Application: GrandeCon in Support of Odyssey House

GrandeCon in support of Odyssey House

Community Assistance (Including Multi-Year Operating, Community Wellness and Event Sponsorship)

Summary

ID: 2023-0000000177
Last submitted: Mar 14 2023 11:08 PM (MDT)

Community Assistance & Event Sponsorship

Completed - Mar 14 2023

Community Assistance Grant Funding 2023

ORGANIZATION MAILING ADDRESS

(This is where follow-up communication will be sent to)

Organization Name: Grande Prairie Women’s Residence Association o/a

Odyssey House

Mailing Address: PO Box 1395

City/Town: Grande Prairie

Postal Code: T8V 4Z2

Contact Name: Jenny Weaver

Title: Director of Marketing & Sponsorship

Telephone Home: 780.882.3322

Cellphone: 780.882.3322

Email Address: [email protected]

Registered Society or Charity Number (If Applicable): 129126462RR0001

1 / 10
Applications are reviewed by Council for approval and applications for events need to be submitted at least 45

days prior to event or program. If approved what is the date your organization would need to receive funding?

Approx. May 1, 2023

If your organization is presently receiving any financial assistance from County of Grande Prairie, please

enter amount: (If none, please enter $0.00)

$ 0.00

If your organization is presently receiving any financial assistance from other municipalities, other levels of

government, public agencies, or other sources, please enter the amount and the source: (If none, please enter

$0.00)

$ 50000

What type of Community Assistance Grant are you applying for? (For Multi-year or Emergent funding requests
please contact Parks and Recreation 780-532-9727 before completing the rest of the application)

Responses Selected:

Event Sponsorship

Grant Amount requested

10000

PURPOSE AND NEED

Event Information (date, time, location, if applicable):

July 14-16, 2023 at Bonnetts Energy Centre

2 / 10
If you have run this event or program in previous years, please indicate net proceeds from that event or

program.

3696.62

3 / 10
What are the goals and objectives of the organization, program, project or event? How will County residents
benefit? How will the success of the project or event be measured?

GrandeCon is the superhero brainchild of Odyssey House’s Social Enterprise Committee; composed of our Board
of Directors, Odyssey House staff, and a partnership with the Director of Prince George’s FanCon.
GrandeCon’s purpose is to raise funds for Odyssey House and support their continued efforts to provide safe,
secure, and supportive accommodation for individuals who are experiencing domestic violence, are in crisis, or in

need of a housing alternative. We are a group of self-professed nerds, pop culture fans and huge advocates for
ending the cycle of domestic violence.
GrandeCon is a three-day-long entertainment expo/comic convention in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The event is a
tradeshow style with pop culture vendors, comic/film artists, and features live interviews of celebrity guests and

creative workshops.

Our Organizational Goals

Financial
Grow appropriately and become sustainable
Create economic impact for the region via tourism spending
Multiple/diverse revenue streams
Create stable revenue Odyssey House and Serenity Place

Inclusion & Diversity

Speaking to a new, less accessible demographic
Widen the audience of attendees
Inclusion and support of differing views/populations and experiences

Provide an inclusive environment for female and nonbinary artists

Help promote female targeted comics and graphic novels
Break any outdated stereotypes related to gender in the comic industry
Impactful

Make the community proud of Odyssey House for being proactive

Capitalize on Odyssey House’s innovative nature
Show the value of inclusivity and diversity to the business community and regional politicians.
Gain experience and knowledge in the comic industry and convention event management

Explore related opportunities.

GrandeCon’s goals are to speak to a new less accessible demographic and continue to widen the audience of
attendees. Encouraging inclusion, creativity and creating a community for an underrepresented community in our

region. We strive to demonstrate the value of inclusivity and diversity to the business community and regional

4 / 10
politicians, integrating social issues into regional event planning and design.

How will County residents benefit?

Of the GrandeCon 2022 attendees surveyed, 75% of respondents said they were from Grande Prairie and the
region, including Hythe, Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Grovedale, & Wembley. with 57% of respondents identifying as
female and 66% of attendees between the ages of 25 and 44.

GrandeCon provides an audience that may not be aware of the services of Odyssey House that we provide and
provides access to our community 'unusual suspects' that typically wouldn’t be reached by our everyday
operations.

Pop culture fosters relationships with others who share similar interests, and fan cons help develop ties between
people of various backgrounds. As a result, pop culture serves as a unifying force for young people all across the
world. Fans can meet others who share their interests, engage with content creators, get sneak peeks at new
material, and buy items at these events.

How will the success of the project or event be measured?

As GrandeCon grows, it will create an annual revenue source for Odyssey House for its

operational and capital costs. These funds can be used to help house individuals and their
children who are trying to escape domestic violence or assist with our public education to help
raise awareness of the services we provide.

Future Plans & Milestones

2023 - 3,500 visitors and $27,350 net income

2025 - 4,500 visitors and $30,000 net income
2027 - 5,250 visitors and $38,000 net income
2029 - 7,000 visitors and $50,000 net income

5 / 10
Describe the membership of your organization, including both total members and County resident members or
participants.

