"I Feel Like This Was a Unicorn Situation": How Forward Avenue Helped Toronto Queer Film Festival Develop a Fundraising Strategy Rooted in Their Values

In our latest client success story, we sat down with Nedda Ibrahim, former Executive Director of the Toronto Queer Film Festival (TQFF) — a festival dedicated to celebrating artists working outside of industry norms. What brought them to Forward Avenue was a fundraising urgency felt by many other media arts organizations at the time.

Between 2024 and 2025, TQFF lost almost exactly 50% of their funding — a hit that was felt sector wide. "We really thought, we can't lose our festival just because grants are drying up," Nedda recalls. "So what are some other things we can do?" That question led TQFF through a strategic planning process, and it quickly became clear that fundraising deserved its own dedicated strategic plan. Through word of mouth, they found Forward Avenue to help develop a fundraising plan to apply over the next three years. 

What Nedda didn't expect was how little that had to be explained. As an organization that prioritizes community care over corporate sponsorship, TQFF's values are non-negotiable. "Forward Avenue immediately got it right away and was super on board — it was always, no problem, how do we make this work?" That understanding unlocked a genuinely creative process, including exploring academia as an untapped funding source given TQFF's deep ties to academic institutions. 

"I feel like this was a unicorn situation," Nedda reflects. "I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that we would have had a fundraising strategy developed by someone who had that same background in film and fundraising. I feel very, very lucky that we just understood each other."

One of the most meaningful outcomes of the partnership was the development of TQFF's first-ever monthly giving campaign. This was something the organization had talked about for years without knowing where to begin. After a thorough analysis of the festival's audience, ticket sales, and values, Forward Avenue helped land on a donor model with an entry tier of just $2 a month. "Betty compared it to Wikipedia," Nedda says, "and said, I donate $2 a month to Wikipedia because I don't want corporations investing in Wikipedia. I don't want corporations investing in TQFF either." The campaign has since launched, and with it, a new relationship between the festival and its community. 

In the development of the plan, Forward Avenue also conducted a full analysis of TQFF's pay-what-you-can ticket model. "The conclusion was definitely, keep your pay what you can," Which was a relief to Nedda that they didn’t have to make decisions based solely on finances and could continue making accessibility a forefront value.

Throughout it all, Forward Avenue kept one important thing in mind: pacing fundraising initiatives with community care in mind. With so many exciting new initiatives launching at once, there was a real risk of overwhelming both the team and the audience. "Forward Avenue flagged that, and our solution was to spread it out," Nedda says. "Making sure we really reiterate our values throughout all of these changes, to make it clear that we're trying new things, but they're still very much rooted in what we've always stood for." For Nedda as a leader, that also meant balancing her team's enthusiasm to keep energy high without letting expectations outgrow the moment.

For other nonprofits considering Forward Avenue, particularly those in the media arts sector, Nedda's recommendation is an absolute yes. "This was honestly one of the most generative consultations I've been through". 

She sees a particular need for this kind of support among media arts organizations whose work is sometimes hard to justify to funders, where the bridge between the art and the fundraising ask needs to be carefully nurtured. "I certainly learned a lot more about how to do that effectively through this process." Nedda has already been spreading the word and hopes to work together again.

At Forward Avenue, we partner with organizations just like TQFF to design intentional fundraising strategies that are inspiring, feasible, and well aligned with the organization’s values and priorities. If you’re looking for a fundraising plan you act action on too, book a discovery call with us today. 

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