
David Ephgrave is crowdfunding
Weʼre raising £3,200 to keep Hitchin Mostly Comedy afloat during the coronavirus crisis
- Hitchin, Hertfordshire
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Crowdfunding is a new type of fundraising where you can raise funds for your own personal cause, even if you're not a registered nonprofit.
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Story
Like so many industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown live events into crisis. Suddenly, the future of venues & gigs looks worryingly unsustainable. Sadly, that's the case for Hitchin Mostly Comedy too.
Glyn and I run the club as a pair of self-employed performers on a low income. As it stands, Mostly usually makes just enough money to sustain each consecutive event and our running costs as they come, but its survival relies on (1) the gigs going ahead, and (2) our taking little or no money from it. For twelve years we've run the club double-handed, largely unpaid, and no-one who's graced the club - from Phill Jupitus to Harry Hill to Katherine Ryan to Jack Dee - would have visited Hitchin without us committing our time and energy for almost nothing. And when the money isn't there, we plug the gap.
Now we have a problem.
Until our forthcoming dates can definitely go ahead, the club has no income (our ticket provider holds all funds until a week after each show). Meanwhile, all our running costs except for act fees keep going out (so public liability insurance, venue hire, office/storage rent & utility bills, web renewal, mailing list service etc).
Due to a quiet start to 2020, I'd already lent the club £2132 of my own money before March and contributed to cashflow too. Until it's safe for our shows to go ahead, this figure will keep mounting up, and it's not sustainable. Since closing our doors due to the virus in March, we've been recording live podcast interviews via Zoom to keep some momentum going, but these barely cover their own cost.
Mostly Comedy's had a wonderful history and gone from strength to strength, but it's a labour of love more than a money-making venture; we'd hate for it to fold because of this.
Anything you can give will go toward plugging the gap left by the missing income for a few months and buy us some time. If you've been to one (or many) of nearly two hundred shows since 2008 and enjoyed it, you'd be helping us out. And before long, we'll be back provoking laughter again; the way things are now, I think we'll need it!
We hate asking for money, but anything you can give will be greatly appreciated.
With thanks,
David (on behalf of Doggett & Ephgrave)
See below for our 2019 roll call, closely followed by a few more acts who've also appeared at the club (photos by Gemma Poole)



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Updates
9
1 month ago
David Ephgrave
1 month agoJust thank you for taking the time to support Hitchin Mostly Comedy through what was such a turbulent year for everybody, & in our case - as with many small businesses - threatened the club's closure. Thankfully, the combination of your kind donations (86 contributors to date!) & tickets bought for our live-streamed interviews have helped buy more time by contributing to our running costs. We're not out of the woods yet, but if it weren't for your support, we would have already folded...so thank you, so much. Have a great festive season! D&Gx
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4 months ago
David Ephgrave
4 months agoSince the club's enforced sabbatical due to COVID-19, we've been busy recording interviews via Zoom for our More Than Mostly Comedy Podcast (which you can watch live for £5); guests since March include Josh Widdicombe (pictured), Arthur Smith, Rory Bremner, The Bluetones' Mark Morriss, Bobby Davro, Martin Trenaman, Dan Renton Skinner (Angelos Epithemiou), Jan Ravens & Anna Morris. Listen to all bar Josh's (which will be available shortly) for free via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts & PodBean. https://doggettandephgrave.podbean.com/
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4 months ago
David Ephgrave
4 months agoHope you're safe & healthy. Just wanted to give an update on Mostly's current status. Unfortunately, we still can't reopen. While we & Hitchin Town Hall are keen to restart as soon as is feasible, we're currently unable to meet the restrictions viably. We're constantly assessing this though & hope to be back before 2021. But it's tough covering our admin costs with no income & no end in sight. You can still help protect Mostly by donating. Every penny counts. We've raised £2K in 6 months, which is amazing, & we can't thank you enough. D&G xx
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David Ephgrave started crowdfunding
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Supporters
88
Anonymous
Jan 1, 2021
£15.00
Mike Mackenzie
Dec 24, 2020
Keep going, guys, and you and your families stay safe and well.Mike
£100.00
Anonymous
Dec 1, 2020
£15.00
Anonymous
Nov 1, 2020
£15.00
Isy
Oct 27, 2020
One day comedy will be live again!
£150.00
Anne Senechal
Oct 16, 2020
Looking forward to supporting the shows in person again soon!
£30.00
Anonymous
Oct 6, 2020
£15.00

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