ORIGINALLY POSTED: late May 2024

The Immediate Crisis

Glad Day has reached a crisis point. Since the ‘end’ of the pandemic (and the end of COVID-19 subsidies) we have been struggling. We have been going into debt almost every month for the last 2 years. We have often been short on rent. Our landlord has been patient but if we are unable to provide him with a lump sum payment of $100,000 in July, we will be evicted.
BUT if we can pay him $100,000, he has agreed to a small reduction in our rent for 1 year, which gives us time to consult with our communities, explore our options, and create the next version of Glad Day.

The Strategy - Now and Next

We are hoping to raise $300,000 to give us at least one more stable year at our current location and provide the capacity needed to dream of and act on whatever Glad Day becomes next.

This fundraiser will help us prevent a crisis, stabilize us for a year and be a catalyst for rebirth.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE
DECEMBER 1st, 2024

we have raised

$192,000+

from

Over 2400
Donors!

How will the funds be used?

The money we raise will go towards preventing and avoiding crisis while also giving us what we need to stabilize for the year and make a plan for the future.

It can be broken down into 4 parts:

  1. Avoid Eviction

  2. Prevent A Crisis

  3. Build Capacity with Creativity & Accessibility

  4. Plan for the Future

This is the Breakdown:

$100,000 - Rent arrears to avoid eviction [Avoid Eviction]

$30,000 - Hire a part-time fundraiser for 10 months [Prevent A Crisis]
$30,000 - Subsidize our insurance for 1 year ($2,500 a month) [Prevent A Crisis]

$30,000 - Fund to pay performers and artists for events in our space [Build Capacity with Creativity]
$30,000 - Improve our sound system, lighting and build a stage so we can increase our live music and performance events [Build Capacity with Creativity]
$25,000 - Refresh our book stock, with a focus on Canadian authors [Build Capacity with Creativity]
$15,000 - Expand our merch and art from local artists and crafters [Build Capacity with Creativity]
$10,000 - Repair & improve the accessibility of our front door and main washroom [Build Capacity with Accessibility]

$10,000 - In-person and virtual/digital consultations with our communities [Plan for the future]
$20,000 - Funding for what Glad Day will become [Plan for the future]

We know that with intense inflation, funds are tight for many people and you may already be donating to other organizations. Any support you can provide, even if it is sharing this campaign with one other person, is deeply appreciated.

WANT A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION OF HOW THESE FUNDS WILL HELP?
CLICK HERE

WANT TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT OUR POTENTIAL FUTURE INCARNATIONS
MIGHT BE?
CLICK HERE

ARE YOU A POTENTIAL MAJOR DONOR?
If you or your organization
is interested in
a donation of $10,000 or more…
CLICK HERE

HOW ELSE CAN YOU HELP?
There are ways for you to help
other than donating funds.
CLICK HERE for a list of some options.

How did we get here? A snapshot of finances.

Before 2020, we were close to being financially stable. In 2020-2021, with various COVID-19 subsidies, we were able to remain stable. As the subsidies decreased in 2021 and ceased in 2022, our revenue did not return to pre-pandemic levels. With inflation on overdrive, we saw a sudden, massive decrease in sales about 9 months ago as people were forced to be careful with their money. Glad Day is still busy, but everyone spends less per visit, and many folks can’t spend anything at all.

Here are some figures to keep in mind:
Our rent is almost $18,000 a month.
Our insurance is $2,500 a month.
Our hydro is often over $2,500 a month.
Our gas is about $1,000 a month.
So that’s $24,000 a month before we have paid for an hour of staff time, paid for one book or paid for coffee beans.

And we have cut what we can.
We have been without a general manager since early 2020. 
We have been without a bookstore manager since mid 2022.
We have cut our daytime hours.
We have reduced the size and scope of our book collection.
We have reduced our ‘high risk/high reward’ events like dance parties.
We have reduced our social media presence.

These cuts might explain some of the frustrations we know some folks have had with us over the last few years. We don’t always reply to emails and social media messages, we don’t always get books in fast, we don’t always pay local suppliers quickly, we can’t always attend off-site events. We know we have a lot of loose ends - but with our very lean staff time and some volunteer hours, we have still managed to survive and create unique opportunities for community and creativity

Why is Glad Day worth saving?

Established in 1970, Glad Day is the world’s oldest 2SLGBTQ bookstore. It has been at the heart of Canadian struggles for sexual liberation, free speech and creativity. Since moving to our large ground floor space on Church Street in 2016, Glad Day’s community and cultural impact was radically amplified and expanded.

In many ways, Glad Day is like tofu. We take on the flavour of the people using the space. Many different groups and collectives use the space over the course of the year and we try to support this by reducing the barriers to space use, providing informal mentorship to new organizers and nurturing a vibe that values safety, diversity and imperfection.

Over the course of a typical year, Glad Day hosts over 500 2SLGBTQ events, which includes over 1600 individual artist performances in our space. Glad Day Lit pays over $45,000 directly to 2SLGBTQ artists and authors each year and generates an additional $120,000+ in revenue for artists and performers through ticket sales and tips. Glad Day staff have over 50,000 direct points of contact with 2SLGBTQ people each year.

Glad Day funds, supports and organizes many activities, events and services including, but not limited to: performances; literary events; community meetings; workshops; referrals to community and social services; tourist support; informal peer support; crisis intervention; an informal 2SLGBTQ speakers bureau; research support; teacher education; 2SLGBTQ neighbourhood safety; social justice advocacy; and responding to community-related emergencies.

Glad Day Lit was one of the first organizations to respond to the COVID crisis. We set up an emergency fund for 2SLGBTQ artists, performers and cash-based workers on March 15th, 2020; we raised over $230,000 in 7 weeks and provided emergency funds to over 800 2SLGBTQ people in need across Canada in the first 2 years of the pandemic. We also created ‘GDTV’ which offered over 600 online events for people to participate in during the pandemic.

Any support you can give -
sharing this message, helping out or donating below -
any support is appreciated.