Keep The Tote afloat.

Like many other small businesses and cultural institutions, the Tote Hotel has been financially crushed by the COVID-19 shutdown. After closing our doors in March, we now need to find ways to generate the funds to reopen and host live music. Despite some government assistance, our bank accounts have run dry. JobKeeper has kept our staff going, but this is only one of the many costs that keep The Tote alive. 

The Tote’s greatest assets are its history and community.

For nearly 40 years, countless bands, musicians, fans and freaks have contributed to the rich and diverse history of The Tote Hotel which has built its reputation as Australia’s liveliest and busiest live music venue.

It is our greatest fear that once government restrictions are lifted, the limited audience gigs will not be enough for us to make enough income to cover the mounting bills and continue to operate.

This is why we have created this GoFundMe.

 

We need money to restart our engines: to pay the bands and the myriad venue operational costs and when JobKeeper runs dry, our bartenders and staff.

This is what keeps going the Tote’s program of free gigs and supporting original bands starting out to build an audience in a context of low financial risk. This is what allows bands with established audiences to play ticketed shows through the best live sound production in town.

It’s obvious to say that this is a time when our entire community is struggling, and we understand that many of our friends and family have little to spare. We are calling on those who are able to help us to please consider supporting us.

We want to continue the legacy of The Tote and attempt to get back to staging 50 bands a week with gigs six nights a week across our three band rooms.  We want to return to being Australia’s most loved Live Music Venue. We want to continue being the home of the original diverse voices of the Australian contemporary live music scene and play our part in the future of Australian and international music culture.  We want to continue to be proud of what we are but we can’t do it alone whilst we are on our knees.

Thank you for supporting us.

We miss you, and we hope to see you again soon.

With love, The Tote.


Rewards.

To show our appreciation we have created a list of rewards for you to choose from. Please let us know when you make your contribution. Please remember Victorian health regulations apply and change all the time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

·      Shout a friend - $20

·      T-shirt and 2 vouchers when you collect them $60.

·      3 Games of pool with a friend (when it's possible) and 12 voucher $200.

·      Sponsor a Bands‘s gig $500 (including businesses).

·      Sponsor Bands $1000 (including businesses).

·      Free plus one entry to shows for a year $1000

·      Get your name, dog, cat, band or business name on our Roll of Honour on Wellington St for helping us survive. Text size will denote your contribution value. $250-$2000+

A voucher is redeemable for anything sold by The Tote to the value of $8 including Live Music Shows.

(authorised by Jon Perring and Sam Crupi)