Zimfest Membership Drive, Summer 2024

Dear Zimfest Association members and friends,

We hope this letter finds you well as summer draws ever closer. We are sorry that we won’t be seeing you in person this year at the festival, but we are excited to share a little with you about how things are going. Firstly, we have welcomed several new board members whose fresh perspectives and ambitions are breathing new life into our organization. This new group is working tirelessly to come up with a 5-year plan for the future of Zimfest. We are currently speaking with several different university campuses and other venues in Washington State, working to find the best possible places to host the next festival. Next, we are kicking off our summer membership drive! Many of you are already members and are, no doubt, taking pride in supporting your community. For that, we thank you! Zimfest could not possibly hope to carry on without your support. For those of you who haven’t taken the plunge yet, let us take a moment to tell you about how you can join and what you can expect as a result:

First, simply go to https://zimfest.org/about/membership. Here you will find some information about the various types of memberships we offer. Perhaps you are a struggling student on a budget. Consider signing up under our youth/student membership for just $12.50 per year! Or maybe you are a little more settled and comfortable and want to make a significant contribution to Zimfest. In that case, consider one of our lifetime membership options. Wherever you find yourself in life, we surely have a membership option that is right for you. You can also verify, renew, or change your membership at any time. Please note that your membership will auto-renew after one year unless you uncheck that box on the form. Benefits of Zimfest membership include free registration, early access to workshops, and an unshakeable sense of pride that comes with supporting your community. Already a member? Consider a tax-deductible donation of whatever amount works for you!

Finally, as many of you know, Zimbabwe is facing a crisis of food insecurity. We are asking that you consider donating to one of the non-profit organizations associated with Zimfest in an effort to give back to a country to which we owe so much: Ancient Ways, Humwe, Kutsinhira, Mambira Foundation, and Tariro. You can find them on the African Marketplace page on the Zimfest website. If you are interested in giving to an international organization directly dealing with food insecurity in Zimbabwe, we recommend Care. Additionally, the Global Giving website allows you to filter for non-profit organizations by location and type of assistance provided.

Thank you very much for reading our letter. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Warmly,
—The Zimfest Board