Committee coordinates yard sale, bingo fundraiser and sponsor outreach; proposes shared donor list to avoid duplicate solicitations

At the September meeting the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee discussed a series of fundraising and publicity actions: the community yard sale, a bingo fundraiser set for March 6, and coordination of donor outreach across local events.

Committee member Janet Benjamin said posters for the yard sale are available and that volunteers are needed; she asked members to post flyers at local businesses and to staff the sale so construction volunteers can remain at the float site. The publicity lead said the district sent the yard-sale flyer to families and that the chamber offered to send it twice: first to request donations, and again as a reminder.

Sandy Fielding and others discussed Bingo, scheduled for March 6, and asked for donations to assemble about 20 prize baskets and a grand prize; they requested help identifying donors and one committee member suggested reaching out to local hotels or restaurants for a significant grand prize.

Members raised concerns about over-soliciting local businesses, noting multiple community events (golf tournament, Crunch Time, raffle efforts) approach the same businesses. Carrie Reynolds and other members proposed creating a master spreadsheet to track past donors and recent solicitations; several members volunteered to contribute existing sponsor lists and tee-sign donor lists to a shared Google sheet.

Digital-media and publicity leads asked that committee members send photos of banners and sponsor signs once installed so posts can highlight sponsors and encourage community support. Chris Colburn, the social media chair, said he would post uploaded photos and acknowledged sponsor shout-outs already included in recent posts.

No fundraising expenditures were approved at the meeting; members focused on volunteer recruitment, donor coordination and deadlines for raffle ticket distribution and basket assembly.