On November 5, 2007 after several weeks of unsuccessful negotiations, the Writers Guild of America declared a strike against the members of the AMPTP. Initially it was hoped that the work stoppage would be brief, but as the strike wore on, with increasingly slim hope of an early settlement, it became clear that the fallout would be felt far more widely than just within the writing community itself. Production crew members – gaffers, grips, wardrobe staff, makeup artists – all would be affected, as well as craft service personnel, hairdressers, set decorators, drivers, and the myriad other employees that contribute to the making a film or television show.

Many writers wanted to find a way to help, and by early December a number of fundraising efforts had been staged or put into place; but the writers involved needed the support of a non-profit organization through which to direct their efforts. So they approached the Writers Guild Foundation.

On December 14, the board of directors of the Writers Guild Foundation passed the following motion: That the Writers Guild Foundation agrees that for the duration of the 2007 strike it will broaden its mission to assist those in distress as a direct result of the WGA strike and will set up and administer a fund for this purpose.

Thus was the Industry Support Fund established. Within days, an oversight committee was set up, eligibility rules established, parameters created and the invaluable support of the Actors Fund enlisted. The Actors Fund, with its experienced bank of social workers, was uniquely equipped to handle the kinds of applications for assistance the ISF was likely to encounter, and the Fund agreed to process all requests for help in the first instance, and to make recommendations for further assistance to the ISF. In return, the ISF would make donations to the Actors Fund as and when it was able.

By Christmas, the fund was up and running. A website was set up, a press release made, an email information campaign undertaken and literature distributed. The fund’s first disbursement, on December 21, was a $250 gift certificate redeemable at Trader Joe’s for each of 14 Disney Fellows who had been dismissed from their jobs as a direct result of the strike. Most of the Fellows had relocated from other parts of the country to take up their year-long fellowships eight months before, and the strike had not only left them high and dry, but, as it turned out, also ineligible to apply for unemployment benefits.

Disbursements to clients referred by the Actors Fund commenced in January. The ISF did not give direct grants to beneficiaries, but rather, paid one or more significant expenses on an applicant’s behalf. These expenses typically included mortgage, rent, car loan repayments and health insurance premiums, and occasionally phone and utilities.

Between the establishment of the ISF in December 2007 and May 31 2008, writers, industry friends and members of the general public sympathetic to the cause raised a total of $400,414.56 for the ISF. Benefit concerts, a major poker tournament, comedy evenings at the Laugh Factory, t-shirt and strike merchandise sales, television show fan clubs and even a juvenile lemonade stand all contributed. Several showrunners donated generously to the fund, too. A complete list of donors is found here.

Over this period, the ISF spent $392,676.54, assisting 168 clients and making donations of $155,000 to the Actors Fund. Beneficiaries included drivers, make-up artists, camera operators, sound and lighting technicians, costumers, actors, editors, props masters, grips, hair stylists, set medics, accountants, set builders, set dressers and painters, special effects supervisors, music editors, stunt persons, boom operators, writers’ assistants, one body double and one food stylist.

For its part, between November 5, 2007 and May 31 2008, the Actors Fund spent $1,224,331.26 in assisting 762 clients, and continues to assist those in need. The ISF is extremely grateful to the Actors Fund for its compassionate and efficient support during this extremely difficult period.

The Industry Support Fund officially ceased operation on May 31, 2008. Applications for financial assistance may still be made to the Actors Fund at 323 933 9244.

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