Nancy Lim & Diane Hua write...
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Our vision was to marry talented musicians with a greater cause, such as HIV/AIDS. Timing is everything. Staging a benefit concert in the midst of the International AIDS Conference in Toronto proved to be a blessing for us. Having a network of musically talented friends, supported by admiration for Stephen Lewis and his foundation, gave birth to the idea for our event. Mostly discovered through the online community MySpace, Lindi Ortega, Alexandra and Gavin Slate, Layah Jane, No Stone and Emma-Lee were among the musicians who donated their talents.
After contacting a few venues, Nancy Lim, my co-organizer, and I decided to host our event at NOW Lounge in the heart of Toronto. After planning the benefit months in advance, we thought we had covered most of the logistics. Of course, there are always things that can go wrong. We had underestimated the amount of people we would have at the reception area, juggling cover fees, selling raffle tickets and handling artist merchandise. This meant multi-tasking between the reception area and keeping the flow of five musical acts running on a smooth schedule.
Despite the minor challenges, our event was a success. The venue space was donated to us and we kept operating costs for the benefit at a minimum. With the venue’s maximum capacity at 96, we sold 94 tickets with a cover charge of $10 and held raffles at additional costs. Raffle prizes included CDs and merchandise from the musicians, DVD movies, condoms, t-shirts, AIDS Conference memorabilia, hand-crafted jewelry, gift cards and store merchandise donated from friends.
We raised a total of $1343.38, surpassing our target goal. Thanks to the AIDS Conference taking place that week, our event generated greater awareness for HIV/AIDS. Emma-Lee, one of our acts that evening, was also featured in an article in the Toronto Star.
Warmest Regards,
Nancy Lim & Diane Hua
Organizers, AIDS Benefit Concert
