SHAWANO, WI- The story is the same everywhere you look, events falling from the spring and summer calendar are lost opportunities for non-profits to fundraise.
The recent canceling of Sun Drop Dayz in Shawano is just one of many examples.
Organizers of the event say it was a tough decision. Wendy Crawford is on the committee and says the toughest part is the fact that non-profits that use the festival as a means of fundraising, will lose out on those funds.
“Taking away that opportunity for the volunteers was hard because all of these non-profits like the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Optimist Club, and many others have come to rely on Sun Drop Dayz.”
Crawford also works with Boys and Girls Club. She says non-profits losing chances to make money means they lose the chance to grow.
“Your budgets are hard to meet,” she says. “The growth of the programs and the expansion of services is just going to have to sit for a while.
Crawford says Sun Drop Dayz is just one example, but it is a significant one. She says the idea behind it was to get sponsorships to help cover their costs and allow most of the money that comes out of the communities pockets those two days, to go to the various non-profits.
“Not being able to have this event as a source of income stream for the non-profits hurts because we give a large percentage of the profit totally back to the community.”
Speaking on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club of Shawano, Crawford says almost all non-profits in the area are going to feel the pinch.
“I think every non-profit is nervous now because these things are just not an option anymore.”
Big Brother Big Sisters of Shawano has also used different community events such as Summer at Franklin Park, Sun Drop Dayz, and Bike the Barn Quilts as fundraising opportunities.
“It might be a rough year ahead for many organizations.”
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