After finalizing its expenses and revenues, the fall kickoff concert hosted by the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) in September 2017 saw no monetary losses. In fact, it had the highest attendance in the student society’s history, making it the most successful kickoff concert to date.
The fall kickoff concert is the largest event organized by the student society at the beginning of the academic year. The event was formed back in fall 2013, and its purpose is to foster a sense of community and school spirit amongst Simon Fraser University students, according to Alam Khehra, vice-president of student life.
In summer 2017, the SFSS Board of Directors projected that the event would see an approximate deficit of $14,000 incurred by the student society. However, after finalizing its expenses, the fall kickoff concert made a profit of $9,712 with more than 2,600 individuals in attendance. “This is the first concert in SFSS history to have more than 2,100 attendees,” rejoiced Khehra.
The 2017 fall kickoff concert generated a revenue of $131,638 and saw a total of $121,926 in expenses, which is greater than its original budget of $111,400, according to a draft financial report provided to The Peak.
Khehra also explained that the vision for the 2017 fall kickoff concert was different compared to previous years in that it was less electronic dance music (EDM)-centric and more hip hop and rhythm and blues (R&B) focused.
The students were also vital to the concert’s success according to Khehra. “Students were active in promoting this concert to their channels and our marketing efforts came across to students,” he explained.
With regards to the leftover profit, the student society intends to invest that money back into other events, according to Khehra.
“This means that the Events Committee has much more financial freedom for more events, and more so, free events [for] students including carnival[s], destress events, free snack days, and much more,” he said.
In its original agenda, the 2017 fall kickoff concert was supposed to have an after-party but due to safety concerns the party was cancelled. Khehra noted that since the after-party was booked at the Diamond Alumni Centre, this added another layer of complexity to the management of the event. “[In the future,] I would definitely do the [after-party] in the pub as it is right beside Convocation Mall,” stated Khehra.
He concluded with a positive note by saying students enjoyed the concert and saw the value in it. “Tons of students recognized that the [SFSS] were trying really hard to shift the school’s social culture . . . For students to see internationally renowned acts at a low cost, be with their friends, and for some even meet the artists is an amazing experience that I’m very proud of our team could provide for our school.”
