Executive Summary February, 2010
Great Lakes Aid (GLA) is a project that will benefit environmental activities and organizations in the Great Lakes basin. Great Lakes Aid will be an annual music festival held in a major Great Lakes city at a major venue similar to Farm Aid. The event will be billed as a fundraiser for restoration and protection of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence ecosy
stem and will feature major talent from within and outside of the basin. The major events will be held in the major cities on a rotating basis; Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. The rotation will give the event Olympic type anticipation for the host city. Shows will also be promoted in other cities in the basin. We have partnered with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum to promote the events and have received major financial support from the George Gund Foundation. A steering committee has been formed that will create a new foundation to organize and operate the project. The steering committee will recruit a board of directors, develop a mission statement, create bylaws, and establish criteria for the foundation to administer grants to qualified organizations in the basin. A business plan will be completed that will detail the specifics of the organization including a marketing plan, potential sponsors and partners, the events themselves, a budget, and revenue projections. Several foundations, NGO’s, and government entities have already been contacted and fully support the project. We are currently notifying key partners in the basin and potential sponsors. We are also looking for planning and project support money and are making grant requests to foundations and sponsors. Your support is vital! For more information and to find out how you can help please call us. Contact Information; Tom Fuhrman
Lake Erie Region Conservancy
501 E 38th Street
Erie, PA 16546
814-814-2407
[email protected]
Great Lakes Aid
The Challenge:
To raise awareness about Great Lakes environmental conservation, funds to support community conservation/preservation/cleanup efforts, and visibility for the growing coalition of nonprofit, governmental and corporate partners involved in the Great Lakes sustainability effort. The Event:
First-Ever international concert to benefit the Great Lakes Environmental Coalition. Part of an annual series working with the support of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Great Lake ENGO’s, foundations, governments, sponsors, and others. The events have the potential of raising millions of dollars to support Great Lakes sustainability efforts. The Location:
Rotating through the major communities of the Great Lakes Basin (Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago) with spin-offs of smaller events in other key constituent areas (such as Erie, Toledo, Milwaukee, Duluth, and others). Neither the first location nor the rotating order has yet to be determined. The Opportunity:
Make Great Lakes History, protect our community’s future! By becoming a sponsor of Great Lakes Aid (GLA) you will not only raise awareness for your organization and demonstrate your concern for the Great Lakes watershed, but you will set in motion a continuing pattern of self-reliance for the conservation groups which work to protect our precious places. Once launched, the concert series is designed to be self supporting, spinning off tens of thousands of dollars each year to support Smart Growth and conservation efforts. The Organization:
A biNational coalition (with members from both the US and Canada), GLA is dedicated to the sole purpose of managing events and concerts for Great Lakes environmental conservation and sustainability. As a non-profit corporation and a member of the Alliance for Sustainable Communication (ASC), GLA will work closely with community, state and international organizations which are leading the charge for Great Lakes protection and Smart Growth. The Need:
Even with donated talent, our team members estimate such an event will cost more than $500,000 to produce. Clearly, the profit from ticket sales alone will make this investment well worth it (not to mention corporate sponsorships, TV broadcast/documentary rights, and merchandise) – but we need to get there. The first step will be supporting our core team during the pre-concert planning process – estimated at 12-18 months – so that this level of partnership support can be secured. That’s where you come in. The Ask:
What we’re looking for is $100,000 in seed money – enough to pay the core team members, cover travel and communications expenses, support our meeting schedule, and complete a business plan. This money is being matched “dollar for dollar” in cash and in-kind services from our team and other service providers. The Justification:
You know how important the environmental and cultural quality of the Great Lakes is – you’ve been a strong supporter of our causes for years. You also know that most community conservation groups work in a “stovepipe” model – almost totally separated from their counterparts around the Lakes and living (usually) mainly on foundation support. Through the work of GLA and ASC, these groups will have access to collaborative information and communication tools, and a completely independent, renewable source of funds…that can also provide a template for more local concerts and events to support their community. We know this will work – Farm Aid has been doing it for 20 years - all we need is the opportunity to showcase the strength of our Great Lakes Basin community. GREAT LAKES AID
The Team:
Tom Fuhrman, Team leader
* President of the Lake Erie Region Conservancy
* U.S. Treasurer of Great Lakes United
* Visionary for GLA
* 30 years of sales and marketing experience
Steve Franco, Communication leader
* 17 years’ experience producing PBS (including Nova, Frontline and Scientific American
Frontiers) Network and local videos
* Designed, produced and delivered touch-screen kiosk systems for Centre County PA
* Volunteer Publicity Director for North Branch Land Trust
* Organized 2 educational “summer camp” programs for 5th graders
* Developed and produced a CD toolkit for conservation groups in PA
Terry Stewart, Talent leader
* Executive Director, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum
Kelly Rafuse, Volunteer talent director
* Coordinate talent and production for events
* On air personality 'Kelly k' on WKRZ, 17 yrs radio talent + programming experience
The Budget:
Concert Budget: Start-up/Operating Budget
Location $20,000 GLA Team $60,000
Security $30,000 Travel & Related Costs $10,000
Printing $20,000 Phone & Office Support $5,000
Sound $150,000 Design & Printing Services $10,000
Stage $25,000 Legal & Misc $15,000
Lighting $25,000
Promotions $50,000 Total: $100,000
Management $50,000 In-Kind Donation $60,000
Staffing $40,000 Total Funds Needed $100,000
Misc. $50,000
Total $470,000
