Ottawa band crowdfunds Christmas album
By Kyle Duggan and Brett Throop One Christmas, North Easton made a promise to his mother: he would write her a Christmas album of his own songs. That was some years ago. And while Easton plugged away at the Christmas collection over the years, tragically, his mother died of lung cancer before the project could be completed. Now, with the help of online fundraising, Easton is making good on his promise. Easton and his three-piece acoustic band, My Favourite Tragedy, raised $6,414 on Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding website, to produce the original Christmas album. The album has eight songs that tell intimate stories about family and the holidays. The band is doing a music video for the song Christmas Lights, which is about Easton’s father’s tradition of waking him up early to put up the Christmas lights—rain or shine. Click on the photo below to view an audio slideshow about the making of their music video for Christmas Lights. “Traditions of Christmas aren’t just waiting in a mall in a line up to buy something somebody doesn’t want. But more like sharing something inside of you that’s real,” he said. The group’s Kickstarter page asked for $5,000 to produce the album and raised it with just three days to go before their deadline. They then pushed on to get another thousand to make the video for Christmas Lights. Drummer Phil Desmarais said friends wanted to buy an original Christmas album but the band didn’t have the resources to make one. But when Easton found Kickstarter, he saw an opportunity to launch their album. Kickstarter works by direct donations, where artists pitch their project to potential backers. If the backers like what they see, they can donate to the project in exchange for products or services. “There was a musician on there who raised over $1.5 million and I thought this could very well be the next revolution in music,” Easton said. “Artists now have a chance to sell to their fans before they’ve created their product, as long as the trust value is there.” Desmarais said crowdfunding is a “very democratic way of getting things produced because ultimately the public has the right to say what is good and what is not.” Phil’s brother, John-Marc Desmarais, plays bass and cello for the group. “It’s kind of a gamble on backers’ part given that the product they’re trying to purchase hasn’t yet been produced,” he said. “But thankfully they’re willing to gamble.” He added the band will likely look to Kickstarter again for future projects based on their success. The group raised funds from 92 people around the world, offering...
Ottawa group makes the case for non-profit fundraising
By Jordanna Tennebaum, Mara Selanders and Diana Matthews A small philanthropic team in Ottawa is reinterpreting traditional models of charity work through a local holiday food drive that relies on grassroots fundraising. The 11 members of GoodGuysTri, or as they like to call themselves, “Do-Gooders,” are focusing their food drive on communal involvement and the exclusion of corporate spending. The group came together in 2007 when founder Mike Herzog heard reports of charities spending large sums of money on administrative and legal fees. http://cusjc.ca/wintertimes/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Clip-1-Mike-Herzog-Interview-for-Photo.mp3 “Having been involved in fundraising, I thought somebody needs to do something about this,” Herzog said. Now in its second year of operation, GoodGuysTri already has 20 organizations participating, ranging from the Orleans Veterinary Hospital to a sports injury-oriented Holistic Clinic. Cheryl Rutherford of the Orleans Veterinary Hospital supports the medical center’s shift from aiding pets to people. “At this time of year there is a greater need. Last year we did a food drive that helped animals only and this year we opened up our boxes to people with needs,” Rutherford said. Herzog’s ability to incorporate diverse organizations with differing mandates is central to his project as he aims to include the interests and contributions of over 100 volunteers. “We’re a collection of all sorts of different people. It’s open to everybody. People come to me and ask ‘what should I do to help?’ and I try to answer that question, even if it doesn’t have to do with us. I’m not trying to build an empire.” According to Herzog, empire building tends to be at the heart of many affiliate charity organizations that have experienced exponential growth over the past decade. Herzog is particularly critical of the Movember campaign, an annual event that addresses men’s health issues through its focus on prostate cancer. While it has enabled many participants to hit lofty fundraising targets, he points to a potential lack of substance and concern for its mission. “I’m not sure how much awareness growing a mustache for Movember brings in. There’s so much white noise. It’s the lowest common denominator of effort that you can put into doing something,” Herzog said. https://cusjc.ca/wintertimes/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Clip-2-Good-Guys-Tri-Interview-Food-Photo.mp3 ‘Having been involved in fundraising, I thought somebody needs to do something about this.’ –Mike Herzog For the group’s food drive this year, Herzog wants community members to collect and deliver non-perishables to the Ottawa Food Bank. He said they must take logistics into account when putting multiple food bins in place throughout the city. As such, one of the greatest challenges he faces during the execution of the holiday food drive is ensuring the participation and engagement of...