Families to receive cheques soon after concert

The charitable organization set up to receive funds from a tribute concert for the Humboldt Broncos expects to issue cheques to 29 families affected by the hockey team’s bus crash as soon as next weekend.

A concert scheduled for next Friday is expected to feature several prominent Canadian country music performers. If the 13,500 available tickets — which cost $65 each — sell out, the event will gross almost $900,000 from the gate alone.

That money, minus the production cost and travel expenses for some artists and hockey players, will then be directed to the newly established Country Thunder Foundation Inc. and on to the families, according to the promoter.

“What we’re trying to do is get as much money to the families as we possibly can in as short a period of time,” said Kim Blevins, general manager for Nashville, Tenn.-based Country Thunder Music Festivals.

“We know that the GoFundMe fund is tied up — there’s now lawyers involved — and we’re just trying to do something very quick in the interim to support the families, because we understand that they’ve got some obvious unexpected expenses.”

The total cost of putting on the concert is not yet known, but Blevins said all of the performers — a list that includes Dallas Smith and Jess Moskaluke — are playing for free, the arena was donated and the production company is working for half-price.

“We’ll have an independent accounting firm lined up the day after the event to go through and make sure the expenses are legitimate, and then we’re writing 29 cheques to the 29 affected families,” she said, adding that all records will be made public.

Sixteen people died and another 13 were injured when the team’s bus collided with a tractor-trailer near Tisdale on April 6. The crash prompted a monumental outpouring of support from across Saskatchewan and Canada, and around the world.

A GoFundMe page set up in the hours after the crash by a Humboldt resident had raised a total of $15,184,000 in donations from 142,030 people when it was closed Wednesday. That money is under the control of a separate corporation set up by the team.

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team has previously said those interested in donating money after the GoFundMe closed should do so through the newly established Humboldt Strong Community Foundation.

The team has said on its website that it does not endorse any fundraiser that does not direct its proceeds to the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation. Representatives of the Humboldt Broncos did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Corporate records show the Country Thunder Foundation was registered in Saskatchewan on April 13.