Go The Extra Mile for The Mile - Support Mile 8
Hello Music Community and Lovers of Original Music.
Every year since The Mile Team at Willems Marketing & Events launched Mile of Music as the catalyst for a new vibe for Appleton and a booster for the creative economy, hundreds of fans, followers and community/downtown advocates have asked how they can support the event, the artists or the original music movement overall. We’ve been able to make the music happen each year – and keep it free for all to access – through a unique community model of corporate and individual sponsorship blended with in-kind support from many and significant underwriting from Willems Marketing & Events and The Mile Team itself.
But now we can use some help for Mile 8, and we turn to the music community and all of those past encouragers and supporters to say, “Here’s your chance to make the music happen…we NEED you more than ever!”
We’ve outlined several very helpful sponsorship/support levels, but please know that your support at any level will be put directly toward the cost of producing Mile 8 and staging the best fest we can! You can “invest” in the fest with a sponsorship (please note that this is not a tax-deductible donation, rather a sponsorship of the event, with certain levels involving perks returned to you as a thank you for being an official backer of the movement) in the following ways:
-By choosing your own sponsorship level as an individual, couple, family, organization or business. As with all levels of support, we will follow-up with you via GoFundMe to see how you’d like to be listed on our Mile 8 “Extra-Miler” recognition page (for example, John Smith, John & Jane Smith, The Smith Family: John, Jane, Billy and Sarah, etc.)
-By becoming an official Fan of the Fest at the $50 sponsorship level – this will add you to the new Mile of Music Festival email that will share year-round updates and insights into each Mile of Music Festival plus bring you a few fun content surprises from the artists as we go along!
-By choosing to become a Music-Maker Subscriber/Sponsor at the $100 sponsorship level for Mile 8 and the remainder of 2021! Though this is largely a beacon for showing your support, it does come with some perks for Mile 8 and beyond as a way for us to show our appreciation (we have some ground to make up in 2021 caused by the continued pause, but we’ve added some opportunities and will keep working on more following the Fest). Music-Makers Subscriptions can be purchased here .
*Note 1: Please purchase Music-Makers badges/subscriptions separately through the Music-Makers portal so we can keep track of each and every Music-Maker supporter. You can purchase as many MM subscriptions as you desire. We appreciate you!
**Note 2: For those who had purchased Music-Makers subscriptions previously for 2020, a separate but related email has been sent with more details. Please reference that email.
-By becoming an Adopt-An-Artist Sponsor at the $1,000 support level for Mile 8! We’ll assign your name to one of our performing artists who come to Mile 8 from around the country or from just around the corner. Although the Adopt-An-Artist funds do not underwrite all costs associated with the artists, your sponsorship assists The Mile Team in providing helpful support of the artists’ fees, lodging and hospitality during the festival. An Adopt-An-Artist sponsorship is an impactful way for an individual, couple or business to support Mile of Music and, more specifically, support bringing in artists that have instilled in us a greater love for original, hand-crafted music.
-By becoming a Mile-Maker at the $5,000 level (or above). These larger Mile-Maker sponsorships will go directly into a Festival Reserve Fund that will be maintained separately as part of a Mile of Music “Rainy Day” fund. These dollars would be used primarily to help cover operating shortfalls caused by things out of our normal control such as public health emergencies, concession revenue losses from inclement weather, or unforeseen expenses/cost increases – or to help support/launch a new feature at a future festival or year-round music event.
Simply put, to bounce back from the challenges created by the pandemic, we’re hoping all of our fans and friends can join the band and go the extra mile for The Mile – and, specifically, for Mile 8. Your sponsorship as an individual, a couple, a family or as a business – even if small – can make a big difference in how our original music scene returns to the national spotlight both during Mile 8 and throughout the year. Appleton has become known in the music circles throughout the country, particularly in Nashville and Austin, as a destination that artists want to play…and their agents want them to experience because of the way our community embraces them and supports them. How cool is that? Our goal, and we hope you agree, is to not lose that momentum as we come out of the difficulty we’ve all experienced. We have a chance to come back stronger, and we hope you’ll help make that a reality.
Our base goal is to add $150,000-$200,000 to our operating budget to ensure that Mile 8 can happen successfully in that all expenses are covered sufficiently. (Any amount collected toward that total will lessen the burden following the fest and allow us to make significant inroads toward a better and bigger Mile 9 as we all, hopefully, bounce all the way back in 2022.) Please contact us using the button below if you have any questions.
Your help is needed – and appreciated more than you know – to deliver the best Mile 8 we can. Your support of any amount as part of the Going the Extra Mile for The Mile sponsorship campaign will make a big difference…you might say a MILE of difference!
As a reminder, your support of the Go the Extra Mile for The Mile campaign is not a charitable or non-profit donation...it is considered as a sponsorship of Mile 8.
