Inna Hardison-ha media group Marketing and Advertising Pros

A few things that have happened since I posted on the difficulties of fundraising in these economically stressed times. (see blood out of a stone, for those who missed it).

Some good, some not so good. Flagler County, my home and home to the LEGACY JAZZ fest we've been trying to fundraise for earned a dubious distinction of the highest unemployment rate in the State, never mind those depressing FOR Sale signs that pepper every street in the same way seashells no longer pepper our beaches. Needless to say, the majority of the population are rather down on the whole thing, and everyone is feeling the pinch.

The good news is - people stil walk, talk, breathe, love and listen to music... Potentially good news - somewhere out there in the world, there are companies and people who are not down and out and who appreciate that the Arts canot hibernate through the tough times, the endangered arts can do so even less, and Jazz is endangered. So we are reaching out to the nation to find our knight in shining armor who will ride in on his white horse (first class, of course), and change the course of history - well, maybe not, but for some kid somewhere who just might be the next Miles, the NEFJA scholarship could make all the difference, and then - history it would be.

So we went looking for our knight to the one place large enough and diverse enough - the Global Marketplace, AKA Ebay, and posted our title sponsorship for the Festival last night. Hopefully, someone somewhere will think it worth while to help us hold on to the legacy, to jazz, to the arts through the downturn. We hope no one thinks less of us for considering the Arts a necessity in our lives and the lives of our kids.

So go ahead, and click the icon, and pass it on to anyone you know who just might have the bucks and the passion.

For the other not for profits out there trying to fundraise, Ebay has unique tools specifically for not for profit organizations. Ebay's Giving Works will result in a nifty ribbon next to your listing and your organization's mission statememt appearing in each listing. Creating an account for a nonprofit is a pain in the butt, but doable, and allows your organization to sell on Ebay's Giving Works withought any fees - which is really cool! There are also some 60K organizations currently registered, and anyone can choose to donate a portion of the proceeds of their sale to a specific not for profit - selller's fees for the donated percentage will be "0". Mission Fish handles registrations and disbursement of funds that were donated to the organizations. All in all, takes a bit to get used to - but a great system!

Lastly, we decided that even if all we get is a dollar from each person that we know, even this little grass roots can beat the odds, and can collect enough to have music free to the public, and have enough for the scholarships. So here goes a little pitch to the AR community: click the button and drop a few cents in, or a buck - and pass it on to your friends, you never know whose education you will be contributing to:

"...hell, nobody knows where jazz is going to go. There may be a kid right now in Chitlin Switch, Georgia, who is going to come along and upset everybody." -Quincy Jones

See the update to this blog: Stones to Mountains:-)

I was just reading a local news release, and it appears the unemployment in my home county, Flagler County, Florida is now the highest in the state, and close to the highest in the nation. Two years ago, this was the fastest booming county in the country, full of new jobs, new construction, new shops and plenty of optimism about the future. You could smell it in the air! The grand openings were truly grand, and it seemed that money was plentiful. This was two short years ago...

Why am I writing this, and how is it relevant to the title of this post?

Here goes: I feel like a fish out of water, trying to splash on rock solid ground, not yet realizing that the terrain has changed, or not knowing how to adapt to the new surroundings. I market things for a living - that's all I know, and up until the last few weeks, I thought I was pretty darn good at it. A few months ago, my agency, which consists mostly of my sweet husband and myself, was asked to promote a Jazz Festival for a regional not for profit organization, NEFJA. They have been around for over twenty years, and the festival coming up in the beginning of May would be their 3^rd... How hard could it be, right?

Our oldest plays piano, and, when given a choice of music to play, will always gravitate towards jazz. For most of his childhood, my mom took it upon herself to pay for his music lessons - a gift for him of sorts, and she's been doing it for a decade now, for which I am extremely grateful, as there have been moments when I couldn't have done that. Knowing that all proceeds from the events go towards giving college scholarships to deserving music students who may otherwise not be able to pursue music - made our decision all the more simple.

So for the past two months we have been trying to raise funds to bring Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, Vince Gardner etc to play in our own back yard, and it's not cheap. But it's been depressing to say the least! Calling on the same businesses that sponsored it last year only to find out they are in foreclosure or out of business makes it even worse.... There is simply no money here for charity, and with the music programs slashed in schools - very little opportunity for anyone to pursue the arts, which brings me to my point:

The arts and music inject a healthy dose of optimism into any place and its people, always have, but when it is needed the most, no one can afford to foot the bill... So what does one do, especially when it comes to helping preserve an endangered art form? No one here will die if the festival doesn't happen this year; most people's lives will remain essentially the same, except for a handful of kids who are practicing on a used trumpet somewhere in an empty room, and who have dreams of being on the stage at Lincoln Center, or in front of a class full of dreamy eyed idealists. Kids who have yet to learn that the ability to enjoy and create art is also predicated on money... If this was in a metropolitan place with news agencies and millions of people - it would probably not be difficult to get Oprah Winfrey and Big Give to contribute, or Bill Gates or Steve Jobes, or any number of people and corporations who have contributed to great causes in the past. But this place is rather small, and the press no longer cares to talk about it since it's not growing anymore - it's shrinking... But the people haven't changed, and the necessity for love, music, humanity remains stronger than ever...

If anyone has any fundraising ideas we've not yet explored, please shoot me an email.
The web address for the festival is: http://www.legacyjazz.com/ - and contrary to my tone, it will happen, one way or another. It would be great if this optimism and certainty were backed by some green paper coming in.:-) Thanks for listening.

See the update to this blog: Stones to Mountains:-)