"Comedy Abroad"??? Explain Yourself!
Happy holidays!
Comedy Abroad is sending pro stand-up comedians travel to Mexico, Nicaragua & Costa Rica to:
a) Perform 20-25 English stand-up comedy fundraiser shows in popular tourist spots to benefit 6 local nonprofit organizations improving the lives of kids.
b) Film & share our travel experiences with you. Our comics will do & see all kinds of stuff & things those places have to offer. We'll make you simultaneously laugh, and jealous.
Blimey! Have you Done This Already?
We've done half of what we're setting out to do. Our 2015 & 2016 tours in Central America have raised $18,315 USD for 4 registered nonprofits in Costa Rica & Nicaragua. Tourism has amazing untapped potential to mitigate the numerous challenges that many countries face - poverty, a lack of education, a shortage of healthcare, low literacy levels , etc.. However, prying vacationers away from their break from the mundane ain't easy. To help achieve this goal, Comedy Abroad's come up with a slick, innovative way for tourists and/or travellers to give back, and help nonprofits help their communities:
Making anyone who understands what we're saying (travellers, expats, locals) - laugh hard.
While we've raised funds in the past, we're excited to turn our travels into ridiculous travelogues. These countries have a ton to offer visitors other than beaches and rum or tequila-infused beverages. This will be the first tour where will make a concerted effort to film & share our travels.
Our comics have performed at comedy festivals & clubs around the world. On this trip, they'll tell jokes, explore what these countries have to offer, and do some good, all while really...REALLY...hating winter.
Who Benefits From Your Shows?
Our shows will benefit the following amazing nonprofit organizations (all of whom have 501c3 status):
Mexico:
Shows in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and San Miguel del Allende in support of:
TECHO is a youth led non-profit organization present in Latin America & the Caribbean. Through the collaborative work of families living in extreme poverty with youth volunteers, TECHO seeks to overcome poverty in slums.
Questions? Contact TECHO.
Shows in Playa del Carmen in support of:
Keeping Kids in School is a group of hard headed optimists who believe that all children should have a minimum of 12 years of free education. In Mexico there are a lot of children in need and often work is given priority over school. Our mission is to help families and inspire students by giving school supplies and scholarships.
Questions? Contact the team at KKIS.
Nicaragua:
Shows in San Juan del Sur in support of:
Due to limited resources, students in Nicaragua only attend school for half a day. The Barrio Planta Project (BPP) provides free supplementary schooling to the children of San Juan del Sur & surrounding areas with the goal to give them positive recreation and supervised structure during the other half of their day.
Questions? Contact BPP.
Shows in Popoyo/Las Salinas areas in support of:
FIMRC is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of families in the developing world through the implementation of innovative and self-sustainable health improvement programs. Through its network of outpatient clinics and partnerships, FIMRC asserts a multidimensional strategy that includes clinical services, extensive community outreach efforts and health education programs. Our shows are to raise funds for FIMRC's Project Limon.
Questions? Contact FIMRC's Project Limon!
Shows in Granada in support of:
Questions: Contact TPP!
Costa Rica:
Shows in Potrero in support of:
Abriendo Mentes empowers individuals from rural/underserved communities in Guanacaste, Costa Rica to develop the skills they need to seize educational and economic opportunities for themselves and their families.
Questions? Contact Abriendo!
FAQS
Q: So, you’re a nonprofit?
A: No. We’re a social enterprise. Social entrepreneurship is the attempt to draw upon business techniques and private sector approaches to find solutions to social, cultural, or environmental problems - all while trying to create a sustainable business.
We have for-profit motives in the areas of video content production & sponsorship, all while empowering nonprofits in Central America & Mexico to tap into tourism to raise new funds with our live shows.
It’s a bit of a catch-22 for these organizations – the desire to appeal to and raise new funds off of tourism is there, but the budgets aren’t. Nonprofits aren't big into taking risks, nor are they in the event productions business so to lay the burden on them is hard on both sides. We do get SOME stipends associated with our efforts - but not nearly enough.
To reach our for-profit objectives, we'll create video content that you'll enjoy all while having a positive social impact.
Who Are These Comics?
Each tour will have 5 comics. We don't know who's going where just yet, but our comics are from Montreal, New York, Scotland, and Australia. Collectively, they've performed at festivals and clubs (Just For Laughs, Zoofest, Melbourne International, Edinburgh Fringe, ComicCon) clubs all over the planet, have one-man shows, web series, and loads of other credits. We think you'll love this group. A couple of more names to come, but for now, please check out:
Jon Bennett (Australia) - Jon's travelled the globe, winning awards at Fringe Festivals EVERYWHERE with his one-man shows. He's a master storyteller who keep you both laughing and captivated.
