CELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF GIVING IN 2019 A Mile Of Fun Since 1981
Octoberfest was the result of a brainstorming session of the Appleton Downtown Retail Association, (the predecessor of Appleton Downtown Inc.) and the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce in 1981. They were searching for a way to promote their businesses, to improve the community image and to showcase Downtown Appleton and the businesses located there. Octoberfest is a volunteer-driven event with about fifteen people serving on the Executive Committee. Almost 800 volunteers tend bar, work in headquarters, sell beer tickets or work as block captains. 2,000-plus people work in the food booths. Each volunteer feels a personal ownership of Octoberfest. Octoberfest is “community driven�. Each non-profit booth that sells food at Octoberfest uses their profits to support their community project. Some of the organizations view Octoberfest as their major fundraiser for the year. It is estimated that more than 2.5 million dollars has been reinvested in our community as a result of Octoberfest over the years.
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Fox Cities BUSiNESS I Winter 2019 I Octoberfest Update
Nearly 66% of the nonprofit food vendors made $1,000 or more this year. Octoberfest has become a steady source of revenue for them as 75% have been vendors in the past. Additionally, proceeds from Octoberfest are used for the competitive Octoberfest grant program that provides funding to nonprofits year round. To date, Octoberfest has awarded over $2.5 million in grants back to the community. Grants are awarded via an application process in three cycles: December 15, March 15 and June 15. The application and instructions are available at octoberfestonline.org.
