100
S. Murphy Ave Ste 200
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-736-4971
[email protected]
April 26, 2023
Dear Deputy City Manager Verceles,
I hope this letter finds you well. The Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce is a stand-alone 501(c)6 dedicated to supporting our businesses by fostering opportunities and engagement through networking, education, advocacy, and collaboration. We work with a variety of local and regional stakeholders to develop and deploy impactful programs and resources in our rapidly changing business landscape. Strengthening the bridge between business and community remains a core tenet, and in that spirit, we lead, host and support a number of community events to benefit and connect our community.
June 3rd & 4, 2023, marks the 49th year of the popular and beloved Chamber hosted Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival. This year we anticipate 55,000 attendees. Beginning in 2021, the festival has been intentionally restructured to better support our downtown and our community-at-large. Community partners share in the delivery and revenue of the event, downtown dining is encouraged to boost restaurant traffic, and we have significantly reduced participation fees for small, local businesses and nonprofits to assist their recovery and growth.
The Art & Wine Festival has been Chamber hosted throughout its history. It is the largest community event in our city and utilizes several city streets to showcase our downtown and host a robust community celebration. There was a significant increase in the overall cost to host the festival in 2022, as well as an increase in city requirements to support public safety, road closures, and event insurance. These factors make it necessary for us to request in-kind city support. Along with the increased cost to host the festival, we are experiencing some investor hesitation due to economic uncertainty. The combination of decreased revenue, sponsor constraints, increased vendor costs, and rigorous city requirements make it extremely difficult to achieve fiscal viability. We are asking the city to partner with the Chamber and waive fees associated with DPS, city permits, solid waste services, and field service costs for 2023 and going forward. We expect additional increases in the cost to deliver the event in 2023 since city costs are tied to attendance and we anticipate an uptick in attendance. In-kind support for City fees, services and costs will allow us to continue to host this event. At present, the chamber does not receive any other financial support or in-kind support from the city. `
Attachment 1
100 S. Murphy Ave Ste 200
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-736-4971
[email protected]
As the chart below illustrates, the cost of hosting the festival exceeds $100,000 annually. Costs increased in 2022 but we were able to host a profitable event and recover the losses sustained in 2021. While the festival is no longer a profit center for the Chamber, we do need to break even to continue to host the event. Reliable historical revenue records are unavailable beyond 2021.
We appreciate your consideration and look forward to supporting, as well as hosting, many more community events in partnership with our civic and business partners.
Warm regards,
Dawn Maher, CEO
Attachment 1
Art & Wine Expenses & Attendees
2022
2021
2019
2018
2017
Reven Atteooees ■ Expenses
100 S. Murphy Ave Ste 200
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-736-4971
[email protected]
Attachment 1