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page 52 Wednesday, August, 1, 2012
The Logan County Fair
Logan County Fair Association introduces newly formed
fair foundation
Everyone knows that the financial condition of
the state of Illinois has had serious effects on a lot
of local groups and organizations.
The city of Lincoln is feeling the pinch on a
daily basis, as money the city has always counted
on is being cut or taken away, and money that is
due is coming in slowly. Logan County schools
are also suffering from state budget cuts and slow
payments.
So, it should come as no surprise that the Logan
County Fair is also feeling the crunch of a cash-
strapped state budget. Mike Maske, secretary of
the fair association board, recently talked about
what the fair board is doing to keep revenues
coming in that support the activities at the Logan
County Fair.
“We go to a lot of fairs,” Maske said. “And we
hear a lot of people talking about how bad it is
getting. We decided, though, that instead of talking
about it, we were going to do something.”
Maske explained that the fair board already
has several tools for bringing in revenues for the
fair association, including non-fair events, winter
storage and auctions.
They open the fairgrounds to other agricultural
events as well.
Now, they have added another tool, a fair
foundation. The foundation is set up so that folks
can make tax-deductible contributions to the fair.
Maske explained why this was done.
“If a business writes a check to the Logan
County Fair Association, they can write that off as a
promotion expense. But if an individual wants to give
to the fair, there is no deduction for them. With the
foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, that
changes,” he said.
Maske said the idea came to the fair board from a
couple of its members. The first thought behind the
foundation was that funds could be used to restore
premiums paid to junior and open show exhibitors to
the figure prior to 2010.
In 2010, premiums for all exhibitors were cut by
the state of Illinois. For the 4-H classes, some of the
4-H parents and supporters came together and donated
funds to the local 4-H associations so those premiums
could be paid, but for the junior and open show
classes, the fair association had no choice but to cut the
payouts.
Maske explained what happened.
“In the 1970s, for every dollar paid out in
premiums, the state (through the Illinois Department
of Agriculture) paid 66 and 2/3 cents, and the fair
association paid out the other 33 and 1/3 cents. Over
the years that has reversed. Now the fair association has
to pay about 70 cents and the state pays 30,” he said.
In 2010, there was a gap between what the fair
association needed to pay and what they were able to
pay. So they had to cut back on the premium amount.
The fair board is hoping that with the formation of
the Logan County Fair Foundation, they will be able to
raise enough money to restore those premiums to the
amount they used to be.
In addition, new ideas have come up since then for
how foundation funds can be used.
“We do several things to help 4-H, and we want to
continue doing that,” Maske said. “We want to have the
funding to do upgrades on the facilities they use, such
as updating their show spaces or their bathrooms.”
In addition, he said there were things that need done
in the livestock barns, such as right now there is a need
for new gates in the cattle barns.
“We’d like to see some of our exhibitors help with
2012 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR. A special editon of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 31, 2012