15th Annual Verizon Community Dinner
Kerr McGee Center
November 22, 2008
Noon until 8:00 pm
A Little History:
On August 14, 2002, the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of China Lake approved a proposal to take over the coordination and execution of the Annual Community Dinner as an on-going project of the Rotary Club under the Community Service Committee.
"The community dinner is our way of teaching a man how to fish, rather than just giving him a fish," said Jana Guest, former publicity coordinator. "We use our contacts to do the background work, so [nonprofits] can do fund-raising, essentially helping them to help themselves."
The Annual Community Dinner was the brain child of Gary Charlon. He wanted to create a community-wide fund-raiser for the non-profit groups in the Indian Wells Valley. In addition to being a fund-raiser for large and small community organizations, the event allows the groups an outreach opportunity to educate the public on the purpose and mission of their organizations. The non-profit groups are provided space for informational booths at no cost . Platinum and Gold sponsors of the event are also offered booth space.
What is the main purpose of the dinner?
It is a community-wide event to help raise funds for our local non-profit organizations. For many of our smaller non-profit groups, this event is their major fundraiser. A secondary benefit is the exposure the non-profit groups get by having a booth at the event to educate the community about their organization.
How does it Work?
The host organization - The Rotary Club of China Lake - gets sponsors to pay for the expenses; including food, facility and printing. The event organization raises over $15,000 - $20,000 in sponsorships to pay for the expenses. The host organization does all of the heavy lifting and the non-profits just have to sell dinner tickets.
The non-profits keep all but $1 from the sale of each dinner ticket. The $1 per ticket policy was started to ensure they have an fairly accurate count for the meals and to make organizations accountable for the tickets they signed out. The host organization receives $1 for every ticket sold and that money is put back into the event.
What is the Event's Trademark?
Everyone recognizes those bright colored tickets used for the event. They get you a meal prepared by the Habitat for Humanity BBQ Team and great coupons on the back. Using the coupons you can get your carpet cleaned, have your tires inspected, have hot dogs and ice cream for dinner, see a movie and then get free pie. What a deal!
How to Get Involved?
Non-profit Organizations: you can sell community dinner tickets as a fundraisers, you can have a booth at the event to tell the community about your organization.
Entertainment: volunteer to perform at the event and showcase your act or group, get publicity prior to the event and a chance to get future bookings from dinner attendees.
Corporations & Businesses: be a corporate sponsor and help over 45 local groups earn money for their projects; be included on the posters and tickets; donate a door prize and get your name mentioned during the event.
Contact David Saint Amand, Sharon Girod or Jennifer Kuhlman for more information