Today we are excited to announce that we are participating in The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge campaign, with the aim of raising funds to enhance accessibility for venues and festivals catering to LGBTQ+ and ethnically diverse audiences.
Running from Tuesday 28th November to Tuesday 5th December, the donation campaign provides a platform for charities to raise funds through matched donations, amplifying the impact of every contribution. Every donation – no matter how small – will be doubled.
We aim to use this opportunity to further our mission of creating accessible spaces for everyone. Our Mystery Shopping programme plays a crucial role in this. It allows us to assess the current state of accessibility at venues and festivals and suggest areas of improvement.
Mystery Shopping evaluates various aspects of accessibility, including physical infrastructure, communication methods, and staff training. We provide valuable insights for venues to enhance their accessibility and inclusivity. Since April 2023, we have had 37 venues and festivals respond positively to our Mystery Shop reports through constructive changes.
Many thanks for the attached report, this will be incredibly useful for us in building/improving our access provision for 2024. We’ll also continue working together with AIE over the coming year to continue improving our access provision – always such a useful source of information for us.
Deer Shed Festival
The donations received during this campaign will directly support work to recruit more disabled Mystery Shoppers from ethnically diverse backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community. We also plan to commission Mystery Shops of LGBTQ+ spaces and community cultural events like carnivals and melas.
If we hit our target of £4,000, we will be able to commission 60 Mystery Shops in 2024.
As a disabled person it can be easy to feel overlooked, unheard, and dismissed, but it’s been incredibly empowering to feel as if I have a voice through Mystery Shopping. Attitude is Everything has provided an outlet for my energy that can used to create direct, positive change in the world of live music.
Donations have now closed