Thanks to the generous donations of 64 backers, the Kickstarter Project set up to raise funds to digitize Richard Glaze’s archive of 16mm films has been fully funded. The project passed its $6,900 initial goal and now stands at $7,368 in funds raised.

There is still time to contribute, as the fundraiser doesn’t end until 9:56 AM Eastern Time on Friday, and anybody still on the fence about contributing is still encouraged to. While the Kickstarter goal was set to $6,900, the total cost of digitizing all of Richard’s films at 4K resolution was quoted at around $21,500, including HST. The Kickstarter project has raised enough funds to digitize a quarter of the archive and any additional funds will go towards digitizing the remainder of the films.

Once the Kickstarter project closes on Friday, the first task, once the contributors have paid, will be to organize and mail out the rewards backers have chosen. We’ll also reach out to the scanning company about starting the digitization, and select which films to digitize first. We are also reaching out to other partners about raising the remainder of the funds, and figuring out the final disposition of these films once they’ve been digitized — the films themselves deserve more than to just be stored in some non-climate-controlled basement or attic; they need to be placed at a facility which can properly preserve them for the future.

We would like to thank all of the backers who came forward to support this project, and everybody who helped promote it to their friends and colleagues, both on and off social media. Without your support, this extensive archive of classic Toronto transit-related footage would not be seeing the light of day. Thanks again, and stay tuned for further updates.