#KillTheBillFundraiser. Be part of the movement to #KillTheBill!
What’s in the raffle?
Raffle prizes include signed books from award-winning authors including Sally Rooney, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Douglas Stuart, Monica Ali, Candice Carty-Williams, Hollie McNish, Jay Bernard, Bolu Babalola and Deborah Levy and 150 other amazings contributors. There are painted books and rare proofs, chapbooks from poets and book bundles from independent publishers.
There are also unique experiences on offer, such as a mentoring session from Nikesh Shukla, personalised poems from Bridget Minamore and Eleanor Penny, a manuscript critique by YA bestseller Alexandra Sheppard and the chance to pick character names in future books by Guy Gunaratne and Women’s Prize nominee Naoise Dolan.
See the full list of writers, magazines, presses, editors and more here.
How much are raffle tickets?
Tickets are £2 each, up to a maximum of £20 for 10.
Donations over £20 are extremely welcome!! You just won’t get any more than 10 tickets for your donation. This is to make sure we give out prizes to lots of different people.
We are also accepting donations of any size separately from tickets.
When's the raffle?
The raffle will be drawn at our live event, which is taking place Friday 14th May, 7-8pm, via Zoom.
Hosted by Lola Olufemi, the event will feature live and recorded performances by Jay Bernard, Rishi Dastidar, Emma Frankland, Nikita Gill, Bridget Minamore, Liv Wynter, Lolo Opre of Dikhlo Collective, and Joelle Taylor, plus short talks from activists including Traveller Pride and York Travellers Trust on why we need to stop the passage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, and what we can do.
Buying a raffle ticket gets you a link to the event.
You can also sign up for free, and attending the event enters your for door prizes, no raffle ticket required.
Access: The event will be BSL interpreted and will have captioning by otter ai software. There will also be regular breaks. If you have other access requirements we want to meet them! Let us know solidarityfundraiser@gmail.com.
If you’re not able to afford internet access, email us at solidarityfundraiser@gmail.com and we will cover the cost of a dongle or temporary wi-fi for you.
Who are you fundraising for?
The money raised will be split 50% to Sisters Uncut, and 50% between three grassroots Gypsy Roma and Traveller groups: Traveller Pride, The York Travellers Trust and Dikhlo Collective. You can read more about them on their websites.
What is the #KillTheBill campaign and why does it matter?
#KillTheBill refers to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (also known as the Police Crackdown Bill or Police Powers Bill) which is currently making its way through parliament.
The Bill will increase police powers, effectively criminalising the way of life of GRT communities. It will also give police the authority to shut down protests for being ‘noisy’, increase racist stop and search powers and mean many marginalised communities experience more violent policing.
As the Kill the Bill coalition write:
We must be clear: there is no version of this Bill that is tolerable. Whilst we support the many efforts to stop this Bill passing through Parliament, we also call on all groups and organisations to stand unified in demanding nothing less than a complete rejection of the Bill. If we stand together then we can #KillTheBill.
In recent weeks, we have seen the police repeatedly abuse the powers they already have. Giving them more powers will not make us safer. The Bill intensifies police brutality against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and criminalises their way of life. This must go. The Bill gives the police the power to criminalise protests for being “noisy”, disruptive or “annoying”. This must go.
The Bill uses 'protecting' women as a cover to expand police powers and increase custodial sentences. These measures are not sufficient to prevent violence, and are troubling considering police officers’ implication in cases of violence against women. This must go.
The Bill expands stop and search powers, which are already regularly used to harass and terrorise young black people. This must go. The Bill will silence the calls for justice by families of those whose loved ones have died at the hands of the police. This must go. The Bill makes those at the sharpest edge of state violence even more unsafe - including migrants, sex workers, Disabled people, and racialised communities.
We must Kill this Bill.
I Have Some Questions & I Want to Get Involved…
There are three ways to get involved in the Solidarity Fundraiser. Please read carefully and contact us on solidarityfundraiser@gmail.com with any questions!
1. I want to come to the event, but not take part in the raffle…
Tickets to the event are free: use the FREE TICKET option to receive the Zoom link. All event attendees will be entered into the raffle for door prizes on the night!
2. I want to take part in the raffle and I might/might not come to the event…
Tickets for the raffle are £2 each, up to £20 for 10 tickets, in multiples of £2. You can use the Pay What You Can option to select the number of raffle tickets you’d like.
Here's the slightly complicated bit: you can't just enter £20 and click “Pay.”
Outsavvy requires you to enter the number of tickets, and how much you'd like to pay for each. So, if you'd like to buy 3 raffle tickets @ £2 each, then you enter £2 in the price, and 3 tickets, to be charged £6.
If you're able to donate a small amount to cover the booking fee per ticket, please enter your donation separately via the DONATE option.
If you only want one raffle ticket for your donation, make the price of one ticket the total you want to donate.
All raffle purchases come with a Zoom link, so if you want to take part in the raffle AND come along on the night, you only need to use this option.
Raffle winners will be announced during the event, but you do not need to attend to win. We will contact all winners via email to arrange collection or delivery of the prizes.
3. I’d like to make a donation, and I don’t need a raffle ticket or event link…
We are also accepting donations with no raffle ticket attached! If you would like to offer any size of donation at all (from £2 upwards), but don’t want to participate in the raffle, then first of all WE LOVE YOU.
And second of all, you can use the DONATE option, which will remain open throughout the event.
If you decide after donating that you’d like to come to the event after all, book using the FREE TICKET option and we’ll ensure you get the link.
Who is organising this fundraiser?
We are a group of writers who have spontaneously come together because we want to send a strong message of solidarity to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and direct action feminist group Sisters Uncut. You can contact us on solidarityfundraiser@gmail.com with any queries, including for press.
A quick note on tickets, donations and Prizes
Outsavvy charges a card processing fee per ticket and % booking fee per transaction: we are absorbing this cost so that it doesn’t present a barrier to anyone who’d like to take part in the raffle. Shout-out to the fabulous team at Outsavvy for offering us a charitable organisation booking rate that helps mitigate these costs.
Full transparency: we are very lucky to have been donated some funds up front to cover the costs associated with the event so they do not come from your donations. These include BSL interpretation and captioning, raffle prize postage, and a portion of admin costs. If you are happy to help towards these costs, add a 50p-£1 donation via the DONATE option, and that will help us defray our remaining charges and ensure the maximum amount is divided among the community groups.
If you win an experience which cannot be used you, e.g. if you win feedback on your writing but you don't have writing, then let us know.