Jenna Canavan - Director of Operations

Lisa Watson - Odyssey House Executive Director
Norm Coyne - Liaison & Event Planner

Shawn Penney - Odyssey House Liaison

Kerrin Jackson - Director of Guest Experiences
Jenny Weaver - Director of Marketing & Sponsorship
Leah Coghlan - Advertising & Social Media

Mike Moman - Director of Volunteer Development & Recruitment

Krista Umble - Director of Family/Kids Activities

Describe the level of volunteerism and fundraising efforts. How will the funds be allocated?

GrandeCon is the superhero brainchild of Odyssey House’s Organizing Committee; composed of our Board of
Directors, Odyssey House staff, and a partnership with the Director of Prince George’s FanCon. Volunteers are the
backbone of GrandeCon and we will continue to support them as much as they support us. GrandeCon recruited
and trained over 30 volunteers, with 100% of those who responded to our survey stating they would return and

take on a larger role.

As GrandeCon grows, the intention is to create an annual revenue source for Odyssey House for its operational

and capital costs. These funds can help Odyssey House and support individuals and their children trying to escape
domestic violence, as well as assist with our public education to help raise awareness of the services we provide.

6 / 10
Please describe the implication of not receiving the grant funding, or receiving less than the requested
amount.

Grants are a significant focus of our fund development strategy, if we are unsuccessful with receiving the
requested amount our team of volunteers will work together to identify opportunities for corporate sponsorships or
scale back our planned event growth if not sustainable without grant funding. We hope to use these funds to grow
our kids and family events in our KidZone, an opportunity to partner with other non profit partners in hosting family
centered activities.

Our operational viability focuses on a variety of products and services during the event to generate funds.
GrandeCon Sponsorship
Celebrity Guests
Vendor Tables
Food Trucks
Gaming Events
Convention Exclusive Merchandise

Ticket Sales

Are funds being sought from other sources to support this program, project or event?

GrandeCon was successful in our application for grant funding from the City of Grande Prairie for our 2022 and

2023 event. We have signed on returning corporate sponsors including our presenting sponsor Stringam LLP, New
Horizon Co-op, Dobko & Wheaton, Fletcher Mudryk, Brent North of Remax, etc. and we are continuing to strategize
and develop relationships with potential sponsors. We have also been very grateful to receive gift in kind
sponsorships to help with our overhead costs.
We have submitted a funding application with the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism to assist with our marketing and
accommodation needs.
We plan to continue to apply for grants from applicable sources.

Project Budget

For event sponsorship program support budget. If applying for emergent or Multi-Year funding this is for your

expenses and revenue.

7 / 10
Projected Revenue (contributions, other grants)

Item Amount $

1 Admissions 107250

2 Vendors 34050

3 Sponsorships 37500

4 Grants 60000

5 Sale of Items 55000

Revenue Total

293800

Projected Expenses (studies, materials, equipment, labour)

Item Amount $

1 Entertainment 147000

2 Facility 58500

3 Audio/Visual 14750

4 Volunteers/Staff 18500

5 Promotion 20500

6 Other Event Expenses 7200

Expenses Total

266450

8 / 10
Surplus/Deficit

27350

Signature of Applicant:

Use your computer mouse or mouse pad to draw on the signature line.

Obligations upon Receiving Grant

Grant recipients will receive a Grant Agreement outlining the approved grant amount, including specific items
approved or denied, and the project goals and outcomes expected. Organizations may only spend grant funds on
the specific items approved. Recipients must submit a report within the time identified in the Grant Agreement to
account for funds spent and it indicate the success in achieving project/program goals and objectives through
measures identified in the approved application. Failure to submit a report, or delinquency in submission, may affect
future grant application consideration. At any time, grant recipients must permit a representative of the County of
Grande Prairie to examine books and records to determine whether the grant funding has been used as intended
and approved.

Upload Sponsorship Package for events

Completed - Mar 14 2023

Filename: GrandeCon_Proposal_Project_FINAL_2.pdf Size: 2.6 MB

Sponsor Promo Video

Promotional Video created to thank our 2022 sponsors, looking to expand our recognition to incorporate more main
stage announcements and videos for 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPXGSvLVSLk

Organization Financial Statement

Completed - Mar 14 2023

9 / 10
For those seeking Community Assistance Multi-year funding for operating assistance or emergent funding please
upload your organization's latest Financial Statement.

For those seeking event sponsorship please upload the financials from your previous event/program and your
organizations financials

GrandeCon 2022 Statement of Income & Expenses

Filename: GrandeCon_2022_Statement_of_Incom_6sY6PEU.xlsx Size: 84.6 kB

Budget - Draft 1 (1)

Filename: Budget_-_Draft_1_1.xlsx Size: 14.6 kB

GPWRA Audited Financial Statement 2021-2022

Filename: GPWRA_Audited_Financial_Statement__ksaX9Jx.pdf Size: 6.2 MB

List of Board of Directors

Completed - Mar 14 2023

GrandeCon 2023 Board Directors

Filename: GrandeCon_2023_Board_Directors.pdf Size: 66.6 kB

Additional information to support funding request.

Completed - Mar 14 2023

GPWRA Certificate of Incorporation

Filename: GPWRA_Certificate_of_Incorporation.pdf Size: 528.6 kB

GrandeCon 2023 Business Plan

Filename: GrandeCon_2023_Business_Plan.pdf Size: 87.5 MB

10 / 10