Courtney Fearrington (NYC) - Based in NYC, this man's making a move. He's been featured at comedy clubs and festivals all over the country, including the Bentzen Ball festival. Along with touring, he has been heard on Sirius XM, syndicated radio, and has worked with comics from HBO, The Daily Show, Comedy Central, MTV, SNL, and many more.
Jason Hatrick (Montreal) - Jason's performed at multple Zoofests, ComicCon, and clubs in Canada. He was part of Comedy Abroad's first tour of Costa Rica, and has a very unhealthy obsession with board games.
Darren Henwood (Montreal via Scotland) - A veteran of 2 Comedy Abroad tours, this flame-throwing Scot will use the power of his wit against unsuspecting audiences who choose to disrupt his set! Darren's opened up for giants of comedy such as Maz Jobrani, Doug Stanhope, has performed at Just For Laughs, Zoofest, and is a regular host/MC at Montreal comedy clubs.
Travis Irvine (NYC) - Travis joined last year's tour of Central America, and everyone was delighted he did! Extremely funny, he's constantly touring the USA with his stand-up. His journalistic comedy videos have been featured in Viceland, The Guardian, and Funny Or Die!
Jon Selig (Montreal) - Since starting stand-up in 2011, Jon's gone on to perform at Zoofest, and clubs all around Canada & the USA. He's also the founder of Comedy Abroad which guarantees him a lifetime spot on these tours.
Jessica Watkins (NYC) - Jessica's been featured in Chicago’s Women’s Funny Festival, helped break the Guinness World Record in Nashville for longest running continuous standup show (80 hours) and am most notably known for my 2014 walk across America. For over eight months she pushed a cart and walked 2000 miles from Lewes, DE to Oceanside, California, performed standup in a dozen states along the way, filmed the entire trip, and is currently in production of a comedic documentary about my travels.
A couple more announcements to come!
Anthony Imperioli (Montreal) - Anthony's our Director of Creative Content. He's the creator, writer and video editor for the popular web series, Nonna Maria & Friends.
Why $35K/Our Goals
There's a whole section dedicated to this. I originally had it here, but it's been cut & pasted to the "goals" section. In short, we’re looking to raise a minimum $35,000 USD to help us get to & from through 4 countries over 6-7 weeks. That’s a long time for a lot of people to be away, so we’re breaking our tour up into 2 legs, with some different personnel on each:
A) Costa Rica & Nicaragua (February, 2017)
B) Mexico.
We’re also looking to cover costs for our video-production efforts. If we hit $35K USD, all will work out. If you donate above and beyond this and we can hit $55K USD, we’ll be able to let the nonprofits keep a far higher percentage of ticket proceeds. We solve this challenge with our approach.
Your donations will:
- Help cover our travel, food, accommodation costs for teams of 7 or 8 people on each tour;
- Empower nonprofits to raise new funds off the backs of tourism & expats, ease their financial commitment & allow them to keep a higher percentage of ticket revenues;
- Enhance education, healthcare and social condition in the communities we'll be performing in;
- Finance short videos to promote the work they do & our travel experiences, build awareness for the challenges their communities face. We need a bit of equipment to make this happen (some mics and a couple of 128 GB iPods/iphones, storage).
- Empower travellers to laugh hard while on holiday.
Reward Yourself!
We have loads of perks/rewards for you to select from, as a thank you for a donation (generous or otherwise): professional networking & live stand-up comedy (all in one!) events in Montreal (& possibly Toronto), t-shirts, a comedy album from one of our comics,gift cards for ethical tours, the official published history of the Montreal Expos, tickets to our shows in Latin America (get ‘em as Christmas gifts!), the chance to be in our videos, recognition through our videos, comedy albums, creative output from our gang of comics, and probably more. You can even be an executive producer of a video we create (both funny vids, as well as serious ones to profile the work our nonprofit partners do, the impact they have). Even the lowest donation amount is helpful.
Of course, the most logical way to contribute is to buy your tickets to our shows in advance. Buy a bunch if you can. Maybe you're a hotel or hostel - buy a block of tickets. Gift them to your guests, or let us know if you want to re-sell them. Give tickets as gifts to friends or don harass them to pay you back't (just don't scalp them). Tell are your friends, little and big, especially If you'll be in any of the destinations we mentioned in the nonprofits section.
Please spread the word via emails/social media/singing telegram/brainwashable macaw. Even if you can’t donate, please follow us on Social Media, share/like/retweet our posts, and if you can, sign up for email updates. (@ComedyAbroad on FB, Twitter, Instagram, or sign up for emails at ComedyAbroad.com). We’ll be releasing video content over the course of the campaign featuring our comics and nonprofit friends.
