Being The Change We Want To See
12 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Austin, Blogroll, FairTrade, Marketing, Media/Press, Offsite, Partners Tags: 1st Annual Fair Trade Film Festival, Austin, Austin Fair Trade Film Festival, community, fair trade, World Fair Trade Day
Longtime Ten Thousand Villages volunteer and current board member Taylor Overstreet wrote this article for MISSION DRIVEN, the blog for Greenlights for NonProfit Success. Taylor shared her excitement (and OURS) for the Austin Fair Trade Film Festival and detailed the process of planning such an event.
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Posted on May 7, 2010 by Taylor Overstreet
Disclaimer: I’m a longtime volunteer and current board member at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, so please forgive me in advance for swelling with pride during this post!
For nonprofit fair trade organization Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, the big idea was a film festival to raise awareness about fair trade. A few months ago, board member and volunteer Sharon Matheny had the idea to hold the first annual fair trade film festival in Austin, in conjunction with World Fair Trade Day, held on the second Saturday in May each year. Ten Thousand Villages of Austin has celebrated for the past several years, but this year, we decided to go big.
But first, we needed to answer three big questions – what, who and how?
1. What do we want to accomplish? Awareness? Fundraising? Recruiting? For this event, awareness was our primary goal. World Fair Trade Day has connected us year after year to people and celebrations all over the world. It’s a special opportunity to celebrate with our local community and to build awareness about fair trade products and the artisans behind them. There are still lots of folks who don’t know about fair trade, so it was important for us to educate in an informal way that is fun for everyone. Film seemed like a natural conduit because of the vibrant film community that already exists in Austin. We decided to include a panel discussion following each film to create a true dialogue as part of raising awareness.
2. Who should be involved? We love our local partners, and the idea of a film festival in Austin just didn’t make sense at any other place than the Alamo Drafthouse. Our timing coincided perfectly with the campaign to secure the Fair Trade Towndesignation for Austin, and that group has played a tremendous role. We turned to our existing partnerships and made new relationships in the process to secure sponsorships from Texas Coffee Traders, Handmade Expressions, The Progressive Populist, Transfair USA, Novica, Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Eastside Cafe, Dominican Joe, Nada Moo, Maine Root Handcrafted Beverages, Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera,Austin Local & Fair Trade, Ethical City, Marigold-Gateway to India, Fair Trade a Day, and Etnik Fashions. Finally, nothing happens without our volunteers. They have been instrumental leading up to the big day and will be a big part of our success.
3. How do we get there? While the film festival is not a fundraiser, we needed funds to make it happen. We set up a KickStarter fundraising page and set a modest fundraising goal that basically covered our costs. We asked a local designer to donate his time designing a logo for our festival t-shirts, and our fabulous volunteer crew galvanized into action to spread the word via Facebook, e-mail, and good old-fashioned word of mouth.
In an effort to build more connections with the nonprofit community, Ten Thousand Villages of Austin recently became a member of Greenlights. Big ideas aren’t so daunting when you have the support that this community provides. It’s our first time trying this experiment, but that’s what big ideas are all about. How big? The festival, the first of its kind, includes three documentary films, panel discussions, a Fair Trade Market, artisan demonstrations, and (because it’s Austin) live music.
What’s your big idea?
VSA Arts of Texas Benefit Night – Thursday, July 24
21 Jul 2008 1 Comment
in Austin, FairTrade, Partners Tags: arts, benefit night, community, disability, vsa of texas
You can help make the arts accessible to all! Join us at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin this Thursday, July 24, from 5-9pm, for a night benefitting VSA Arts of Texas, a local nonprofit organization that promotes the creative power in people with disabilities by facilitating full access to the cultural and educational arts.
A portion of all proceeds from purchases made between 5-9pm this Thursday will go directly to VSA Arts of Texas. You’ll be supporting both fair trade and a great, local, nonprofit organization right here in Austin. We hope to see you in the store! For more information, please click here.
From the VSA Arts of Texas website:
Disability affects 1 out of 5 Americans in their lifetime. According to the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, there are approximately 4 million Texans with disability, and according to the Texas Council on Developmental Disabilities, the number of people with disabilities living in Texas is expected to increase by 30% by the year 2010.
Children and adults drive our organization every day. They inspire our programs and services and guide our vision of an inclusive, creative world. We serve approximately 5,000 adults, children, and educators directly, and over 25,000 students, parents, and community members indirectly each year. We offer programs, services, and events based in four expansive core areas: arts education, professional development, cultural access, and public awareness and outreach. We are a leading force in a movement to transform the way we teach, the way we learn about each other, and the way we live.
