Raise the Hammer

With regards to a three way partnership to save the Gore Park buildings mere moments from demolition, I believe this would be a perfect project to see if we can make an arrangement like this work for this and similar future projects.

Seeing as though citizens and the City would be pitching in the largest portion (or ideally all of funds) required to save these facades, I'd hope agreeing that they would be owned by the people would only make sense. As too should future upkeep costsbe the responsibility of the owners - us.

Although my ability to contribute to this project would be on a considerably lower scale than proposed dollar amounts listed in the comment section of this article, every little bit would surely help.

I've talked about the European-based crowd funding sites (one of the first of it's kind I believe), before but I'll reference it again as it relates to this proposal.

On Sellaband, the only crowd funding is of the musical kind. New albums, EP's, videos, or projects specifically for the funding of promoting these items.

Canadian musical talent Angie Arsenault, is a great example of home-grown talent that raised $50,000 to fund her first full-length album. She also completed her funding project for the production of this amazing video as well.

These artists use incentives to capture the intrigue of potential investors. Some invest purely for the love of music or helping out a fellow musician or local talent, some hope the albums they invest in have remarkable sales and they see return on their investment. Some want the autographed photo or t-shirt or their names in the credits of the video/sleeve of the albums.

Some artists use the same incentives, and some are quite creative in the ways they attract investors/build friendships. Projects that do the best, see artists who are heavily engaged with their fans. Most popular are also those that are very genuine in their appreciation and love for their fans who over time, sometimes even become friends. I still keep in contact with some artists I met through the site from all over the world. It's a great concept and it has worked well for countless artists.

Some of you country music fans might know of The Jefferson's. The very beautiful and talented Canadian country star, Lisa Brokup and her husband Paul Jefferson used Sellaband to produce one of their albums. They posted videos of songs in the works to YouTube addressing their fans and asking for their input.

There are so many ways we can interact with people to get them involved in projects such as this. We could offer a postcard for a $20 and below donation, with a photo of these Gore buildings on it, with some history of the buildings and this 'save' project on the back, thanking supporters for their donations. Maybe a small piece of the demolished part of the building is attached? Maybe signed by a local person? Maybe a local celebrity joins this cause?

Maybe at $1,000 your name goes on a plaque inside the building listing those that helped save the building. Maybe at $100,000 the buildings are named in that person's honor?

Some people will invest out of love for their city with no monetary or souvenir value placed on those donations. Some would like recognition or a keepsake but that they are willing to still donate, is great.

Council/Blanchard, what do we have to lose?

Comment edited by lawrence on 2013-07-09 13:05:33