Category Archives: Fundraising

Give to the Max Day Nov. 19

2020 has been a challenging year for all non-profit organizations and Vintage Band Festival is no exception. Due to COVID-19 we found it necessary to cancel all of our planned events for the year, including the Vintage Band Festival One-Day Mini-fest scheduled for July 31 and Tuba Christmas in Northfield, scheduled for December 5.

We are hoping that 2021 will be a better year for VBF and to that end we are fundraising for future activities.

Vintage Band Festival is participating in Give to the Max Day (GTMD20) as part of the VBF 2020 fund drive. GTMD20 will take place November 19 from 12 am-11:59:59 pm. One of the benefits for donors who make gifts during GTMD20 is the chance to be winners in over 100 prize drawings. If you are selected, an additional donation will be made to VBF. Prizes range from $500 to $10,000!

Here is a list of the prize drawings during GTMD20:

$500 Golden Tickets every 15 minutes
$1,000 Hourly Golden Tickets
$500 Early Giving Golden Tickets (1 each day between November 1-19)
$10,000 Super-sized Golden Ticket (drawn from all donations)

How to donate to Vintage Band Festival during GTMD20:

Go to www.givemn,org
Click on the green “Donate Now” button
Do a search for “Vintage Band Music Festival”
Click on the green “Donate” button
Choose your suggested giving level or fill in your unique amount
Enter your credit card information
Accept our thanks!

The goal for the VBF 2020 fund drive (through December 31, 2020) is $5,000. As of today, we have raised 26% of that amount. Give to the Max Day would be an excellent time for our friends to help us make significant progress toward reaching or exceeding our goal.

Early giving is now open for GTMD20. You can donate anytime between today and 11:59:59 pm on November 19, 2020. Please use the hashtag #GTMD20 when you share any news about Vintage Band Festival on social media.

Thanks to everyone who made VBF 2019 possible!

Several weeks have passed since the last notes of Vintage Band Festival 2019 have faded to silence, but it’s still timely to once again thank all the folks who contributed in any way towards the success of the weekend. Click on the images below to read the names of the individuals in the many categories of our organization and its operation.

Most especially, thanks to those who contributed financially to the festival. Without adequate funding, it would not be possible to stage Vintage Band Festival. Our donors rock!

Three Links Care Center 120th Anniversary

Three Links Care Center in Northfield is celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2019. Vintage Band Festival is pleased to welcome Three Links as a Stage Sponsor of this year’s festival.

Three Links Care Center’s heritage began in 1899 as a home for orphans and elderly known as the Minnesota Odd Fellows Home. Throughout its 120-year history, Three Links has continually evolved to serve the changing health care needs of the Northfield, Minnesota area community. Today, the continuum of care and services is located on three campuses: the Three Links Campus and Millstream Commons Assisted Living in Northfield and the Villages of Lonsdale in Lonsdale.

As a nonprofit, Three Link’s services and living options include adult day services, home care, independent senior living apartments, assisted living, transitional care, skilled nursing care center, memory care, end-of-life care suites and more. These services are framed around the mission of Three Links—to create peace of mind for those they serve. Three Link’s commitment to honoring individuals through their life journey is evident in their core values of community, accountability, respect and empathy.

Vintage Band Festival awarded $10,000 SEMAC grant

On May 21, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) awarded 42 grants for a total of $269,205 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota. This included 24 Arts & Cultural Heritage grants for $217,935, nine Presenter/Production Assistance grants for $25,520, and nine Small Towns/Rural Areas grants for $25,750.

In this grant cycle, Vintage Band Festival received a $10,000 Arts and Cultural Heritage grant for Vintage Band Festival 2019. We are thrilled to make this announcement and want to thank our grant writer, Board member Joy Riggs. This is not the first successful grant application that Joy has written for us and we are so grateful for her skill and dedication to this effort. Previous grants awarded to Vintage Band Festival 2019 were from the Wenger Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Vintage Band Festival 2019 will take place in Northfield, Minnesota and surrounding communities August 1-4, 2019. Follow this link to find the complete daily schedule at the two outdoor stages and a roster of the participating bands.

