Fund the Funny -- Mental Health Comedy Tour

Summary:

 

After losing her friend to mental health, standup comic Stephanie Foster is self-producing a standup comedy tour that stops exclusively at sorority houses. The experience includes a standup comedy set, a mental health talk, and a live recorded podcast documenting each stop in a Vice-esque interview series of what women are really dealing with on campuses across the nation. The evening will have a hilarious, yet impactful tone that addresses mental health issues, loving people with mental health barriers, and finding connection in between.

 

The Ask:

 

Stephanie has been fundraising behind the scenes for the last 6 months, and she has received 15K in funding from Shamebooth and The Desai’s. Her total goal for funding is $45K, and she is seeking $31K in this GoFundMe campaign to meet that goal (the additional 1K is from gofundme fees).

 

The Desai’s were the very first to invest in the tour, and they are dear friend’s of Stephanie’s from her days in Boulder and working at TDA. Shamebooth is a non-profit founded by comedian, philanthropist, and Stephanie’s California Mom, Paula Williams.

 

At the end of the tour, Stephanie will be donating 10% of the profits to the local suicide prevention programs at the campuses she visits on tour.

 

The Basics:

 

Total Stops: 48

Spring Tour: Sororities in the South, March - April 2022: 24 stops

Fall Tour: Sororities on the East Coast, Sept - Oct 2022: 24 stops

 

Why a sorority tour? Well, a few reasons.

 

First and foremost, due to the effects of the pandemic, this is a uniquely vulnerable group of people that has been negatively affected in significant ways.

Second, Stephanie was the Social Chair of her sorority, and booked talent like this for her chapter, giving her insider knowledge of what and how it works on the other side.

Also, it eliminates the fickle process of ticket sales, which is the biggest headache of producing a comedy show. Because it is booked with the sororities, the house covers the fees, making it a free (and mandatory) event for the members.

 

What does an evening at the sorority house look like?

 

Each week Stephanie will have a guest comic on tour with her, and if she reaches her funding goal, her assistant Sarah. Sarah would open the night with announcements and a set, the guest comic would perform, and Stephanie would follow after. The night will consist of 40 minutes of traditional standup comedy, 10 minutes of a mental health talk, and a live recorded podcast interview. The podcast will seek to uncover what women across the nation are dealing with on college campuses. From mental health, to dating, to having to be an adult – the live podcast will provide a unique experience that bonds everyone in the room and captivates those listening in.

 

Team:

 

The guest comics names have not been released yet, but this is the commitment I’m making to inclusivity:

 

This endeavor is not done alone, in addition to my gracious sponsors, I’ve been honored to be working on this project with the following humans. Please note, my team is purposefully solely staffed by those who are women-identifying.

 

Sarah Khan my Jill of all Trades, and with enough funding – my right hand woman on tour. She’ll be in charge of tech, merch, and oh yeah – opening up the show.

Loretta Foster my Accountant, my mother, and more importantly – without funding, my new roommate.

Sarah Ranney my look and feel designer, my friend, and another comic you should be following.

Kelly Malka my merch designer, and an incredibly talented woman I am honored to have worked on this tour.

 

Wait, backup – tell me the whole story.

 

As you know, I'm a standup comic on the side, but what you might not know is I lost one of my best friends to mental health last year. In her honor, I've put together a comedy tour that focuses on mental health and stops exclusively at sorority houses. Here’s the full story in a bit more detail:

 

In May of 2020, my world changed with one phone call. It’s the day Mental Health took one of my best friends from this planet. Struggling with depression and anxiety myself, it shook me in so many ways I thought I was on a rollercoaster I’d never get off of.

 

Six months ago, I started channeling the extra energy that comes with processing a death into this project. I built a pitch deck, and started watching episodes of Shark Tank for inspiration. I started sharing that deck with mentors I’ve worked with over the years, and they helped me craft it into a rough and ready, yet powerful pitch to bring Mental Health to college sorority houses across the nation.

 

Then, Sarah Ranney, took the deck, my crazy idea – and helped me create a look and feel for the idea. The logo, colors, shapes, and tone were all of her crafting, and I feel so lucky to have had someone guide me in bringing it to life.

 

Once the idea was locked and well-designed, I reached out to anyone who would listen to try and find funding from a brand since that is what I do in my day job. I went through my personal rolodex (do people still say that?), as well as researching all of the brands that have invested in Mental Health campaigns in the last 12 months. I then stalked LinkedIn for hours on end reaching out to those brands and marketing departments, as well as the agency that worked on the campaigns. This yielded a multitude of conversations, but unfortunately – no funding. But it should be noted that The Calm App graciously donated 60, 3-month access tokens for their meditation app. While unsuccessful with the brand side, my friends, The Desai’s were the first sponsors of the tour, and Shamebooth quickly followed.

 

The total funding goal is $45K, and I have secured $15K so far. With this GoFundMe campaign, I’m looking to round out the remaining 30K, and I’m looking to do it by the end of January.

 

 

Okay, so why would I care to give my hard earned money to this effort?

And where is my money going exactly?

 

Transportation: 10%

Food/Accommodation: 15%

People: 25%

Merchandise: 35%

Equipment: 10%

Things Stephanie is not thinking of: 5%

 

What’s this podcast part about?

 

The podcast, which is called: Petrol Llama, was started at the beginning of 2021, has a following, and already focuses on comedy and mental health topics. But more importantly, podcasts with live audiences provide an unforgettable night for the participants. Just knowing their voices will be out in the world elevates this to being an experience.

 

In a docu-style tone, Stephanie will capture not only what life is really like on college campuses, but will address the issues young women are facing across the nation with a bit of witty wisdom from personal life experience, and a whole lot of humor-filled feedback.

 

Okay third-person Stephanie, can we talk to real Stephanie now?

Me: OMG Hiiiiiiiiii!

Okay, What makes you think you can pull this whole thing off?

Okay, that’s it. And if you’ve made it this far, the CDC recommends that you donate to this tour. Seriously, thanks for even considering donating to my project, and if you can’t donate – could you share it with your friends or on your social meeds?

 

XOXO

Stephanie