BY Walt Belcher
Do you love storytelling? Now, more than ever, is the time to step-up and give some love to the Florida Storytelling Association.
Coming off a very successful Florida Storytelling Festival in January, I would like to make a pitch for monthly giving.
One-time donations are greatly appreciated, but nothing beats the on-going positive effect of monthly giving. Why? Because monthly donations provide this non-profit with steady sustainable funding all year. Every donation, even $10 a month helps.
Support is needed in these difficult financial times. This year, the Florida Legislature cut future funding for cultural grants overseen by the state’s Division of Cultural Affairs.
This means that in the upcoming fiscal year, many cultural events, organizations, museums, festivals, and various art programs throughout the state will be getting much less grant funding. Many others such as The Florida Storytelling Association will get no grant funding.
The FSA has funds in reserve, and the FSA board is working on ways to ensure that the Florida Storytelling Festival keeps going for years to come. The 2025 festival is in the works and plans are underway for 2026.
I recently signed up to give a monthly donation via Pay Pal through the FSA website at Donate – Florida Storytelling Association (flstory.com).
One of the FSA goals is to grow storytelling in Florida. The Board of Directors is exploring ways to have more events throughout the year.
If you attended the annual festival in January, you got to sample the joy, the inspiration, the warm sense of community that comes from sharing stories.
The new FSA t-shirts proclaim “Storytelling: The Original Social Media” but so many people don’t know or understand that we share stories for all ages.
I can’t tell you how many times people have asked: “Storytelling? Do you tell fairy tales to children?”
I answer by explaining that storytelling is more than that. We tell stories that appeal to grown-ups, too. Stories from history, personal stories, ghost stories, tall tales, inspirational stories, fables, fractured fables, funny stories, and more.
The Florida Storytelling Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. It has become one of the best storytelling events in the country, known nationally for its unique combination of workshops, concerts, youthful voices and sense of community.
We draw people from throughout the state and other states, too. It’s a costly venture but it has funded through state and county grants as well as ticket sales, books sales, sales of FSA merchandise, our annual raffle, and donations.
Monthly donations from those who appreciate storytelling will allow us to deliver programs and services to the oral storytelling community and to advocate for the art form.
Nationally, online donations have grown by 40 percent in recent years as recurring donation options become increasingly popular among donors.
Please donate to the future of FSA and enjoy the benefits of a vibrant and effective Florida Storytelling Association. We are a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Your donations are tax-deductible.
Walt Belcher joined the Florida Storytelling Association in 2018, shortly after he discovered oral storytelling. He is currently on the FSA Board.