MINUTES
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
AUGUST 21, 2014
Called to order at 5:20pm by Crawmer
Present: Crawmer, Kiley and Wicihowski
Absent: None
Also Present: Marcia Erdman, Director Lenz and K. Dreyer (Administrative Assistant)
Public Comment/Communication
None
Action Items/Funraising Efforts
A. Approval of Minutes: Kiley moved, Wicihowski seconded to approve the Fundraising Committee minutes from July 30, 2014. Motion passed.
B. Fundraising Effort: The First Great Menasha Library Chili Cook-Off on November 2
The letters to the restaurants will be signed by Mary Crawmer as Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee and Aaron Zemlock as President of the Rotary Club of Menasha. The letters, along with the contract and flyer, will be mailed out on September 2. Follow-ups will be conducted the week of September 8 sometime between 2:00-4:00pm. Wicihowski purchased a frame for the best chili certificate. The committee discussed taking the framed certificate to the follow-ups but thought it may be difficult passing from one person to another. The list of restaurants was split up among committee members. Even though Sherwood is in our service area, it was suggested taking those restaurants off the list. At the trustees’ meeting, Nichols suggested stressing the advantages of restaurants participating in the chili cook-off. The letter says that we are defining chili loosely as something great to eat on a cold day. While we don’t want to leave out Italian and Mexican variations of chili, we do want to stress that it should be chili. This can be mentioned in the follow-up visits. If a restaurant chooses not to participate, then we will ask for a gift certificate for the silent auction and to hang-up a poster. Folders need to be made up with brochures, posters (shortened version), tickets, contracts and donation substantiation forms. Once we receive confirmations from restaurants, the posters will be revised listing participating restaurants. The firefighters will be asked to participate. If we don’t have enough chili, plan b could be opening it up to individuals or purchasing it.
The letters and brochures to businesses asking to contribute a literary basket, purchase tickets and/or donate a raffle item will go out the week of September 2. We will see how we do with these letters to determine if additional follow-ups should be conducted. Donated items and gift certificates can be combined to create more baskets.
Lenz will talk to Kathy Hannah about using the display case in October to publicize the event and putting the framed best chili certificate. Dreyer will email Ruth Ann Heeter at Fox Cities Magazine to put the event in the event calendar.
C. Other Fundraising Efforts
Motion to skip discussion on this item made by Kiley and Crawmer seconded. Motion passed.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:08pm was made by Wicihowski and seconded by Kiley. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
