Why We Created The Patrons Society: Letter from Jess Epstein

Dear BAVC Media Community,

I’m Jess Epstein, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development at BAVC Media, and I’m so excited to share something we’ve been building: the BAVC Media Patrons Society, a new community for people who believe in the power of storytelling, creative expression, and access to media for all.

For those of you I haven’t met yet, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I’ve been part of the BAVC team since 2023, supporting fundraising and partnerships. Like many of you, I’m also a filmmaker—an independent documentary producer with nearly 15 years of experience freelancing and creating work. I’m incredibly proud to be part of the BAVC team, and the opportunity to contribute to the growth of a 50-year-old community-based media center while continuing to make work of my own, all in community with other filmmakers, has been a gift.

So often, we’re encouraged to make a choice:

• Do you make the work, or support the work being made?
• Are you a full-time artist and creative, or is that your side hustle?
• Do you build the infrastructure, or do you work within it?

One of the things I love most about BAVC is that it challenges these binaries. It recognizes that we are whole, complex, multifaceted people, and that our creative lives, professional ambitions, and community commitments can, and should, inform one another.

BAVC itself reflects that same complexity. Our work spans generations, disciplines, and communities. We train the next generation of media makers, support artists as they develop their practices and careers, create pathways into the creative workforce, and preserve the media histories that might otherwise be lost. We go both wide and deep, and that expansive vision is what makes this organization so special to me.

We created the Society as a meaningful way to invest in BAVC’s future and ensure that the resources, relationships, and opportunities our community depends on remain available for generations to come. Unrestricted support from our Patrons gives BAVC the flexibility to sustain our programs, respond to emerging needs, and take creative risks. It helps ensure that access to media education, technology, and storytelling opportunities isn’t reserved for those who already have the resources to find their way in.

But I also see the Patrons Society as something more than a fundraising initiative. It’s an opportunity to build community around the work itself. Members will have opportunities to connect more closely with the people, programs, and stories their generosity makes possible, from emerging media makers and independent filmmakers to the artists, educators, and archivists who make up the BAVC ecosystem. Through exclusive invitations, behind-the-scenes experiences, program updates, and opportunities to gather with fellow supporters, we want membership to feel like an invitation into the life of BAVC, not simply a way to give.

Ultimately, I believe that supporting artists and supporting the conditions that allow art to happen are inseparable. We need both the people making the work and the people committed to ensuring that work can continue to be made, shared, preserved, and experienced. The Patrons Society is one way to bring those commitments together. I’m excited to help build this community, one relationship at a time, and I truly hope you’ll join us.

Explore the BAVC Media Patrons Society

Please reach out if you have questions, want to learn more about membership, or would simply like to chat about the Society or any of our other programs. I’d love to connect.

With gratitude,
Jess Epstein,
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development