MINUTES
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
October 12, 2015
Called to order at 4:00pm by Crawmer
Present: Coopman, Crawmer and Wicihowski
Absent: Rollins-Jump
Also Present: Marcia Erdman, Director Lenz and K. Dreyer (Administrative Assistant)
Public Comment/Communication: None
Action Items/Fundraising Efforts
A. Approval of Minutes: Wicihowski moved, Coopman seconded to approve the Fundraising Committee minutes from July 31, 2015. Motion carried unanimously.
B. Mission Statement: The committee will take the current mission statement/goals back to the board for direction.
C. Smith Family Book Collection: Lenz has not received any bids on the Smith Family Book Collection. Letters were sent to book dealers in Wisconsin, Minneapolis and Chicago and the list of books with estimates of the worth of each according to eBay and other sources are listed online. The deadline to make bids is November 1. If no bids are received, Lenz will talk to Tom Lyons, Thomas A. Lyons Fine Books, to see if he has any suggestions or possibly sell on consignment.
D. Future Fundraising Projects: The committee decided to hold a 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off. Waverly has December 6 penciled in for the event but the committee did not think that it would give them enough time. It was suggested asking restaurants outside of Menasha to donate chili. Last year, chili donations came from B. J. Clancy’s Copps, Hank’s Tavern, Wendy’s, Weathervane, Waverly Beach, 3rd Street Diner, The Source Public House, Mihm’s Charcoal Grill, High Cliff, Holiday’s Pub and Grill and the Neenah Menasha Fire Rescue. We will offer these places a chance to come back. Athos was very popular at the Luigi’s fundraiser--we could invite him to come and offer special pricing for kids. Lenz was asked to see if Waverly is available January 31 or February 21. The committee was asked to come to the next meeting, October 28 at 3:45pm, with a list of restaurants, businesses that could purchase a table, and those that could donate baskets. Once we have a list of restaurants, a letter will be sent inviting them to participate and committee members will follow-up with each. We will need an emcee. The Menasha Jazz Band or Orchestra will be asked to play music. If participation in this event stays the same or grows, then it would be worth doing again.
The committee also talked about collaborating with another Menasha event such as the Holiday Hayride on Friday, December 4, or the Smith Park Winter Gala that will be held on Saturday, January 30, and selling chili or popcorn. The concern is that these events are weather dependent and also the logistics involved. Lenz will ask the Mayor or Menasha Parks and Recreation if it would be possible to sell popcorn at the Winter Gala.
Another fundraising idea would be for Mark Moran of Antiques Roadshow to come to appraise people’s antiques next fall.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:51pm was made by Coopman and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
