About this project

What We’re Doing

Simply put we’re raising money! The Future Is Now documentary is about teenagers and for teenagers. The documentary will cover a concert tour (to draw them out) and in-school talk show style assemblies (to capture their voices) targeting high school and middle school students. The entire project has a considerable budget and we want to involve as many schools and youth organizations as possible. We submit that the funds for this documentary should come from people who connect with the concept of using creative arts to capture and share the voice of young people who are making powerful decisions for themselves.

Why We’re Doing It

I’m just a normal guy who has the support of his wife to take a chance. We’ve already seen tremendous results in the lives of hundreds of young people who have responded to our messages of making responsible choices and the importance of education shared through music, rap concerts, youth forums, and theatrical productions. We have been blown away by some of the individual stories of teenagers who have made these incredibly powerful choices for themselves even in the midst of considerably adverse conditions. We figure that by capturing some of these stories across the country in a documentary, we will exponentially expand the audience that hears them and create a piece that can positively influence multiple generations of young people. Will you join us?

FAQs

What’s in the digital download package?


Everyone who donates at least $12 will receive our digital download package. We are still adding to this package, but here is what we have confirmed so far. This will include the following:

-      The entire Future is Now album by ASON (featuring his wife Christy LOVE) including the hidden song “Be Inspired.”

-      All posters, banners and desktop wallpaper created for the Future is Now tour as well as others.

-      A video montage of video essay contest winners answering the question “Why are you choosing to stay in school?”

-     ASON’s book “Teenage Entrepreneur” which teaches students how to start and run a real part-time business. This book includes an outline of 45 businesses that can be started for less than $500!

When exactly is “Premier NIght?”
 Premier Night in Washington D.C. has yet to be scheduled, mainly because parts of the documentary schedule itself are still up in the air. You can count on it being sometime in the Spring of 2013, weeks before the limited theatrical release of the documentary. We promise we will give you a heads up WAY in advance.

Can I Gift An Incentive?
 YES! Fantastic idea. If you would like to donate to the film but give the reward to someone as a gift, go through all the normal process of making a donation in your name. For billing purposes, this action must be in your name. After our deadline, we will send a message to you on Kickstarter. (It will be forwarded to the email address you provided) We will request things like your t-shirt size and address from you at that time. Please reply with all the person’s information that is to receive the reward. We will make sure they are the person who receives the reward.

Once the documentary is funded, when will it release? 
Still to be determined. Our goal is to do the tour and film the documentary for 7 weeks during September - October, 2012. Post-production will begin soon after filming is complete. The plan is to have the movie release late Spring 2013. Rest assured all of us involved will make sure YOU know when it’s due to release.

How will you get my T-shirt size?
 Once we cross our deadline (February 3, 2012) we will immediately begin manufacturing and completing incentives for everyone involved. You will get a message from us requesting information from you like your T-shirt size, address, etc. At that time, please reply to us as soon as possible so that we can complete your incentive.

Can I increase my pledge once it’s been made? 
YES! Once you donate to our campaign, you may want to change your incentive reward to a different one, or increase your pledge amount. To do so, go to Kickstarter and sign in. If you go to our campaign page, the green “Back This Project” button has been replaced with a blue “Manage Your Donation” button. Click it and you can enter a new amount, or choose a new incentive.


What happens if the money isn’t raised in time? Unfortunately nothing. If our goal isn’t met before the deadline, no money changes hands and no documentary is made. We want to avoid this scenario at all cost!

Can we exceed the goal?
 YES! What an amazing problem to have. Kickstarter will allow as much money as is given before the deadline. Maybe that would mean a more widespread theater release, more cities covered in the tour, or a special music video made from the tour added as a special feature to the DVD. The possibilities are endless.

How do we contact you? Glad you asked! You can contact us directly at events@bigsonny.com. We check it. We will get back to you. We promise!

Are SonnyWorld, Inc or SonnyWorld Music 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations?
 Unfortunately neither are set up as a non-profit. Donations are raw gifts. Non-tax deductible.

If I donate, when can I redeem the incentive?
 All incentives, big and small, will only happen if our goal is met. If we do meet our goal, immediately after our deadline we will start to manufacture and ship all physical merch directly to you. It will be our priority to schedule the more personal incentives as soon as possible. You will hear from us. (More on this as we get closer to our deadline)

Who does the money go to?
 Every penny (minus the fees for Kickstarter’s involvement) will go directly to the documentary budget - i.e. Your money goes directly to the production and marketing of this film.

$125,000 seems like a low number for a movie budget. Doesn’t it? 
You are correct. Fortunately, there are still very important investors involved in this film. The $125,000 figure is the remaining balance of a larger total budget. Our goal is imperative for the film to be a reality.

 Any other questions? Just ask us. We’d be excited to answer them. events@bigsonny.com

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