Blue Collar Post Collective Raises $10,000 for Emerging Talent
In its annual fundraiser, Blue Collar Post Collective raised over $10,000 and grew to over 10,000 members.
The Blue Collar Post Collective (BCPC) met its first annual fundraising goal by raising over $10,000 from community and corporate donors in a six week campaign. The fundraiser allows BCPC to scale its main charitable program – the Professional Development Accessibility Program – to more than double its impact on providing opportunities for emerging talent in 2019. During the campaign, BCPC also exceeded 10,000 members for the first time.
With the financial support of gold supporter Flanders Scientific and silver supporter Goldcrest Post, as well as community contributions, BCPC will continue to provide opportunities for lower income emerging talent to attend events like CES, HPA Tech Retreat, and the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference in addition to NAB Show, Sight Sound and Story, and EditFest.
“Sometimes the only difference between someone who succeeds and someone who doesn’t is financial and geographical positioning, and these artificial barriers can keep some of the most talented people from ascending and contributing to our industry,” said co-president Chelsea Taylor.
By providing ways for emerging talent to be active contributors at important industry events and trade shows, BCPC is providing a bridge to mid-career for all kinds of people to be present, gaining critical education and network opportunities. People from all experience levels, physical locations, and cultural backgrounds have something to contribute to the industry. BCPC believes that changing the face of the industry is an important step toward making post production more inclusive and accessible to all.
Since the program launch in 2017, BCPC has provided opportunities for emerging professionals from all over the United States. One of the first recipients, New York based Flame assistant Eugene Vernikov, added that PDAP “gives everyone a chance to progress and align their goals, especially if you’re not sure where you want to be yet. That can easily be transformative and inspiring for young professionals.”
The Professional Development Accessibility Program was started by BCPC co-founder Katie Hinsen when she saw a young colleague invited to present a paper at a major industry conference. He was unable to attend due to costs, and Hinsen vowed that no other emerging professional should ever have to miss a career-changing opportunity again.
Blue Collar Post Collective will be back with more New York, Los Angeles, and London based monthly meet-ups in 2019, along with free educational events and workshops.