Fundraiser for Soul Tread Magazine
UPDATE 13th Feb, 2021*
First Edition!
After a successful Pre-Seed Fundraiser with Go Fund Me and a successful Kickstarter Campaign, we produce the first edition of Soul Tread! We have posted out over 950 copies all over Australia and to New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, United States, and England. People are loving Soul Tread and we've been hearing words back such as:
- "It is so good to have something that feels like home."
- "My heart has been crying out for for this very thing for over a decade."
- "To be entirely honest, I was skeptical of the idea of a print-only magazine considering our current digital age, however as I began to read the first few opening articles I was proved entirely wrong and humbled. Truly slowing down and restfully reading has been something my soul has been starved of this odd year, I did not realise how much I needed the time to stop and reflect on God."
There is no way would be have gotten to this point without the amazing supporters who gave to our Go Fund Me Campaign! We're going to continue raising money on this platform over the next few months and we have some details about that below. 
Australian millennials are leaving the church in droves. Soul Tread will help young adults sustain their faith with relevant and hopeful stories in a beautifully designed print magazine, so that they connect with God, the church and their Australian context.
We are really excited to be launching a brand-new print-only Christian magazine for the young and young at heart of Australia. Including exclusive, original content that can’t be found anywhere else, each Soul Tread issue will illuminate new stories covering sustainable faith, church as a community and cultural engagement.
Soul Tread seeks to engage and respect the breadth of Christian tradition both past and present and share experiences and ideas that are unique to the culture of faith in young Australians.
Soul Tread will invite readers to take a break from the screens and the online world so they can engage deeply with the content, ideas and stories within. Reading Soul Tread will be an enriching and nourishing hands-on experience and the original content within can’t be found anywhere else.
Soul Tread is beautiful as a keepsake for yourself, a source of ongoing inspiration and ideas you’ll want to share with the people in your life and return to again and again.
Soul Tread is deeply committed to the creative community and pays those involved in creating each and every magazine - there are no exposure dollars here, genuine pay for genuine work.
Australian-made and eco-friendly, Soul Tread arrives at your door in a compostable mailbag and is printed on carbon neutral, recycled and FSC certified paper.
MEET OUR WRITING LAUNCH TEAM
OUR GROWING TEAM
Board Members: Rachael Lopez, Peter Carolane, Elizabeth Webster, Adam Cetrangolo & Andreea Morrison
Story Scouts: Joel Kettleton - TAS, Bianca Manning – QLD, Matt Brown – VIC, Elizabeth Webster – VIC, Anna McGahan – QLD, Esther Kwang – WA, Arthur Davis – SA & Tanzania
Writing Team: Laura Cerbus, Scott Buchanan, Sharon Cheung, Bianca Alosi-Serratore, Karl Grice, Ellandra Joyce, Matthew Tan
Photographers: Daniel Faint, Emily Seif
Illustrators: Huldah Kwong, Grace Fraraccio, Vanessa Bong
Magazine Designer: Matt Brown from Tako Design Studio
Kickstarter Videographer: Matthew Young from Hyperbeam
Editor: Rachael Lopez
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT SOUL TREAD?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
But isn’t print dead?
There is widespread evidence that print magazines are financially viable. Late last year ABC Radio reported statistics from market research firm Roy Morgan that print magazines are holding ground, with 13 million people reading them in Australia. Roy Morgan’s CEO, Michelle Levine, noted that for magazines their print readers far outweigh their online readers. In a BBC radio segment, Jeremy Leslie (owner and founder of the shop magCulture) tells of how he hasn’t witnessed the death of print but “a series of small, new and often niche print titles opening, and thriving.” Similar reports about magazines in Australia, the UK and the USA point to the success of independent niche magazines bucking the trend of the decline of their mainstream cousins. In Australia there are many successful independent niche magazines with a strong millennial readership base. These include: The New Philosopher, Womankind, Lunch Lady, Frankie, PaperSea, Monster Children, Dumbo Feather and Peppermint. 
Why won't you be making a digital edition of the magazine?
“The digital space is a hectic, loud, cluttered landscape with bloggers, influencers, journalists, editors, writers, marketers all shouting into the void – their voices surfacing, or not, depending on SEO or algorithms.” In contrast, she adds, “The intimacy is unrivalled” when readers hold print in their hands, “a visceral, powerful connection” is created. “In this increasingly digitized world, you cannot underestimate how much people just want to feel something real.” - Terri White, Editor-in-Chief of Empire Magazine
The average millennial is tied to their smart phone, but they do so in short bursts -hundreds of ‘intent-driven micro-moments’ per day. Young Christians engage in thoughtful content, including blogs, sermons and podcasts, but also experience ‘digital fatigue’ and an overwhelming backlog of content ‘saved for later’. Digital might be where people are at, and where we need to meet them, but the goal is to point them to something real. The unique element of Soul Tread is that it is tangible and we’re doing it not just to be different, but to respond to these cultural problems and engage people at a deeper level.
What about the environment?
We are using a Melbourne-based printer that maximises visual impact with high quality printing while reducing environmental impact through a range of initiatives. This includes solar energy and energy efficient lighting in their ‘Green Building’ to the waterless printing and carbon neutral, recycled and FSC certified paper. They even offset their carbon footprint to zero by planting trees in Western Australia! On top of that, Soul Tread will arrive to your door in a compostable mail bag.
What type of business is Soul Tread?
Soul Tread is a Not-For-Profit Public Company Limited by Guarantee and a Registered Charity.
What was the initial $5000 for?
We got up to 90% of our initial $5000 goal! We've been able to set up Soul Tread as a registered charity, pay for market research, copywriting, logo & branding, photography and set up social media. A BIG thank you to everyone who has given to make it happen!
So, why did it increase to $8000?
In order to start our Kickstarter campaign in September and have the first edition out December 1st, we need an amazing video and marketing campaign. So, we increased our goal amount by $3000.
And, now the goal is $12,000?
In terms of distributing to bookshops, we are moving from a wholesale model to a consignment model. We’ve had several conversations with Christian bookshop owners who are keen to stock Soul Tread. Due to the ravages of Covid-19 on businesses across Australia, they are unable to commit to wholesale. This means we need the money to print the magazines for the consignment orders. So, we’re raising our Go Fund Me goal from $8000 to $12,000. As we make back the money on these consignment orders, we can keep it in the bank for the next round of printing consignment orders.
Any help in raising this capital would be amazing, as we continue to set up Soul Tread for long term success. We would like to print 800 copies of Edition 2: Autumn 2021 on the 22nd of February.
How can I get involved with Soul Tread Magazine?
There are many ways to be part of Soul Tread Magazine. Perhaps you’re an emerging or established writer, illustrator or photographer? We would love to hear from you! Check out https://soultreadmag.com/pages/contribute for more info.
