Category Archives: Fundraising

VBF board members take a Trek Through Time!

This week four members of the Vintage Band Festival board of directors joined host Kosmo Esplan on his KYMN radio show “Trek Through Time.” The hour-long interview explores the history of the festival: how and when the festival was begun, what inspired its creation, and the challenges and achievements that the organization has experienced during the past 20 years.

Kosmo is a very engaging high school student who asked some terrific questions. He’s been a fan of Vintage Band Festival for a number of years and did a deep dive on the VBF website and Facebook page in his preparation for the interview.

Thanks to Paul, Randy, Joy and Dan for taking us on a trip down memory lane. It’s remarkable how the festival has grown and evolved since 2006.

Tune in to 95.1 FM on Monday, July 21 at 9am to hear the show or stream it on demand from the KYMN radio archive after that. We hope you enjoy the show!

A message from VBF board member Jan Stevens

Why I gave the lead gift to begin the Vintage Band Festival Fund at Northfield Shares:

Early in my life I realized that I had won the lottery by being born in the United States, in the Midwest, on a farm into a strong family with unconditional love plus a deep and strong religious life. My wonderful parents were major volunteers in the church and in the community where we lived. They lived a life of generosity, kindness and love, providing an excellent template for my own life.

Newly married and employed in the Dean’s Office at the University of Illinois I was working with an older colleague who was weathering some serious family trouble. Jeanne suggested to Stan and me that we should build a memory bank into our lives, as she had done. “Celebrate everything, plan special events, travels, family events, make your own traditions. When trouble comes, and it will, you can withdraw happiness and joy from this bank to help you get through this trouble.” IT WORKS!

OK, the world is a mess. World history is war, pestilence and starvation. My graduate education is in economics, “the Dismal Science….”

However, I have made it a practice in my life to wake up every morning looking for every sparkle of joy I can find to savor! It is a good thing to do.

My 19 years of volunteer service for the Vintage Band Festival provides me with great memories and joy in spades! Everyone involved, Board members, musicians, volunteers, friends, family, audiences, townspeople and the many assorted, random folks who find themselves surprised and delighted to be here during the festival enjoys this event. Live brass music, in the open air, in this (admit it) idyllic town connect the audiences and the musicians with one another. WE ARE NOT BOWLING ALONE!

Our audiences are very inclusive and varied. You will find families and individuals of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds, economic status and social classes. All are welcome here.

My great good fortune is to be able to support this event with a lead financial gift to ensure VBF continues to delight everyone in the future. I want to especially honor Paul Niemisto for his brilliant ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm and Dan Bergeson for his superb management skills and his enthusiasm. The Vintage Band Festival is a mature organization and ready to receive your charitable donation to the fund managed efficiently and prudently by the local board of Northfield Shares. This fund is separate from our yearly fundraising.

The Vintage Band Festival is a secular event that may appeal to your specific philanthropic plans. We have been a 501C3 nonprofit organization for many years, providing donors with tax advantages.

Our website, www.vintagebandfestival.org has more information or text me anytime. If you would like to donate today, click on this link https://northfieldshares.org/vintage-band-festival-agency-fund/.

WELCOME TO JOY!

Janet (Jan) Gettings Stevens

JULY 18, 2024

New VBF marketing video launch

Vintage Band Festival recently released a short video presentation in anticipation of the 20^th anniversary of the festival in 2026. Vintage Band Festival: Making Music and Memories Since 2006 combines festival history with an invitation to community members to assist in long-term financial support of the organization. Designed by the VBF Marketing Committee and produced by local actor and videographer Wendy Placko, the 10-minute show features clips from past VBF band performances and interviews with several members of the VBF board of directors.

This project was initiated by board member Jan Stevens to raise awareness of the recently established Vintage Band Festival Agency Fund for legacy giving. She makes a strong argument to current and future donors of the need for giving that goes beyond annual operational contributions to insure that the VBF tradition continues for years to come.

You can watch the video by clicking this link.

VBF spring 2025 fund drive

Last fall, the VBF Fundraising Committee set a goal of $25,000 for the purpose of staging a one-day event in 2025. It’s a good time to report on the progress of the effort and the running total today. We sent out a letter in mid-November to a number of past donors and the response has been wonderful, but not record-breaking. As of May 1 the campaign total stands at just under $14,000. We’ve reached the 70% mark!

Recently, some of you have received a letter in the mail with in invitation to make a contribution to this effort. We hope that you will give it thoughtful consideration and if you haven’t made a donation in the past six months, please consider one at this time. Gifts in any amount are welcome, but contributions of $100 or more are critical at this time. We are hoping to reach our goal by June 15 to be confident of meeting our 2025 budget.

