As you know, when the Co-Founders started TONS 6 years ago, one of our core beliefs was that we would not have membership fees. We felt like money should never be the barrier of entry into this community. We stand by that, and that ain’t changing.
Over the last few years, we’ve had lots of members (and tbh, some very well known artists, songwriters, and industry leaders from around the country and world) ask us how they can financially support TONS, our mission, and our growth. We’ve never had an answer to that question... until now.
Put very simple, the TONS of LOVE Initiative we’re launching today is a casual, non-committal, easy way to support TONS. You can either get set up for a monthly contribution (for however much you want, there is no minimum), or you can just do a one time gift. And if you don’t want to give, all good! Nothing changes for you as a member.
So, why are we doing this now? Great question! I’m so glad you asked.
Since putting together our Leadership Group last year, ideas have been flowing. We’ve got
some cool shit we want to do, and that cool shit costs money. If you didn’t know, TONS has
been fully funded by brand partners, and we’ll continue to strategically partner with brands,
companies, and organizations we align with and bring value to you, the members. But there’s
some things we want to chase that don’t quite make sense being funded by sponsorship.
To pull back the curtain a bit, some of those ideas include (but are certainly not limited to)...
+ Building a member directory
+ Increasing the number of events we have each year
+ Bringing the global music industry to Nashville (A&R, etc) to experience the city, take meetings
with you, discover our artists
+ Create a philanthropic arm