Today, we’re pleased to announce a new chapter for The Bay Bridged, with the launch of our new online store and the kickoff of our first Fundraising Drive. We’re offering some great items for sale, including our new album The Bay Bridged, Volume 2 (more details on that next week), t-shirts, pint glasses and more. We also have affordable sponsorship and annual membership packages where your donation gets you a bunch of Bay Bridged goodies.
Please consider purchasing something to support the site, and know that because we are a fiscally sponsored project of an established nonprofit, your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. You can read the full pitch below, but head on over to our store to check it all out!
A Brief Introduction
If you’re like us, and you’re a fan of public TV and radio, you know there’s nothing quite as irritating as the dreaded pledge drive. Not just because it involves someone asking for money for stuff you already get for free, but also because it totally disrupts the programming in favor of long, tiring pleas for cash. We know it can all be very, very annoying, and it’s exactly what we’re hoping to avoid with our first Bay Bridged Fundraising Drive.
The Pitch
Over the past three years, The Bay Bridged has evolved from a once-a-week podcast into an daily online music magazine and weekly internet radio show committed to championing the best music in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through our 140 audio podcast episodes, season of video podcasts, blog, compilations and live shows around the Bay and at SXSW, we’ve dedicated the last three years to uncovering and bringing the world the best of the Bay Area scene. Although very few of these endeavors have made us any money, that’s never been the point and it still isn’t today. But as the site continues to grow and develop, the requirements of money and time to sustain and develop projects require us to ask for your help. Our goals in fundraising are twofold: 1) to help our current endeavors break even and 2) continue to fund new and innovative projects.
How You Can Help
Starting today, we’ve launched our new online store, which you can check out at https://www.thebaybridged.com/store. Because any purchase helps, we’ve endeavored to make it easy and affordable to get something cool that also helps to support our efforts. We’re super-excited about The Bay Bridged, Volume 2, the T-shirts and the Social Drinking Package (just head to the store and check it out). All money from purchases go to supporting The Bay Bridged and our myriad of creative endeavors.
In addition to our individual items for sale, we’re also offering sponsorship packages, which allow you to get a whole bunch of cool stuff while supporting the site, and annual memberships, which will continue to support the site all year long. And here’s where there’s good news: As of earlier this year, The Bay Bridged is now a fiscally sponsored non-profit organization through a partnership with Independent Arts and Media. As a result of this partnership, all donations–including all monthly memberships and director/producer sponsorship packages–are classified as charitable donations and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information, please review IRS Publication 526 and consult a tax professional.
We know this is a tough economic climate, which is why every contribution will make a huge difference. Thank you for all of your support and feedback over the past three years. If you have any questions about this Fundraising Drive, please feel free to e-mail us at thebaybridged
