Photo supplied. Members of the Volunteer Fundraising Committee Chris Schier, Kelly Hines, Brandon Stevens, Matt Graham, Sue Marten, Mike Stevens, and Roland Greber.
Donning custom embroidered toques representing their first fundraising initiative, Co- Chairs of the Cavan Monaghan Community Centre Fundraising Committee Matthew Graham and Dorothea Kelly Hines gave Council an enthusiastic update on their plans for the project and their progress to date at the December 18th Council meeting. The committee has established a social media presence with a website, Facebook and Instagram account. They have also developed a formal fundraising letter to solicit corporate support where they hope to secure the lion’s share of their $1 million fundraising target for the community contribution to the completion of the Community Centre scheduled to open in September 2019.
In the few weeks since they have been able to accept funds on behalf of the project, the group has received donations from some proactive community-minded individuals and have launched several initiatives to get the party started. Committee members had a table during Christmas in the Village festivities where they began to sell toques which have been carefully embroidered by Zach Skjavelands of Kawartha Quilting Systems, and paraded through the streets during the Santa Claus parade. They also hosted a dinner and concert on short notice at the Golden Wheel, generously sponsored and organized by Golden Wheel owner/operator Susan Tung and Chris Schier of ReMax and featuring music performed by Kendal Thompson and local singer/songwriter Peter Graham and his band. Despite stormy weather, the event was well attended and the committee plans to host more events like this that are fun, affordable and profitable for the cause.
They are currently planning a community raffle, and hoping to collect hundreds of prizes and host a large event to showcase the winners and grand prize draws. There will also be a variety of seasonal tournaments in public venues to rally support and build community involvement in the project. There are hockey, golf and baseball tournaments in the planning stages. These events will also provide the opportunity to recognize donors and sponsors.
The main focus for the committee in the next few months is to launch a large campaign to share the Corporate Sponsorship opportunities with as many businesses and groups as possible. They have identified specific sponsorship targets and associated sponsor recognition for specific areas of the new facility, including Banquet Hall, Dressing Room, Ice Pad, Running Track, Scoreboard, ATM and Ice Resurface Machine sponsorships.
Each sponsorship option has a formal sponsorship agreement that outlines the specifics about its corresponding elements. The deadline for final payment towards any sponsorship is January 31, 2019.
As of mid-December, the committee has contributions and commitments totalling more than $72,000, including the $25,000 contribution from Council in lieu of hiring a professional fundraiser to assist in the project. As details about the building project become available the committee expects to have more sponsorship opportunities come available. Donations are tax deductible.
The meeting also garnered some support, as the project Architect on hand for his own presentation ordered 5 toques for his design team, and Council members also expressed an interest in purchasing some for themselves.
The group welcomes questions, suggestions and offers of support for this major ongoing effort. For more information, contact the CMCC Project at thecmccproject@gmail.com or 705-755-2622, or visit their website at www.cmccproject.com. KG
