Rocking A New Generation of Fundraising

WRITTEN BY ERYN AUSTIN BERGEN

Meet the new face of fundraising! It's loud, energetic, creative, hopeful, joyful, and...loud!

You won't find any remnants of the old face of fundraising - no distended stomachs, drought-stricken fields, or sad puppies, here - just a whole lot of energy and optimism. 

Linda Bustos, Director of Ecommerce Research at Elastic Path

On Thursday, August 28th, Elastic Path ushered in a new generation of fundraisers at their “Raise the Roof” Rockaoke event. This night was aimed at generating support for an FH Canada project in Mufumya, Burundi - to bring light to rural education by building a new school and supplying it with solar powered energy and a clean water source. Not only will 40 primary school children benefit, but countless community members as well. No sad puppies here!

Primary School in Mufumya, Burundi

Elastic Path had the genius idea of using a very powerful, very simple force to compel people to give - karaoke. Who can resist it? “A big part of our corporate culture at Elastic Path is social innovation; finding fun ways to give back to those less fortunate, so this was a great opportunity to bring our Raise the Roof Rockaoke vision to life,” explains Megan Sakakibara, Elastic Path Software Marketing Communications Manager. 

For weeks ahead of the event, people nominated their friends to become one-hit-wonders on August 28th. These “rising stars” only made it to the stage if their nomination reached the minimum donation mark. This quickly turned into a social media frenzy as friends pressured each other to join in the cause. Elastic Path also hosted a silent auction and, thanks to the generosity of socially conscious like-minded businesses, they had an awesome list of items to bid on. In addition to these items, bidders could also vie for the privilege of being chauffeured to work by the Elastic Path VP of Marketing in his full Rockaoke KISS regalia, or play a round of golf with the Elastic Path Executive Vice President.

Torben Giesselmann - karaoke aficionado

The outcome? Elastic Path didn’t meet their goal for the evening...they surpassed it! Aiming to raise $10,000 in one night for the school in Mufumya, participants gave over $13,000! “We were excited to exceed our fundraising target for the event," Megan enthused, "bringing us one  step closer to our larger goal of raising $50,000 on behalf of FH Canada this year.” 

The live karaoke rocked on to the tune of 14 sponsored acts, and 25 - 30 sign-ups during the actual event (as I said, who can resist karaoke?). Entrance tickets were only $20 so it's no surprise that over 150 people packed into the Vancouver FanClub, who generously donated their space free of charge to support the cause! A special shout-out also goes to sponsors Fasken Martineau and E&Y for their contributions to make the night a success. From the pictures, it looks like everyone had a pretty swinging time; doors stayed open until 1:30 am.  

Fans enjoy the swinging music

Frank Chin serenades his wife

The perfect venue

“The venue was fantastic and the atmosphere was really fun,” reports Melissa Giles, an FH representative who turned out to support the event. “The overall highlight for me, though, was actually seeing leadership of the company present, active, and supporting the whole thing.” And, boy, were they ever! Gord Janzen, President and COO, donned his star-studded costume and bravely sang “Ain’t Talkin Bout Love” by Van Halen while CEO, Harry Chemko, took the stage and rocked “Last Friday Night” by Katty Perry.

Harry Chemko, CEO at Elastic Path

At FH Canada, we’re tipping our hats to Elastic Path for raising the bar on quality, integrity fundraising. 

“Elastic Path did a great job engaging people in a cause and still maintaining a level of fun. Sometimes development work and the topic can be so darn depressing. It’s nice to see everyone having a great time and, at the same time, responding to a need within our global community,” Melissa Giles.

Food for the Hungry Canada reps Grant, Melissa, and Shawn

Thank you, Elastic Path, for spending the time and resources to help end poverty - one karaoke at a time. You rock!

To see more photos of the event, head to our Facebook page!

Visit FH Canada to learn more about the project or make a donation.

Silent Auction Donors: OpenDNS, Scotiabank, Vancouver Courier, Kalev Fitness, Sweet Styling Hair Cutters, Chopra Yoga, PhysioWorks, Electronic Arts, Crossborder Communications, Uniglobe, The Keg, The, Sheraton Wall Center, The Marriott Renaissance HarbourSide, FH Canada, Traction on Demand, Chevron, White Spot