived: Week 1 recap / The 315: Articles inspired by our art | Artist Cafe 315