Main fundraiser photo

SoFried2016 Prize Money

Greetings,


On behalf of the collective body of Slammasters at The Southern Fried Poetry festival and slam competition, we’re contacting you today to resolve an injustice that happened in our community.  Our family wasn’t properly taken care of and this campaign is seeking to rectify that.

The Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam is over 25 years old. Started as a refuge for southern poets where their messages could be heard and appreciated, SoFried has grown to be a family reunion. For years, in cities across the Southeast, poets have gathered for growth and fellowship. SoFried has seen its poets push the artform forward and go out to share their poetry and love of community with audiences all across the world. It is the way that SoFried has grown into a “family reunion” that has made this annual gathering such a nurturing space. During the time that we are together we compete against each other, but we also love, honor, support, and encourage each other. When something happens to our family it shakes us. We may not always know how to handle it, but we do feel the need to do something.

In the summer of 2016 our family gathered in Greensboro, NC, for our annual festival. As usual, we spent the time there immersed in the love and respect of our family and our art. Unfortunately, shortly after the festival many participants found themselves faced with major obstacles due to the actions of the host city representative. To date, the winners of the Indie and Team slam competition have not received their prize money. This has shaken our community to its core. The poets did what they were supposed to do. The host city organizer did not. Our family suffered. We want to heal this wound together.

In June 2017, the Slammasters discussed this issue. The Slammasters meeting was full of emotion and concern for our family. Instead of focusing on issuing penalties to the offending party, the Slammasters decided to take this year to collectively raise the funds needed to pay our family what they are owed. Our community leaders expressed that the debt falls upon the host city organizer, however we feel a responsibility as a community to take care of our family regardless of one individual's shortcomings. We are not seeking to absolve the host city organizer in Greensboro from responsibility but to maintain the honor and standards we have set for our community.

In the spirit of collaboration and sharing that SoFried is known for, this issue could be immediately rectified if we all work together as a cooperative coalition. The first thing we are attempting to do is initiate a fundraising campaign. The current goal is to raise $4800.

If the Slammasters and poets of each venue can help raise $150 dollars from their own local communities, our campaign could be over in a matter of months, if not weeks, and we can move forward towards rectifying this situation. We are asking you to follow through on our word and join our campaign. Slammasters are encouraged to reach out to any supporters within their community for donations as well as people who have been apart of SoFried in the past. This campaign will run for three (3) months beginning on December 1, 2017. Each month we will be seeking to meet a target goal of $1600. Slammasters, please communicate any local fundraising initiatives to the board.  We’re looking forward to taking these steps forward together as not only a community but as a family. Thank you in advance for your kindness. We honestly could not do this without you.


A GoFundme account has been set up here: https://www.gofundme.com/sofried2016-prize-money


For more information about our plan visit www.southernfriedpoetryslam.com.


If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email redacted].

Thank You,
The Collective Slammasters

Southern Fried Poetry Slam 2017/2018
www.southernfriedpoetryslam.com

Organizer

Southern Fried Poetry Slam
Organizer
Greensboro, NC

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