Advertisement

News

A Call to Tranzaction

I’m a regular at the Tranzac, the non-profit member supported community organization that has been in its current spacious, homey building on Brunswick just south of Bloor since 1971. Yet this week’s news of Tranzac’s desperate need to raise $40,000 by the New Year came as a shock to me. In a handout at Monday’s AGM, the board of directors announced that after last year’s loss of $48,000 the club needs to raise money in the next three months to avoid being forced to consider selling the property or reducing operations.

The Toronto Australia New Zealand Club has outgrown its Aussie and Kiwi roots t

o embrace an unlikely, multi-generational array of cultural organizations and activities. The Flying Cloud Folk Club, closely tied to the Mariposa folk foundation, shares the space with the NAGs acting group, the Toronto Zine Library, Blocks Blocks Blocks Recording Club, and experimental/improvisational bands linked to the Rat-Drifting music label. The always pay-what-you-can Southern Cross Lounge invites drop-ins – stumble into the building at any moment and you might hear bluegrass, a play rehearsal, a poetry reading, or the clash of Morris dancers’ swords.

Unlike typical Toronto venues, the Tranzac feels a lot like coming home. Or, as Bob Wiseman (member-at-large of Tranzac’s board of directors, and responsible, along with outgoing president John Sladek and Out-of-This Spark founder/Tranzac publicity coordinator Stuart Duncan for this recent fundraising push) puts it: “It’s not a corporate entity. It feels like a small town. It basically feels like the rest of Canada…what’s really refreshing, disarming, is that you slowly recognize that you’re in a place of ordinary folk.” It’s an extraordinarily welcoming place.

The Tranzac’s current financial crisis is due in part to ongoing mortgage debt exacerbated by a loss in bar and rental revenue, unexpected building maintenance costs and a raise in property taxes and security fees. Because of the timing of the club’s fiscal year, the loss this summer of the Fringe Festival – a great supporter of the Tranzac for years — hasn’t been factored into the books yet. Another wrench thrown into the club’s financial situation is that refinancing the mortgage would be dependant on expensive environmental assessments, and as an initial assessment uncovered the fact that the space used to be a dry-cleaners, there’s no assurance of good news following further investigation.

But there is hope for the Tranzac. Outgoing president John Sladek will remain involved as vice president alongside new president Michael Booth. The two have previously worked together on Mariposa’s board of directors, and Booth, who comes fresh from working as David Miller’s arts and culture advisor, has ideas about how to use the space, including getting it on the list for film shoot locations.

The short-term fundraising plan includes a concert series, private and corporate donations and a membership drive, as well as a big New Year’s Eve bash. Citing campus-community radio fundraising campaigns, Stuart Duncan thinks that the goal of $40,000 in three months is attainable. “The numbers are not very drastic,” he says. “One hundred more regular members, a series of concerts … there are lots of organizations that have faced bigger hurdles and overcome them. We’re confident that the money can be raised.”

One positive side-effect of this recent financial crisis is that it has already jolted a number of Tranzac users into action. There were only 30 or 40 members in attendance at Monday’s AGM, and just over 140 members total. Since then, new and renewing members have signed up, and the pledgie button on the Tranzac’s website shows donations creeping up to $1,000. This is about money, but it isn’t just about money. “Our hope is that all of the effort and work will spur more interest in the Tranzac and empower people to think about what the Tranzac is and how it relates to what they are in Toronto,” says Duncan.

Wiseman points out that the new life of the Tranzac – the inclusion or discovery of the place by the indie rock and experimental music communities – hasn’t contributed as much as it could to a stronger membership: “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been impressed on many of those people that it’s a place with a board and cash flow problems,” he says. Hopefully this current push will encourage those communities to give back to the club that gave birth to Rock Plaza Central songs (the band regularly rehearsed on stage there), and continues to provide space to some of Toronto’s most exciting music and theatre.

It’s a good time to do what I finally did last week. Walk up to the bar, lay down $25, become a member, and get a free t-shirt. If you would like to get involved, the Tranzac will be holding a emergency fundraising campaign organizing meeting on October 4th at 7:30 pm in the Tiki Room at where else? The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue).

You can also donate online at Tranzac.org, or join the Facebook group, Save the Tranzac.

**

Sarah Greene hosts the Tranzac’s Monday night open stage once a month, and also plays regularly in the Southern Cross Lounge.

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.