SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: April 26, 2012

Alliance for Audience is DELIGHTED & THRILLED (and relieved!) to announce that the Fans, Followers & Friends of ShowUp.com and Culture Pass have achieved the $75,000 “All-or-Nothing” fundraising goal!

THANK YOU - on behalf of the AFA Board of Directors and the arts & cultural community that it is our privilege to represent! We are honored by your enthusiasm and support and look forward to the opportunity to continue to be of service!

To make a contribution to Alliance for Audience:

• Secure On-Line Payment via Google Donate:    http://phoenix.showup.com/page/donate
  
• Check payable to Alliance for Audience, mailed to: Alliance for Audience 13416 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ  85032

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April 22, 2012

This is an URGENT appeal to all users, subscribers & fans
of ShowUp.com and Culture Pass ...

Dear Friend:

We need your help - and we need it VERY FAST.

Alliance for Audience must secure $75,000 in pledges no later than this Wednesday, April 25 or risk shutting down its operations.

With $59,775 raised, we are already 79.7% of the way to that goal. But time is growing short and this is an "all or nothing" effort in which every single pledge matters!

To pledge $10, $100, $1,000 (or any amount), please e-mail your name, address, phone number and pledge amount directly to Matt Lehrman at MLehrman@allianceforaudience.org .

All pledges are considered CONDITIONAL upon achieving the total goal. That means that you’ll only receive an invoice if/when we surpass the goal of this campaign by this Wednesday, April 25th. If this effort fails, then you are not obligated at all.

Here's the Situation:

Alliance for Audience (AFA) is the 501c3 non-profit organization behind ShowUp.com and Culture Pass. We were organized in 2003 to help the Valley's arts & cultural community collaborate to raise their visibility and help connect audiences like you to the breadth of Arizona's theatre, music, dance, art, festivals, culinary, science/technology and cultural attractions.

Running a non-profit organization is no easy feat even in the best of times. However the dual challenges of keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies and recent severe economic challenges have pressed arts & cultural organizations of every size, genre and maturity into (at worst) survival mode and (at best) reinvention mode.

That's the double-whammy facing Alliance for Audience. We have a plan of action - but are running perilously short of time and money to make it happen - and that's what prompts this urgent appeal for help.

The Board of Directors of Alliance for Audience is leading a one-time fundraising effort to secure $75,000 in pledges by this Wednesday, April 25.

This effort is not a mere band-aid on a chronic problem. This is the first phase of a thoughtful and strategic effort to afford Alliance for Audience the 9-12 months it needs to substantially reconfigure its business model and technological capacity in the face of a slowing economy and increasingly rapid technological advancements. For more information on HOW we intend to do that CLICK HERE .

We have structured this as an "All or Nothing” effort - asking for "contingent pledges" that only come due if/when we achieve the total objective. If we fail to achieve that $75,000 goal, then all pledges are released and everyone is “off the hook.”

However, I must be clear that in the event of failure, the Alliance for Audience Board of Directors must consider all other options – including the possibility of cessation of operations.

Please let me emphasize that shutting down Alliance for Audience is not what the Board of Directors, or I, or anybody wants to do. But the present situation is critical and truly demands this level of immediate attention.


A Community of Support

That we are so close - already 79.7% of the way to the $75,000 goal - is thanks to the generous pledges of a wide range of individuals, colleagues, member organizations, corporations, foundations and philanthropists who have come to our aid in the past 4 weeks. For their support, we are profoundly grateful.

However, close isn't good enough for an "all or nothing" fundraising effort. That's why we are reaching out to you!

Will you consider making a conditional pledge of support?

Whether $10, $100, $1,000 or more, please simply send an e-mail to Matt Lehrman at MLehrman@allianceforaudience.org containing your name, address & pledge amount. When we reach the $75,000 goal, we’ll send you an invoice for payment. (And if we don’t, then we’ll let you know that your pledge has been “released.”)

It is important that we record these conditional pledges as quickly as possible. Wednesday's deadline is looming large.

Finally, It deserves noting that this financial situation would have been even greater, if not for the generous contribution of discount ticket inventory made available by nearly 30 organizations in recent months. They permitted Alliance for Audience to sell tickets via the Ticket Marketplace and retain the revenue as a fundraiser. We are profoundly grateful for the continuing engagement and trust of the arts & cultural community we serve.

And with your help, we look forward to being of continuing service to you, too.

Thank you very much for your consideration of support.

Sincerely,

Matt Lehrman
Executive Director
Alliance for Audience & ShowUp.com

Your contribution to Alliance for Audience, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is tax deductible.

Please visit www.allianceforaudience.org if you'd like to learn more about Alliance for Audience. Additional information about us is also available at www.guidestar.com.

You are also welcome to contact me directly at 602-971-2223 x101; MLehrman@allianceforaudience.org whenever I may provide any additional information or assistance.