Attachment No. 1
DPOA
DOWNTOWN
POMONA
OWNERS
ASSOCIATION
November 8, 2023
Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP
Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director
505 S. Garey Ave.
Pomona, CA 91769
Ms. Gutierrez,
Thank you for reaching out regarding my request to assist the DPOA financially with the Pomona Christmas Parade. We would like to formally request some financial assistance in the amount of $10,000 to help offset expenses of the Pomona Christmas Parade.
This year's theme for the parade will be "Homerun Holiday" and will feature Vincent Velasquez, MLB pitcher and a native of Pomona and graduate of Garey High School, as our Grand Marshal. After the end of the parade, Mr. Velasquez will help hand out the trophies to the band winners. We have also asked him to speak to the audience about the importance of health and wellness, and encourage the young community to engage in sports, dance and anything that will enhance their wellness, both physically and mentally. I encourage you to view the clips of the past parades that reinforce that the parade brings the community together and brings overall joy and wellness to the community.
As you may imagine, there are many costs of organizing the parade. For your reference, attached is a list of all our expenses for the 2022 parade. I hope that will clarify the need for assistance. Last year, our costs exceeded $40,000. I am working on streamlining our expenses this year by personally assuming the tasks of the parade consultant.
The DPOA Marketing budget for the entire year is about 16% of our total annual budget which is about $216,000 this year. Those funds need to cover our eleven 2nd Saturday Farmer's Market/ArtWalk events, all advertising, social media costs and marketing labor for the entire year. We do our best to stretch the funds to be able to activate the downtown all year long. It is a burden on our marketing budget to carry the full expense of the parade. Having said that, we truly appreciate everything that the City of Pomona does to assist with the parade.
On behalf of the DPOA, I want to thank you for your consideration. I hope to continue to partner with you for this event as with other events such as the Chalk Art Festival to help each other out whenever possible.
Forena Sor Carder
Executive Director, Downtown Pomona Owners Association (DPOA) 119 W Second Street, Pomona, CA 91766
(909) 469-1121downtownpomona.org
[email protected]
[email protected] |119 W. 2nd Street, CA 91766 | (O) 909-469-1121 | (F) 909-469-1120