Will and Rose Ratliffe know how to bring people together. They are also really good at making pizza. And they love CKUA. Are these unrelated? Not with Will and Rose!
They’ve created an ingenious way to raise extra money for CKUA: community pizza parties.
In fact, they have one coming up. And you’re invited!
These Calgarians are community-builders who think outside the box. Listeners and supporters of CKUA for over three decades, in the past year they have been getting more creative in their support, through peer-to-peer fundraising.
Last fall, they hosted a “Backyard Bounty,” where they invited people to come over for homemade pizza baked in their backyard oven. Will and Rose had donated an hour to CKUA and invited others to increase that donation.
“It wasn’t, ‘come have a piece of pizza and give us money,” says Rose. “It was ‘come have pizza and we’d love it if you can donate to CKUA.’”
Everyone had a lot of fun, says Will, and the fundraiser part was easy to do.
“In terms of setting it up, it’s almost no effort,” Will says. “You’re not handling any of the money, you’re just given a link.”
Their party raised $780, which became $1540, thanks to a Double Your Dollars hour during CKUA’s Fall Fundraiser.
“It was really interesting to see just how effective it is and to see all kinds of ways that people could use this,” he says.
The Ratliffes’ story with CKUA begins around 1993, when they moved to Alberta.
They have several special memories, like when Will won a fundraiser grand prize to cohost a show and was able to play a song by The Celebrated Ratliffe Stout Band, which was named after his family’s brewery in England. Lately, though, the connection has felt even stronger.
“Over the past four to five years it’s really become personal. You always hear people say CKUA is the soundtrack to our lives; but it really is,” says Will.
The increased connection started partially when Will retired but they’ve also noticed an uptick in the community events CKUA has been holding.
“We’re starting to see more of those events and we’re definitely feeling more connection to CKUA and with other CKUA listeners,” he says.
And now they’re creating their own connections through their pizza parties. Everyone had so much fun at their neighbourhood fundraiser last year, they decided to throw open the doors this round. Everyone is invited!
Everyone who comes is given a ball of dough and directed to a table covered with topping options. Pepperoni and cheese? Sure. Pear, gorgonzola and a balsamic glaze? No problem.
The peer-to-peer fundraising is fun and there are a million ways to approach it, Rose says.
“We’re everyday people. We’re not a board chair, we’re not a CEO, we’re a retired couple living in a little bungalow in a regular neighbourhood,” she says. “Anyone can have people over and have a little party to raise some money. There are all kinds of things that people can do.”
Donate to Will & Rose’s Backyard Bounty fundraiser here.
Would you like to attend Will and Rose’s Backyard Bounty fundraiser? It takes place Saturday, April 18 from 4pm MT to “whenever people stop showing up,” says Will. Email donors@ckua.com if you’d like to attend.
Interested in hosting your own peer-to-peer fundraiser? House concert? Musical brunch? Lemonade stand? Reach out to donors@ckua.com to get the conversation started.
Curious to learn more about Will and Rose and how peer-to-peer fundraising works? Listen in to The Upload on Thursday, April 2 at 11:30am MT as they chat with host Kate Stevens about music, pizza, and fundraising.
We see Will and Rose as CKUA heroes. In this Spring Fundraiser, we are inviting you to step into that role, too. It’s easy to do. Make your donation today. Every gift makes a big difference!
