I'm excited to share a giveback initiative that's been almost a year in the making! Next month Goodera will be awarding $1,000 to the winning team of the Oregon Road Film Challenge at Owens Community College!
As part of the Goodera business model, we give back 10% of each invoice (or in this case award). So last year when I pitched the Goodera business idea and won $10,000 from Wethos—a company that helps freelancers start and scale their independent creative businesses—I set out to give $1,000 back in a meaningful way.
The goal of this giveback was to further the Goodera mission of making a positive impact, as well as the Wethos mission of supporting independent creatives. I'd considered donating to different freelance groups, but knowing that $1,000 wasn't a life-changing amount of money for anyone already running their own freelance business, I thought back to my own cash-strapped times where I got my start—as a student at Owens.
I enrolled at Owens Community College in 2004 as an economical alternative to my school of choice, the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I couldn't afford SVA right out of high school, so while I saved I started my foundation classes at Owens. It took twice as long, but at only a fraction of the cost I was able to pay out-of-pocket as I studied, ultimately knocking off one full year of tuition at SVA. Because of that experience I knew just how helpful $1,000 could be to a college student.
After connecting with a few people at Owens, the Oregon Road Film Challenge came up as a potential giveback opportunity. It's a competition where students have to work together to write, shoot, and edit a short film in just 48 hours under a specific theme. It seemed like a natural fit, as it aligned with the Goodera and Wethos visions of encouraging cross-disciplinary creatives to collaborate in order to create. But to further the Goodera mission, we also put a spin on it that the students must create a film around the theme of making a positive impact.
Submissions are in, judging is taking place, and Goodera will be awarding $1,000 to the winning team of the Oregon Road Film Challenge in May. The award money will be split amongst the winning team, to use however they see fit in advancing their creative development. If you’re interested in donating to increase the award amount, please email me directly at kim@gooderacreative.com and we'll make it happen with the team at Owens.