Isanti council approves 60/40 donations split for Illuminate Isanti volunteers

The Isanti City Council approved a resolution setting rules for volunteer groups and donations at the 2024 Illuminate Isanti event, deciding the city will retain 60% of combined donations and participating nonprofit volunteer groups will receive 40%, and specifying a minimum staffing level for volunteer groups.

City staff said the 2024 Illuminate event will be free to attendees and the city is not hiring paid contractors for volunteer recruitment this year. Staff presented several options for handling donations: allowing volunteer groups to keep cash they collect at their stations; using QR codes and electronic donations combined and split by percentage; or consolidating donations and splitting them across participating groups. Staff noted other events use splits such as 25/75 or 50/50 and mentioned that contracted volunteer coordinators sometimes pay a stipend of up to $600.

Council members debated whether to apply splits by day or across the entire event, whether to require volunteer groups be 501(c)(3) organizations, and how to handle tax reporting for high-earning groups. One council member suggested capping the amount eligible for split treatment to avoid generating a 1099 for a group that collects more than $600. Staff proposed requiring groups to sign an acknowledgement and to advertise the donation policy during volunteer recruitment.

After discussion the council moved to approve a resolution that: sets a 60% city / 40% nonprofit split; distributes donations across the entire event among nonprofit volunteer groups only; requires a minimum of six volunteers for a group to be eligible; and directs staff to update the written resolution to reflect the decisions. The motion carried unanimously (5-0).

Staff said donation boxes and QR-code electronic donations will be used, and that staffing and volunteer duties (firepit attendants, crowd stewardship and cleanup) will be outlined in recruitment materials.