What is the Summit Charitable Events Foundation, Inc.
SCEF was founded in 2008 by H.O. “Butch” Bartlett who serves as its President. SCEF is organized and operates exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Mr. Bartlett has 40 years of experience producing meetings, tradeshows and special events internationally. Mr. Bartlett served as President/CEO Andrews- Bartlett Exposition Services of Hudson, OH which was acquired by GES Exposition Services in 1998. After the acquisition he served as Senior Executive VP of Sales and Marketing and later as a consultant for GES. Mr. Bartlett currently provides consulting services to tradeshow and event production companies and serves on the Board of Directors of SmartSource Computer & AV Rental Company and TradeshowLogistics, Inc. Mr. Bartlett founded SCEF to utilize his event development expertise to benefit charitable organizations in Northeast Ohio.
What is the Purpose of SCEF
To provide charitable support to worthy charitable causes and other 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving the Northeast Ohio area.
What Charitable Support Does SCEF Provide
SCEF develops, organizes and produces events that benefit selected charities and local communities. SCEF stages community wide events that are unique and sustainable year after year. For example, SCEF produces the Hudson Wine Festival in Hudson, Ohio. This annual event draws over 5,000 people over two days and has raised over $43,000 for the Humane Society of Greater Akron. The inaugural Hudson Blues & BBQ Festival is planned for the summer of 2010. The net proceeds from this event will benefit Hudson Athletic Booster Club.
How Does Your Charity Benefit
Our goal at SCEF is to drive the most dollars possible to the selected charity. Since we also are a nonprofit organization we maintain a very low overhead. We have no paid staff and an all volunteer board. Event planners are contracted on an event by event basis. We negotiate with our vendors to maximize nonprofit discounts and donations. Each event produced stands on its own financially with its own P&L. Total event expenses and a SCEF administration fee is deducted from the gross proceeds collected by SCEF from tickets, raffles, auctions, sponsorships, merchandise, food and other vendor participation. The balance is donated by SCEF to the selected charity. SCEF bears the financial risk for a successful event. The SCEF administration fee is allocated to general overhead expenses, upfront development cost for future events and a reserve toward next year’s planned events.
What Are Your Obligations to SCEF as a Selected Charity
We encourage your involvement in the planning, promotion and execution of the event. Important to the success of any event is promotion and we would expect your help in promoting the event to your donors and sponsors through your normal forms of communications. SCEF coordinates the general advertising and promotion for the event. Another critical area is volunteers for setup, operation, and dismantling of the event. With our guidance, we would look to you for recruiting, scheduling and organizing volunteer participation. Before we team up to produce the event you will have a clear understanding of our needs and expectations from your charity and voluntreers.