Community Dialogue & Freedom Rallies Fund

UPDATE: AS WE APPROACH AND PASS $5,000 please know that any money raised beyond our current goal will be used towards our next events in May and June as we continue to innovate! THANK YOU for your donation of large or small! Here is our background and our entire fundraising history:

Rock This Democracy is a Newtown-based grassroots organization supporting gatherings of all sizes to defend democracy and reject authoritarianism. Our fundraising history is detailed below. Having covered the cost of our prior events (reflected in the total raised of $3530 as of March 21st) we now have a remainder of $350 in hand as we prepare for our April 5th rally. Our venue cost at the Pleasance on April 5th is zero (thank you Newtown Bee!!) but we still face considerable expenses for guaranteeing police presence (cost at ETH was $1200), obtaining insurance, plus all the nuts and bolts that go into procuring an outdoor stage, high quality sound, and covering expenses for some tech and live sound personell who have been donating their gear, talent, and hours of labor free of charge thus far. For these reasons our Go Fund Me has remained open since day one.

For the rally on April 5th we hope to raise another $1470 which, combined with our $350 in hand, should cover all costs associated with that day and perhaps leave seed money for moving forward. That would bring our total fundraising to date to $5000. Anything that comes in beyond that will simply help stage our next events, including our next Community Dialogue in late April or early May plus another major rally in late May or June. THANK YOU for your support! Your donations help create a safe, comfortable setting for notable speakers, music, and guests. It also covers the cost of signage, web site, free refreshments for guests and water for volunteers, and more. Warmer weather has already reduced some costs as we stage outdoors, and we anticipate lower venue costs for future indoor/outdoor community dialogue events. More information on these upcoming events will be found here in the days ahead : www.rockthisdemocracy.org Thank you for donating!

OUR FUNDRAISING HISTORY

To ensure the success of our first rally on February 22nd we set a goal to raise $2000 to cover all costs. We exceeded that goal by $700 which has enabled us to begin our Community Dialogue events, the first of which was Sunday, March 16th. For simplicity we have kept the Go Fund Me open and adjusted our goal upward at each step cover the new costs as we go. THANK YOU for your support! Your donation today helps pay for the April 5th Rally and onward as we plan to reprise the Community Dialouge event again in the weeks between now and our next major rally in May. The significant costs of venue rental fees, insurance, police presence

(all running into several hundred dollars per event, with police cost at ETH rally surpassing $1200) plus costs associated with sound system, web site, coffee and refreshments for the Dialogue events -- all are made feasible by scores of donations both big and small. Every little bit helps so much and ensures a safe, comfortable setting for notable speakers, music, and guests. More information on upcoming events will be found here in the days ahead : www.rockthisdemocracy.org Thank you for donating!