Taylor Swift's concerts at Vancouver's BC Place Dec. 6, 7 and 8 are continuing to help local charities.
The BC Children's Hospital Foundation on Saturday night (Nov. 30) auctioned 15 tickets to a private suite at one of the Taylor Swift Vancouver concerts for $290,000 – an impressive amount of money but it was not the most that a B.C. charity has garnered for a suite during one of Swift's concerts.
The VGH UBC Hospital Foundation on Oct. 19 raised a staggering $320,000 from a winning bid at its Vitality Gala live auction for 15 private suite tickets to see Swift sing in Vancouver.
The BC Children's Hospital Foundation's weekend windfall at its Crystal Ball gala did, however, better some other B.C. charities that auctioned off tickets at suites to see Taylor Swift. The Victoria Hospitals Foundation at its Visions Gala Nov. 16 netted $260,000 by auctioning off a 15-person suite to see Swift. The BC Cancer Society was the first local charity to auction off a 15-person suite to see Swift. It raised $125,000 for that suite during an action at its Daffodil Ball in April.
Combined, those four suites generated more than $1 million for the charities.
PavCo, which operates BC Place, gifted the suites to be auctioned off, PavCo senior manager of marketing and communications Jenny McKenzie told BIV.
“For every concert that comes through, we have a certain number of suites and tickets that [we get as] part of our partnership with that tour,” she explained.
PavCo sometimes gives tickets and suites to what she called “stakeholders” related to PavCo, but the organization also donates access to suites and tickets to charities, she said.
McKenzie said that PavCo has long had an informal system in place to provide suites and tickets to charities, and this year formalized what it is calling its BC Place Community Benefit Program.
“By donating tickets, BC Place enables charities to raise critical funds while offering unforgettable experiences to their supporters,” she said.
She added that the program reinforces PavCo’s role as a catalyst for positive change and social impact.
The Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is another charity that has cashed in on excitement about Taylor Swift.
It sold two sets of tickets—eight in total—to a Taylor Swift Vancouver concert for $46,000 at its November 2 Gift of Time Gala auction, which raised more than $1.63 million in support of Canuck Place.
Toronto-based telecom Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI-B) is a presenting sponsor of the Canadian leg of Swift’s Eras tour, which includes six shows in Toronto and three in Vancouver.
Because it is a presenting sponsor, it has access to many tickets for internal use.
Some of those tickets are being given away to forge customer loyalty while others are being given to charities, Rogers’ senior manager of communication in Western Canada, Leann Yutuc, told BIV.
Rogers has been giving away 35 pairs of tickets each week to different Rogers customers who enter draws, she said.
“Specific to charities, we have given tickets to BGC Canada, Jays Care, Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto and Canucks for Kids to distribute to their beneficiaries,” she said.
Canucks for Kids received 40 tickets with those going to deserving families to attend a Taylor Swift concert, Yutuc said.
Swift has been a vocal supporter of food banks and that has spurred fan Heidi Van Schaik to launch a Canada-wide initiative dubbed Tay It Forward.
Waterloo, Ont.-based Schaik has set a goal to raise $1.3 million for Canadian food banks, with that amount chosen because 13 is said to be Swift’s favourite number, and it is one she has reportedly drawn on her hand before performances.
Schaik is encouraging fans to make $13 donations, with the campaign slated to end December 13.
A wide range of businesses in Vancouver are also cashing in on the Taylor Swift concerts.
