Event Seed Funding– How to Create a Sustainable Fund to Seed

New Festival and Event Startups:Prepared for: Enterprise Renfrew County

By: @ProfBruceDate: October 20, 2012

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

London-based CivicArts.com Eric is today’s answer to Marshal McLuhan Parse every word “Leisure is the new infrastructure”

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

Architect originally from San Antonio

Relocated to London Titanic Museum in

Belfast, Darling Park in Sydney, Port Lands in Toronto, Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens in Dubai and many others

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

Headwaters Park, Fort Wayne

30 acres of industrial riverfront converted into grand central park in heart of town

Emblematic civic art tells story of diversity of landscape—continental divide separating St. Lawrence River Basin and Mississippi River Watersheds

Attracts millions every year

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

For small additional investment in innovative design and development, you can get amazing increase in value

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

Formerly, when cities, towns and villages wanted to spur economic development, they invested in infrastructure

Things like roads, water mains, sewers, bridges and later telecom and cellular towers

What Can We Learn from Eric Kuhne?

Today, better off investing in leisure, art, design, entertainment, events, museums, learning and meeting spaces

Every visitor to Renfrew County, say, will spend $100 per person per day

In places like Miami, it’s $249 Try to get that type of knock-on spending via one-

time investments in sewer pipes Most projects Eric works on, even most prosaic office

building, include some ‘leisure’ space and activity

Applying the Lessons of Eric Kuhne to Sandy’s Deli

Imaginative reuse of Petrol Station Good sandwiches Use outdoor canopy to shelter picnic tables Can do more!

Applying the Lessons of Eric Kuhne to Sandy’s Deli

Can do more with big empty parking lot!

Applying the Lessons of Eric Kuhne to Sandy’s Deli

Add leisure element! Add programming! Start a volley ball league/ladder! Or ball hockey, ping pong, paddle tennis, shuffle

board…

Prescriptions–

Renfrew County Event Seed Fund—$500 to $1,500 for each approved project

Tiny amounts of capital but VERY important for confidence

Invest in minimum of 30 events, street parties, projects per year

N = 30

Prescriptions

Seed money for events, festivals and projects

Emphasis on outdoor adventure (snowmobiling, skiing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, fishing, canoeing, motor boating, sailing, camping, RVing and resort stays)

Attracting conferences and corporate retreats

Prescriptions

Investment in accommodations, attractions, resorts

Street parties! Creation of new special events

Prescriptions

SKIP-AID Back to the Future event Borrowed from San Francisco SKIP-AID

in 2070

Prescriptions

Joint effort of Make A Wish Foundation, Ottawa Food Bank, Christie Lake Kids and Learn By Doing

Stone skipping contest Executives (with their own kids) paired with

kids from Make A Wish, Christie Lake and Food Bank families

Prescriptions

Averaging of scores Family festival… eats, music, games,

tourneys, demos, face painting, etc Everyone can skip a stone! $350 per exec plus mulligans plus

pledges!

Prescriptions

Make your Event Seed Fund sustainable Funds come from sponsors, donations, gov’t But also from successful event/festival startups

that giveback 1% of revenues to ESF Do 4 judged, Elevator Pitch Events per yr

(1/QTR) Video each EP Create ESF YouTube Channel/put each EP

there

Prescriptions

Take ESF road show to schools, colleges, universities, chambers of commerce, etc

Serve pizza/sandwiches/light refreshments Charge $20 to attend, $10 for students,

applicants free Each applicant gets 2 min EP followed by 2

minute Q+A with judges and 1 question from audience!

Prescriptions

Here’s a sustainable ESF Biz Model!

Prescriptions

DON’T WAIT FOR YOUR FAIRY GODMOTHER TO COME TO RENFREW COUNTY’S

RESCUE!

RESCUE YOURSELVES!

Prescriptions

Nothing is sustainable unless it’s economically sustainable too

“Long-range planning works best in the short term,” Doug Evelyn

@ProfBruce

Follow me on Twitter: @ProfBruce Find me on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/profbruce

Read my blogs at: www.eqjournal.org

and www.dramatispersonae.org

Read my books at: www.brucemfirestone.com

Study with me, info at: www.learnbydoing.ca

Participate in SKIP-AID August 2013: http://www.learnbydoing.ca/wordpress/?page_id=150