The Women Commissioners will no longer holds its annual rummage sale, the group voted in January.
In discussion for several years now, ending the tradition of the sale came to fruition in January, when the independent organization, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in September, voted overwhelmingly to find a new way to raise money for the student scholarships it supports. Aging membership, decreasing profits, and rental and maintenance fees contributed to the decision. The group still is discussing what it will do to fundraise money to sponsor more student scholarships.
“This does not jeopardize our scholarships,” said Ronda Deer, the group’s outgoing president. “They’re already in existence. We will continue to have fundraisers to continue to fund more scholarships.”
The annual fall sale dates back to the 1950s and gathered used belongings from the community for resale in a giant rummage sale. In recent years, it was held in the Biermann Athletics Center. The two-day event, which typically requires a full week of work for setup and cleanup, combined community outreach while also supporting college students. The Women Commissioners already support 36 students with scholarships.
In recent years, though, the group has seen diminishing returns from the sale that near $10,000 in less profit.
“It used to be it was a real benefit to the community, because we didn’t have the Goodwill store and the Salvation Army store,” said Sue Hayes, co-chair of the organization’s Ways and Means Committee. “People who need it get it on a year-round basis. I don’t think the service is needed as much.”
In the future, those profits were expected to decrease even more. The college was going to begin charging the organization for using the Biermann’s facilities and maintenance services.
Mike Harner, the chief of staff in the college president’s office who serves as the liaison between the college and the Women Commissioners, would not confirm the price offered to the group to use the college’s facilities and services. He, however, said the rental fee for Biermann is set at about $5,000 per day for charities. Additionally, internal reviews by the college found that the sale costs about $20,000 per year to hold. That includes storage for many of the items sold at the sale and the work done by maintenance employees, including covering Biermann’s floor and setting up tables.
“We had looked at the costs about five years ago and identified some challenges at the time,” Harner said. “The 125th anniversary of the organization provided an opportunity for the organization to relook at these challenges and figure out what the best step forward would be.”
Members of the Women Commissioners said they were understanding of the college’s request.
“The college has been very accommodating, always,” Hayes said. “For years, they didn’t charge us anything. It’s only fair that they would charge us the same amount as other groups. It was getting to be more difficult for them, and we needed a great deal of help.”
That was because the average of age of the organization’s 75 women had increased. Given the amount of physical labor that goes into the sales, its setup, and its cleanup, this had made its execution much more challenging, Hayes said.
“It was a tremendous amount of work,” she said. “All the wonderful community volunteers who helped were very nice. I think it’s just, with the age of the membership, it was probably just time to move on and explore other avenues.”
Having discussed these challenges, the members voted at the organization’s quasquicentennial banquet during homecoming whether or not to disband the tradition. It was a tie.
The college reviewed its costs again, finding similar results to that of five years ago. The group voted by mail, and overwhelmingly, it supported ending the rummage sale.
Since then, it is looking at new ways to fund its scholarships with input from the college. The group hopes to still combine community outreach efforts and perhaps widen the scope of involvement in its money-raising efforts, Hayes said.
“The Women Commissioners are looking for ways where they can better and more efficiently support the college and community,” Harner said. “We are here to assist them in those efforts.”
The organization does have one fundraiser on its calendar already. Its biennial Bag Ladies Luncheon is set for May 19. Tickets are $20 and include lunch and a style show from the Maggie Anne Shoppe. The group also will sell raffle tickets for themed bags such as those with knitting or stamping tools, though there may also be some special prizes like a Coach purse up for grabs, too.
Deer said a new fundraiser may alternate every other year with the luncheon. The Women Commissioners should have a better idea of what that will be after its meeting in May, Deer said.
“We feel we are a part of the college,” Deer said. “We have invested in the dorms, preschool, and in scholarships. We are not going away. We will have a plan. We are going to be around for another 125 years.”