Ozark Empire Fair forms nonprofit foundation

Fair officials and its board of directors have formed the Ozark Empire Fair Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to raise money for the fair. The foundation will host its first event, the Gold Buckle Gala, July 30 on the opening night of the 2004 Ozark Empire Fair.

Organizers say money raised at the ticketed event will fund capital improvements at the fairgrounds and agricultural scholarships and grants.

“If we can generate some funds in the inaugural fundraising event for the foundation, the funds would be put back in the fair,” said Linda Elderton, Ozark Empire Fair livestock director.

New fair director Pat Lloyd, on the job since April, has high hopes for this first-time gala.

“We would like to have 500 people in attendance,” Lloyd said.

Tickets are $100 each and are available from fair officials and board members. Tickets include a VIP dinner, admission and preferred parking at the fair, a ringside seat and bid opportunities at the fair’s 2004 Grand Champion Market Steer and Lamb show, and a chance to win a new Dodge 1500 Series truck.

There also will be an art auction featuring original works by nationally recognized artists Charles Summey and G. Harvey and five Gold Buckle Gala commemorative belt buckles.

While being able to fund capital improvements and new construction through the foundation “is a lot of dollars away,” the initial benefits will be in raising awareness and helping students study agriculture, Elderton said.

“The idea behind this was to draw attention to what is going on with youth and agriculture here at the fairgrounds,” Elderton said. “Agriculture is very important to our economy. The kids that are involved in agriculture are most likely going to be the future of agriculture in this area. The fair provides a very important role in that.”

It’s a role that other fair organizers have grown through similar foundations.

Max Willis, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, which has its headquarters in Springfield, said fair foundations are a good funding source. Most fairs invest the money and live off the investment, he said.

“You try to build up to get a level so that it produces so many dollars each year that you can use for these various activities that it is designed to do,” Willis said.

One of the most successful fair foundations is in Iowa, where Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation officials announced last year it had raised more than $50 million in 10 years.

Willis said local fair organizers shouldn’t expect to raise $5 million the first year. “It may take a few years to get the foundation established,” he said.

Elderton said the Ozark Empire Fair Foundation is targeting the southwest Missouri community as a whole, but particularly local businesses, cattle breeders and agricultural companies.

She said the foundation’s 501(c)(3) status should help generate corporate dollars.

“By being this type of foundation, it’s much easier for large companies to donate tax-free,” Elderton said. “That has been a stickler for us in the past.”

Looking to the future, fair officials are relying on a 2-year-old master plan that calls for improvements to existing facilities and construction of new ones, Lloyd said. That road map will be revisited after the fair, he said.

“We are a business like any other and accordingly need to be proactive as it relates with strategic business planning,” Lloyd said. That includes keeping pace with competition, most notably the Jordan Valley Park Expo Center.

“That certainly is something we are mindful of,” Lloyd said. “The foundation will become an integral part of our efforts to identify sources of funding for those building improvements and/or new facilities.”