"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
This Fall, Farhana of Brown Girl Surf (
www.browngirlsurf.com) and Cara of Storytellers for Good (
www.storytellersforgood.com) will embark on an epic adventure traveling to India and Bangladesh to meet South Asia’s first female surfers. We want YOU to come along for the ride and be a part of our "Surfing Possibility" family (see perks)!
WHY WE ARE GOING:
We deeply believe in the empowerment of women and girls. We believe that capturing images and stories of female bravery and risk taking in traditionally conservative cultures contributes to creating a culture to level the playing field for women and girls and inspires people to go after their dreams. The surfer girls of South Asia have taken risks against huge societal barriers to do what they love and feel their stories need to be highlighted. We want to take you on a journey with us to meet our surfing sisters, and to share some of their stories with you.
Nassima is Bangladesh's best female surfer. Read about her courageous story here.
WHAT WILL WE DO:
We will produce short-form documentary profiles, blogs and photographs on South Asia’s surfer girls. We will also be producing a special Surfing Possibility card deck featuring images of female surfers and surf imagery of South Asia. You can get a deck as part of the perks! We want to show the world that you don't have to settle for the hand you are dealt in life - that you can change the deck!
Our goal is to eventually capture 52 unique images of surf trailblazers around the world to produce a global deck. Funds raised in excess of our goal will help us capture images of trailblazing surfer girls from Brazil to the Gaza Strip! (For now, we're focusing on making one deck, JUST FOR YOU, with images from this trip.)
Get our signature Surfing Possibility card deck when you donate $30 or more!
We will use the media as educational tools to speak on topics of female empowerment and risk taking in diverse cultures. We will also use it to inspire a culture of trailblazing women and girls to live in possibility of their dreams, so when others hear their stories, struggles and triumphs, they will think “I can do it too”!
WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT:
We have invested our personal money and time for over a year to get this project going. Your TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation (though our 501(c)3 nonprofit fiscal sponsor
www.movingtrain.org) will cover travel, equipment, production, editing and distribution costs for our month long journey. Our budget = pure shoestring out of pure love for these stories! Budget items are as follows:
Production costs: $3,000
Professional editing fees: $4,000
Travel for Co-Producers, Editor/Director of Photography: $8,500 (San Francisco to India and Bangladesh)
Equipment: $310 (Go Pro Camera)
Marketing and Distribution $6,725 (including perk fulfillment, graphic design and printing)
Contingency: $600
Indiegogo, paypal, fiscal sponsor fees (9% of total raised): $2,300 (estimate)
WHAT YOU WILL GET:
Everything from deep love and gratitude from us, shout outs on social media, to a storytelling dinner with us anywhere in the U.S.! We're especially excited to offer people who donate $30 or more our signature "Surfing Possibility" deck of cards (complete with inspiring quotes and surfing images) to remind you that you never have to settle for the hand you're dealt. You can change the deck!
ABOUT BROWN GIRL SURF:
The first girls in the Gaza Strip are taught to surf amongst dropping bombs and flying bullets. A 22-year-old journalism student becomes India’s first female surfer. These are the stories of Brown Girl Surf (
www.browngirlsurf.com). Named in honor of Polynesia's first female surfers, Brown Girl Surf is a journey to share with you the stories and projects of trailblazing female surfers from around the world.
ABOUT STORYTELLERS FOR GOOD:
Storytellers for Good is a team of journalists and videographers who aim to tell and promote stories of people and organizations making a positive difference. Visit: www.storytellersforgood.com/videos for samples of our work!
Gratefully,
Farhana & Cara
We'd like to give special thanks to the following people who helped us with this campaign:
Mira Manickam
Krista Comer
Sarah Kornfeld