It’s a hard time for non-profits right now, says Heather Fegan, member of the board of organizers for Word on the Street.

They’re putting on a “No-Go” fundraiser to help pay for Word on the Street, an annual festival held in September that showcases local authors and publishers across Canada.

“It’s to give people a bit of a break,” says Fegan. “It helps save money on gas, a new outfit, parking, and baby-sitters and attending an event like a silent auction or something. We didn’t want to bombard people with too much going on.”

The idea is for one person to donate $20, and ask 10 of their friends to also donate, and so forth.

“It’s like paying it forward,” she says.

Their goal is to raise $20,000 by Dec. 14 to pay off some old debts from last year’s festival. Fees from exhibitors, grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canada Book Fund also help pay for the event.

“We used to get a grant from the province last year but they turned us down, and that’s where we had our shortfall,” Fegan says.

She says they also have plans to use the funds to bring more literary events to the community by starting a Word on the Street Book Club to help connect people with authors and publishers.