For rainy days
Arcana, born in 2021, is a non-profit association with the project of promoting imaginary worlds to the widest audience. To achieve this goal, the association organizes a festival, whose 2024 edition, taking place in Morges from September 13 to 16, will be its 4th year.
This crowdfunding aims to secure the future of Arcana. The economic realities of the cultural and event world are harsh, and we want to stabilize our finances to promise a bright future for our event.
The first year of Arcana was supported by crowdfunding and funds from the committee, which has been working voluntarily since the beginning. We are thus returning to our roots with this wemakeit project! Every year, we have grown and the members of the association have all gained skills. Last year, we finally achieved financial balance.
Today, organizing the 2024 edition costs around CHF 200,000. This budget is financed by our private sponsors and by our ticket sales, stall spaces and beverage sales. Several revenue streams are entirely dependent on the event’s attendance, which can be significantly affected by a simple phenomenon: the weather. If we have a rainy edition, ticket and beverage sales are directly impacted and our revenues decrease. Today, if we experience a difficult year, we cannot guarantee the future of Arcana.
Arcana the Unique
Far from the clichés that too often represent imaginary cultures, the organizational committee is predominantly composed of women. The key positions of vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and communication are held respectively by Steph, Laura, Lisa, and Roxanne. The position of president is occupied by Nathan, and those of IT management and volunteers are managed by Daniel. This gender diversity has proven to be an asset in our evolution: it has allowed numerous exchanges on shared and differently lived experiences. This strength helps us every day to improve the experience of volunteers, visitors, and exhibitors so that everyone leaves with a happy memory.
The absence of a cultural event dedicated to fantasy, the fantastic, and science fiction in French-speaking Switzerland was one of the reasons we created Arcana. Our primary motivation is to offer a moment of sharing and discovery to the curious who come to visit our festival. The committee has always aimed to propose an accessible event where children, teenagers, adults, families, and the elderly find happiness. We have always wanted to offer numerous free activities as well as quiet places to take a breather away from the crowds. No existing event offered this mix of genres in a setting that suited us. This festival was born from this gap in the cultural landscape. This is one of the reasons, but not the only one, why Arcana is unique.
Because Arcana is much more than a festival; it is a moment that annually brings together several thousand enthusiasts for the love of culture. We can name the members of the association who organize and prepare it, the numerous volunteers who come to lend a hand, the sponsors who place their trust in us, the artists, craftsmen, and authors who fill the spaces with their multiple creations, and, of course, the visitors who bring this event to life. So far, the committee has worked voluntarily. Our hope is to start remunerating part of the organization to free up time for Arcana. This project is dear to us, and we wish to continue offering, year after year, a festival driven by our shared passions. We wish to continue dreaming together.
Where Will Your Support Go?
The money raised through this crowdfunding campaign will be allocated to three areas. These are the needs we have identified to stabilize our finances as much as possible and sustain the festival.
To begin with, half of this money will go directly to strengthen the budget for the 2024 edition. The more successful 2024 is, the greater the possibility of continuing in the coming years. Next, we will use a quarter of the received amount to repay the debts the association has with the committee. Finally, the remaining quarter will be set aside to build a nice safety cushion for rainy days.
These three actions will allow us to create a virtuous circle for our finances. The support obtained through crowdfunding—your support—is essential for ensuring a successful 2025 and all the years that follow!