Vintage Band Festival Spring Fund Drive

It’s time for our annual spring fund drive here at Vintage Band Festival. The generous and loyal financial support from businesses, foundations and individuals like you continues to make it possible for us to present such amazing musicians and ensembles and not charge admission. We are fortunate to have the Wenger Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board as our principal funders, but their support accounts for just 40% of our $100,000 budget for 2019. The rest will need to come from other grants, and businesses and individuals such as you.

We are incredibly excited for Vintage Band Festival 2019. The roster we have assembled consists of three international groups, seven domestic ensembles from outside Minnesota and an amazing array of Minnesota bands from around the state. This year there will be 11 bands that have never performed at Vintage Band Festival before, two of which are from Europe.

Thursday evening, August 1, the headliners will be Mariachi Mi Tierra and McNasty Brass Band. Friday night we welcome back Copper Street Brass and then we’ll have a victory dance with Bend in the River Big Band. Saturday night will feature Southside Aces and Hornucopia: A Tribute to Horn Bands in the Rock Era.

There will be a number of living history bands with us this year, some that are familiar and several that are new. We will have the 1st Brigade Band from Watertown, Wisconsin, Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band, and the Independent Silver Band from Mount Vernon, Illinois. New to Vintage Band Festival in 2019 will be the 1st Nebraska Volunteers Brass Band, Arizona’s Territorial Brass and the Imperial Cornet Band from Baltimore, Maryland.

Check the VBF website often for the complete schedule and breaking news.

The goal for our 2019 spring fund drive is $20,000. Currently, we have raised $9,650. If you have recently made a gift to Vintage Band Festival, our sincere thanks! If it’s been awhile, won’t you please consider a gift at this time? A successful spring fund drive outcome is essential to the success of our summer festival. A gift in any amount is always welcome, but gifts of $100 or more are critically important right now. Donors are featured prominently in the festival program and onsite at the Bridge Square Main Stage. In addition, we will be hosting an exclusive donor reception in July, just before the festival begins.

If you are donating by check, send your gift to:
Vintage Band Festival
204 7th St W #130
Northfield, MN 55057

If you want to make your gift with a credit card, go to www.vintagebandfestival.org and click on the big green “Donate” button.

: 1st Nebraska Volunteers Brass Band

: Hornucopia

: McNasty Brass Band

Give to the Max Day Nov. 15

Vintage Band Festival is participating in Give to the Max Day (GTMD18) as part of the VBF fall fund drive. GTMD18 will take place November 15 from 12 am-11:59:59 pm. One of the benefits for donors who make gifts during GTMD18 is the chance to be winners in drawings for prizes. If you are selected, you can name the organization that will receive your prize. Prizes range from $500 to $10,000! We hope that you would choose Vintage Band Festival as the beneficiary of your good fortune!

Here is a list of the prize drawings on GTMD18:

$500 Golden Tickets every 10 minutes
$10,000 Power Hours at 10am and 10 pm
$1,000 Hourly Golden Tickets
$500 Early Giving Golden Tickets (1 each day between November 1-15
$10,000 Super-sized Golden Ticket (drawn from all early giving donations)

How to donate to Vintage Band Festival during GTMD18:

Go to givemn.org
Click on the green “Donate Now” button
Do a search for “Vintage Band Festival”
Click on the green “Donate” button
Choose your suggested giving level (or click custom for the amount you’d like to give)
Enter your credit card information
Accept our thanks!

The goal for the VBF fall fund drive (through December 31, 2018) is $10,000. As of today, we have raised 40% of that amount. Give to the Max Day would be an excellent time for our friends to help us make significant progress toward reaching our goal.

You can donate anytime between today and 11:59:59 pm on November 15, 2018. Please the hashtag #GTMD18 when you share any news about Vintage Band Festival on social media.

Join the Fall Fund Drive for Vintage Band Festival!

