Home New England & Tri-State Music Saratoga’s Caffe Lena Attracts Fundraising Challenge

Saratoga’s Caffe Lena Attracts Fundraising Challenge

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While Saratoga’s Caffè Lena has gone without customers since March, its livestream and music school have helped it stay afloat. That said, the 60-year-old cultural landmark still needs donations in order to survive the shutdown. If the cafe can raise $50,000 by Saturday, October 31, The Sarah B. Foulke Charitable Fund promises to match donations by 100%. Sarah Foulke was a Saratoga Springs attorney who died in 2016, and regularly volunteered at Caffè Lena.

Caffe Lena Fundraising Challenge

This is a double-your-gift challenge grant to help Caffè Lena survive the shutdown. Caffè Lena is a landmark venue. We want to help them evolve their online platform, and we’re rooting for them to raise the full $50,000 this month so that we can donate $50,000. Unique cultural institutions such as Caffè Lena make our region special and deserve our help. We hope others who love Caffè Lena and Saratoga Springs will join our effort.

Suzan Nolan, advisor of the Sarah B. Foule Fund

Caffè Lena’s event calendar shows new streams nearly nightly. Besides live concerts, streams include storytelling nights and poetry readings. Some streams celebrate a specific genre of music, such as jazz and bluegrass. All of these events are free, with only the music school requiring a fee. Caffè Lena also offers Community Classroom, a non-partisan platform to discuss civic issues, and a program called On the Road, which brings live music to senior citizens and community service organizations.

“The community is getting so much out of our daily programming. We don’t want to have to pause,” said Caffè Lena Executive Director Sarah Craig. She continued:

This fundraising challenge is a way we can stay active for our community while Congress decides what it’s going to do to save the live music and theater industries. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that every expression of care, whether it’s a $5 tip, a $500 donation, or a special comment, adds up to helping live music survive and grow during this time of extreme challenge.

For more information on the fundraising challenge, go to the Sarah B. Foulke Donation Challenge on Caffe Lena’s website.

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Source: NYSmusic.com