DJJD a Fundraising Catalyst for Northfield Organizations

Editor's note: As we ready for the 2012 Defeat of Jesse James Days, Northfield Patch will revisit some of the stories we shared during the . Look for more in the coming days.

Members of the James-Younger Gang intended to ride away with Northfield’s riches during their  in 1876.

So, it’s only fitting that community organizations benefit from the annual festival that commemorates the gang’s defeat.

For some nonprofits, Defeat of Jesse James Days is the catalyst for their most profitable fundraisers of the year.

Here is a trio of organizations that get an annual shot in the arm from the festival. 

Northfield Historical Society

DJJD is, by far, the busiest weekend of the year for the , said executive director Hayes Scriven.

It’s also the society’s most profitable.

“It certainly is the best for the exposure, as we have people coming in from all over the world,” he said. “But, if we didn’t have this weekend, our operating budget would look a whole lot different.”

Even though Scriven is a board member of DJJD’s organizing committee and NHS retells the best known chapter in Northfield’s history on a daily basis, the historical society is not affiliated with the festival.

“We’re just like any other nonprofit in Northfield,” Scriven said. “We benefit from a well-run festival.”

The historical society raises as much as $13,000 annually from DJJD, counting proceeds from museum visits, donations during the weekend and sales of T-shirts, books and collectibles at the museum store.

That amount is several times larger than other fundraisers it regularly conducts, Scriven said.

The number of dollars raised by NHS during the festival typically is correlated with the weather. So, the sunnier the skies on DJJD weekend, the more proceeds potentially collected.

Between 50 and 60 volunteers will help NHS during this weekend’s festival, Scriven said. 

Northfield Swim Club

Members of the Northfield Swim Club will be out in force at DJJD selling bottled water and pop to visitors.

The fundraising effort—the club’s largest of the year outside of hosting a swim meet—is serious business, said club president Peggy Dell.

Scheduling starts several weeks in advance, and many of the club’s 75 members and their families lend a hand to push shopping carts and to peddle drinks.

“The community really participates in this fundraiser,” she said. “We have many businesses who help us out, and the families really step forward.”

In addition to selling drinks, club families are asked to donate either water, pop or money. Local merchants donate drinks, as well, and lend shopping carts to the club.

What’s more,  on Division Street and  on Washington Street provide space for refill stations for the cart-pushing volunteers.

The swimmers will be selling drinks at most festival event sites from 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and along the Grand Day Parade route Sunday afternoon. They each will work shifts of 1-1/2 hours. 

Main Street Moravian Church

The Sunday of DJJD weekend is known as pie day to patrons of the  annual pie sale.

For a number of years, church members have sold slices of homemade just outside the front door of the Division Street church before and—if any slices are left—during the Grand Day Parade. This year won’t be any different.

The pie sale is the church’s largest annual fundraiser.

Be sure to stick with Patch leading up to DJJD, which is Sept. 5-9. We'll have previews and loads of coverage during the big event. Be sure to bookmark our DJJD 2012 page to follow all the action.

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