Mariachi Mi Tierra (Vintage Band Festival 2018; photo credit John Severson)

On October 19, Vintage Band Festival launched a fall fund appeal in an effort to close the gap between existing funds and the amount needed to finance the next 4-day Vintage Band Festival in 2019.

In her letter to VBF friends and donors, the chair of the Fundraising Committee, VBF Secretary Jan Stevens, said:

“We will be ending 2018 in a positive financial position, but we know what our future budgetary realities will be. It takes approximately $15,000 to stage a one-day event and it takes close to $100,000 to produce a four-day event. There are costs for stage rentals, sound equipment, lighting, advertising and many other expenses, but we don’t charge admission to our audience. Even with the generous corporate and foundation grants that we receive, we still need support from individuals like you to achieve our financial goals. We currently are about halfway toward our 2019 goal of $100,000. Please help us close the gap!

You may send a check in the enclosed envelope or if you prefer, you may use a credit card by visiting our website at www.vintagebandfestival.org and clicking on the green “Donate” button. Your contribution is 100% tax deductible.”

We are in the process of band selection for Vintage Band Festival 2019, but we’re being cautious because we don’t know exactly what we can afford yet. With your financial contribution, we’ll be that much closer to meeting our goal. Thank you!

Historic Fort Snelling Fifes and Drums (Vintage Band Festival 2017)

Save the Date: Spaghetti Dinner April 21

March 17, 2018

For Immediate Release

Northfield, Minnesota—The Northfield Eagles Club will be hosting a benefit spaghetti dinner as a fundraiser for Vintage Band Festival 2018. The event will take place, Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 5:00pm – 7:00 pm at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Club, 304 Water Street South, Northfield. Dinner will consist of spaghetti with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese, salad and sliced bread. Cash bar will be available and live music will be presented throughout the evening.

The highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the band roster for the one-day Vintage Band Festival in July. There will also be several drawings for door prizes.

Tickets for the Vintage Band Festival spaghetti benefit dinner are available in advance at Coldwell Banker South Metro Office, 419 Division Street South, Northfield. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets may also be purchased at the door the night of the event. All proceeds from the event will benefit Vintage Band Festival.

Vintage Band Festival 2018 will take place in Northfield July 28, 2018. Music will run from 9am-10pm in Bridge Square. Details of the 2018 festival can be found at www.vintagebandfestival.org.

Give to the Max Day 2017

Thursday, November 16, is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota.

Vintage Band Festival is participating in Give to the Max Day 2017. Conveniently, #GTMD17 coincides with the Vintage Band Festival fall fund appeal now underway.

Any gift made on or before Nov. 16 will allow organizations to be eligible to win hourly and daily drawings for additional winnings. That could mean more dollars for Vintage Band Festival!

Schedule your gift

Every day from November 1 -15 one organization will win $500 because one or more supporters scheduled their gift in advance. That could benefit Vintage Band Festival!

Each hour on Give to the Max Day, a drawing will determine the winner of a $1,000 Golden Turkey Award. The winner can choose which cause will receive the $1,000.

Donor Advised Fund

Donations from donor advised funds or other appreciated assets may now count toward Give to the Max Day. Help your favorite causes rise up the Leaderboards and have the chance to win a Golden Ticket by making a gift from your donor advised fund or financial portfolio.

Spaghetti Dinner to Benefit Vintage Band Festival

April 1, 2017

For Immediate Release

Northfield, Minnesota—The Northfield Eagles Club will be hosting a benefit spaghetti dinner as a fundraiser for Vintage Band Festival 2017. The event will take place, Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 5:00pm – 7:30 pm at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Club, 304 Water Street South, Northfield. Dinner will consist of spaghetti with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese, salad and sliced bread. Cash bar will be available and live music will be presented throughout the evening, beginning at 5:30.

Vintage Band Festival 2017 will take place in Northfield July 29, 2017. Music will run from 10am-10pm in Bridge Square. Details of the 2017 festival can be found at www.vintagebandfestival.org.