A sandwich made of the world-famous local food products, bracelets and necklaces inspired by the Sassi (stones) of Matera, very high quality containers and home items made of recycled material–these are just some of the rewards offered to donors who wish to support and help the International Women’s Fiction Festival in its fund-raising campaign. Our goal is to achieve € 6000 worth of donations to the Festival association which is a non profit organization. The Festival is using ‘indiegogo’, an international platform, for its crowdfunding campaign. 

The crowdfunding program is to help the budget of the 13th WFF to be held in Matera from September 28-30, 2017, with the aim of achieving an even richer and more varied program. We wish to involve the community of and the companies run by women or for women. Many women entrepreneurs, women from the hospitality industry and women designers are cooperating with us, working toward a successful Festival.

As Becky Riches, a marketing expert, who together with Mariateresa Cascino, the President of the WFF, has set up the crowdfunding campaign says, “Rewards for donors varies from 20 to 500 euros, who have chosen arts and crafts products created by women-run companies. Thanks to their support we can all grow together, helping each other and supporting each other. Starting from the smallest donations on up, our goal is to fill the coffers of the WFF while also promoting the sale of crafts products and tourism packages, aiming at promoting cultural tourism.” Some of the crowdfunding rewards include a romantic dinner for two, a weekend in Matera with a guided tour in order to promote cultural tourism and our supporting sponsors. The crowdfunding campaign will last 60 days. A draft program of the international writers’ conference will be announced shortly. Participants from Sweden and the United States have already begun signing up for the writers’ conference.