To our members: The cancellation of the Dallas Quilt Show was devastating for all of us. Not only because of the fun we have at the Show, but from a financial standpoint, our Guild suffered huge losses. We’ve never experienced this before, and I want to provide you with information just to keep our membership aware.
Three major sources of yearly revenue for our Guild other than the Show are Membership Fees, Raffle Quilt ticket sales, and the Mini Auction. These funds are mainly used for our speakers and rent expenses through the year. Without the Show, our revenue for two of these three things was severely impacted. The Mini Auction, of course, brought in zero dollars, while the Raffle Quilt revenue was reduced by over 75% of what we normally receive.
The Show was cancelled on Thursday night, after the Preview Party had already taken place. We were completely set up and ready to open the next morning. Judging had been performed and the winners were announced. This means that we DID pay for Market Hall, the decorator (GES) and their set up of the show, judges and their expenses, plus all award monies including ribbons.
Costs were also incurred for printing of the Show Programs, Advance Tickets, post cards, bookmarks, posters, and signs to be used at the show (such as Lecture information). Volunteer gifts, bars and charms, and the food and drinks for the Staff Bistro were also purchased. Other purchases were the items for the Guild Store to sell. We will be selling these items at future Guild meetings, as well as looking for other opportunities for sales.
The main revenue sources for the Show are the admission ticket sales, vendor booth fees and sponsorship fees. This revenue is mainly used to pay for Market Hall, GES (set-up), and awards. Since we had taken over Market Hall and GES was completely set up, we are not receiving nor are we owed any discount or refunds from either. Since judging had already taken place, we do owe the winners their prize money. However, no show meant no admission ticket sales. The Guild’s Board of Directors voted to refund all vendor booth fees and sponsorship fees. We felt this was not only the right thing to do from a relationship standpoint with our vendors and sponsors, but by doing this instead of offering to apply the fees towards the 2021 Show, we start out with a clean slate next year.
Advance tickets were sold, and we have communicated to the public that we will honor those tickets at the 2021 Show. This will be the only handicap to the 2021 Show from a revenue standpoint. The food from the Staff Bistro was donated to various charities including the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army was undergoing some changes in their kitchen and was unable to prepare hot meals, so our donation of cold foods was especially appreciated.
This is not a complete list, but these are the big hitters. As you can guess, there’s a lot of red on our financial statements at the moment. It’s an ugly picture, but there is a lot of good news. Because the Guild leaders in years past had been putting money into savings, and we have been working hard to be good stewards of our funds, we do have funds to cover these losses. I can’t imagine what would happen if we didn’t have that safety net. We are a strong Guild, we will continue to be, and we are thankful for all our members! I hope that by sharing this information, if you are faced with any ‘rumors’ about the show, you can clear up any inconsistencies. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Cindy Matthews Show Chair
Quilters Guild of Dallas www.quiltersguildofdallas.org
