TEDxUGA is a TEDx licensed event focussed on sharing the best and brightest ideas from within the UGA community. Since 2013, TEDxUGA has made its mark on campus and the greater Athens community growing larger and larger each year. From its humble beginnings as a single room conference to a sold-out Classic Center, TEDxUGA has featured more than 90 presenters and their big ideas. Each year since its founding has brought more innovation, more growth, and has proven the adaptability of an organization motivated by the power of ideas.

TEDxUGA, like all organizations, is not immune from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In the pre-COVID era, the primary source of revenue was obtained through ticket sales and university department sponsorships. Budget forecasting shows that alternative sources of revenue will be necessary in order to maintain the integrity of an event that has become both a standard-bearer for the surrounding TEDx community and an annual landmark event for the university and local Athens public.

To solve this problem, TEDxUGA is producing four videos with the goal of proving the value of the organization as well as its impact in order to incentivize giving. These videos feature current and past TEDxUGA Student Council members, former presenters, and TEDxUGA leadership. They will be sent to existing and potential donors from within the far-reaching TEDxUGA family as well as adjacent communities within the university and surrounding areas.

Beyond encouraging donations to the organization, these videos will demonstrate TEDxUGA’s continued pursuit of powerful ideas and events that bring people together even amidst the limitations presented by a global health crisis. The personal touch of video stewardship has the potential to bring in donations from a previously unreached audience and could very well keep TEDxUGA afloat despite the expected decrease in ticket revenue