The Fall Harvest Gala

A fundraising dinner for Great River Rescue

Great River Rescue depends heavily on community support to continue to provide care for companion animals until a suitable home can be found. Each year, we save, care for, and find homes for about 400 animals. Each animal requires attention and care, some more than others, and it can be costly. We strive to provide the highest quality care, while being prudent and responsible with donations.

As part of our funding strategy, we plan and implement several fundraising events and activities each year. Some activities might earn the shelter a few hundred dollars, while others have raised up to $10,000. Over the past several years, we have raised about $40,000 on average each year. What we have learned though, is that it takes a lot of people to make these events and activities successful, and it can be overwhelming to keep working at it year after year. In other words, all these fundraisers can lead to burnout, making it that much more difficult to recruit people to help. For this reason, we are making a conscious effort to have fewer fundraiser efforts, but hoping to raise more money with each.

For the past 7 years we have held our Fall Harvest Dinner at the Bemidji Eagles Club. The event has been successful, and for that we are grateful. This year, we are making some changes which included changing the name to the Fall Harvest Gala. The dinner will be held at the new Bluebelle Event Venue, and the meal will be catered by MN Nice Cafe. The program will include a social hour with special music from 5 to 6 pm, and guest speaker Christine Coughlin, the Minnesota State Director of the Humane Society of the United States. We will also have the traditional silent auction, and will raffle off some special prizes.

We are very excited for this year’s event, and hope that the community will be excited about it too. We want the Fall Harvest Gala to be a celebration of the work of the organization, and of the people that have supported it year after year. We also hope to provide some education about our role in the community, where we hope to go in the future, and how our supporters can be a part of that future. We hope that our supporters, neighbors, and community partners will be able to come and celebrate with us.

Dinner tickets are now available for purchase. The cost is $50 per ticket for all the evenings festivities and a meal that will include Beef Tips in a Red Wine Sauce, Roasted Rosemary Red Potatoes, Roasted Veggies, Salad, Dinner Rolls, and Dessert. A vegan option will also be available. We are looking for sponsors for the event too. Businesses that sponsor will be recognized on our website, social media pages, in our newsletter, and at the event. Some sponsorship levels include tickets to the event. The Fall Harvest Gala is a great opportunity to show your support for a local community organization, and enjoy a wonderful evening.

Download the Sponsor Packet | Click Here

More Event Details and Ticket Purchase | Click Here

Mark your calendars for Friday, October 18 from 5 to 9 pm. We want the Fall Harvest Gala to be our biggest fundraising event ever!