As we reported at the beginning of April, VBF 2025 will take place on August 2 in Northfield, Minnesota’s Bridge Square. The lineup we’ve secured is terrific and we hope that you are making plans to attend. Click on this link for the complete schedule and follow us on Facebook for more information and updates as they happen.

If you wish to make a donation using a credit card, visit www.vintagebandfestival.org and click on the big green “Donate” button. Then follow the prompts. If you wish to donate by mail, make your check out to Vintage Band Festival and send it to Vintage Band Festival/204 W. 7th Street #130/Northfield, MN/55057.

2026 will be the 20th Anniversary year of Vintage Band Festival. Stay tuned for forthcoming news about that milestone celebration!

Give to the Max Day is November 21

November is Give to the Max season in Minnesota. It’s the time of year when Minnesotans share their charitable giving spirit with thousands of area non-profits all on just one website. Thursday, November 21 is Give to the Max Day and Vintage Band Festival will be participating once again.

“Research shows that individual giving from donors like you and me is the largest source of revenue for nonprofits each year,” said Jake Blumberg, executive director of GiveMN, the sponsoring organization of Give to the Max Day. “Give to the Max shines a spotlight on the power of our collective giving each year, showing that tens of millions of dollars for good can be raised $10, $25, and $100 at a time.”

Besides the convenience of using the secure GiveMn portal (www.givemn.org), there are other benefits to giving on Give to the Max Day. Donors can help Vintage Band Festival win part of the $100,000+ Prize Pool! Let’s explain.

Every time a donor makes a gift they are entered into random chance drawings that are held every 15 minutes during the 24 hours of Give to the Max Day. The winner of each drawing gets a $500 Golden Ticket that they can donate to the organization of their choice. There are hourly drawings for $1,000 Golden Tickets as well. In fact, there are nearly 150 chances to win a Golden Ticket during the month of November.

We’re grateful to GiveMN and all of the sponsoring organizations for the opportunity to use this site to help Vintage Band Festival fundraise throughout the year. We’re also grateful to our wonderful supporters and donors who make it possible for us to bring incredible sounds and spectacle to Vintage Band Festival each summer and Tuba Christmas each December.

If you’ve never been to the GiveMn website or shared in the excitement of Give to the Max Day, give it a try this year. We’ll be glad you did! (Pro tip: you don’t have to live in Minnesota to participate.)

Jan Stevens and Lois Stratmoen, VBF volunteers extraordinaire

The next two profiles showcase two of the longest-serving Vintage Band Festival board members, Jan Stevens, our Fundraising Committee chair and Lois Stratmoen, our donor Correspondent.

Jan Stevens

VBF board member and chief fundraiser, Jan Stevens, is a person of action who leads by example. Since 1994 Jan has been involved with the Northfield Rotary Club, and specifically with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Jan has been a champion advocate for Northfield and after retiring from the real estate world this is what she had to say about living here:

“Northfield has everything, 45 minutes to an international airport, 5 times a day bus

service to the metro area, one hour to the Mayo Clinic Hospitals, two outstanding

colleges that bookend the north side of Northfield, culture diverse activities that rival

anywhere, recreational activities for all ages, and church and bar music that rivals much

larger communities.”

That civic pride and keen sense of the arts brings us to her involvement with VBF. It was Jan’s generous gift that enabled the Vintage Band Festival Fund to be created in 2023. The fund is part of Northfield Shares and was established to allow the Vintage Band Festival to develop a more sustainable financial strategy. Jan’s passion for our community is contagious!

Lois Stratmoen

When was the last time you received a hand-written note in the mail? VBF board member and Donor Correspondent, Lois Stratmoen, is known for handwriting notes, not only to patrons of the Vintage Band Festival, but also to Northfield area youth who are featured in the Northfield News.

Lois and her husband Noel have been citizens of Northfield for more than 50 years. Her list of civic leadership roles is impressive to say the least. Here are a few: former chair of the Northfield Hospital Board, former church council president of Bethel Lutheran Church, Board of Directors/Northfield United Way, Northfield Arts Guild member and cast member in many Guild musical productions, and co-recipient of the 2003 Northfield Sertoma Service to Mankind Award. We are honored to have the wisdom and personal touch of Lois Stratmoen serving VBF!

Vintage Band Festival 2024 fund drive

We have just mailed our spring fund drive letters. If you’re a past donor, look for one in your mailbox in the coming days. If you are just learning about Vintage Band Festival or you haven’t yet donated to support our work, read on to find out how you can do that.

The generous and loyal financial support from businesses, foundations and individuals like you continues to make it possible for Vintage Band Festival to present such amazing musicians and ensembles and not charge admission. We are fortunate to have the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council as our principal funder in 2024, but their support accounts for just 30% of our $30,000 budget. The rest will need to come from other grants, and businesses and individuals such as you.

A successful spring fund drive outcome is essential to the success of our summer festival. A gift in any amount is welcome, but gifts of $100 or more are critically important right now. Donors are featured prominently in the festival program and in onsite signage at Bridge Square.

Our goal for the spring fund drive is $10,000. We need to have that in-hand by June 15 in order to fulfill the commitments we will be making to our musicians and our partners. Please help us achieve that goal!

If you are donating by check, use Vintage Band Festival as the payee and send it to 204 W. 7th St. W #130/Northfield, MN 55057. If you want to make your gift with a credit card, go to http://www.vintagebandfestival.org and click on the big green “Donate” button and follow the prompts.

Thank you for your consideration and we hope to see you July 26-27 in Downtown Northfield for Vintage Band Festival 2024!

Rase de Terre, Vintage Band Festival 2022 (Photo credit David Perez)

Vintage Band Festival awarded a 2023 SEMAC Legacy Grant

The Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) has awarded Vintage Band Festival a 2023 Legacy Grant for Organizations. The $10,000 grant will be used to partially fund the upcoming Vintage Band Festival 2024 next summer.

One member of the review committee had this to say about our application:

“The people involved in this project are very qualified and have varied skills…great that you are helping to keep Big Band music alive and bringing high quality music to your community….by varying the styles of music it is a educational experience for your audiences and keeps it enjoyable…the location keeps the event very inclusive of all…by mixing amateur and professional bands everyone learns from each other and that makes it a win win for everyone!”

Another reviewer commented:

“A very unique event that evolves and keeps your community involved because of the quality bands and the live music experience….great that you are including Latino bands also…this project seems to have lots of community support from donors to volunteers to attendees… Community involvement is great for this project, and there appears to be planning to improve upon past experiences.”

We’re grateful to our fantastic grant writer, Joy Riggs, for another successful outcome. We’re also grateful to the Minnesota legislature for passing the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008. That legislation provides the funding for SEMAC and other regional arts councils in Minnesota to administer.

The Vintage Band Festival Fund

As a result of two recent extraordinary donations, the Vintage Band Festival board of directors has launched The Vintage Band Festival Fund. This fund will part of the Northfield Area Fund, a community fund that is under the auspices of a local non-profit organization called Northfield Shares.

Our intent is for the Vintage Band Festival Fund ( VBF Fund) to be a place where donors may wish to give a legacy gift to help insure that Vintage Band Festival will be able to present live brass and wind band music many years into the future. Our organization will continue to fundraise annually to support the next scheduled festival, but we also need to fundraise with a longer timeline in mind.

Legacy gifts can be made using retirement plan assets. They can also be part of a trust or a named beneficiary when planning for one’s estate. They can simply be one-time gifts to honor someone’s memory.

We are humbled and extremely grateful to board member Jan Stevens for her generous gift that has ennabled the VBF Fund to be created. We also wish to acknowledge the Wenger Foundation for their timely gift that has effectively doubled the size of the VBF Fund at its launch.

Donations to the Vintage Band Festival Fund can be made online by clicking on this link:

Our Community Funds

VBF on the radio: Tuba Christmas & the VBF Fund

As a result of two recent extraordinary donations, the Vintage Band Festival board of directors has launched the Vintage Band Festival Fund. This fund will part of the Northfield Area Fund, a community fund that is under the auspices of a local non-profit organization called Northfield Shares.

We are humbled and extremely grateful to board member Jan Stevens for her generous gift of $25,000 that has enabled the VBF Fund to be created. We also wish to acknowledge the Wenger Foundation for their timely gift of $20,000 that will nearly double the size of the VBF Fund. Anyone wishing to donate to the VBF Fund can send a check payable to Northfield Shares (with “Vintage Band Festival Fund” on the memo line) and send it to Northfield Shares, 205 Water Street South, Northfield, MN 55057. There will be an online option soon for anyone wishing to use a credit card.

Jan and two other VBF board members were recently featured on the Art Zany: Radio for the Imagination show on the local station 95.1 The One KYMN Radio talking about the VBF Fund and the upcoming 2023 edition of Tuba Christmas in Northfield on Saturday, December 2. The VBF segment starts at about 35:30:00 in the recording.

ArtZany! Fine Arts Boosters Fundraiser and Vintage Band Festival, 11-17-23