Why Do We Need Your Support?

The cancellation of 2020 Bacon & Bourbon Fest combined with the 2020 Wine & Brew Fest this past spring is a huge financial hit on so many levels. Not being able to hold our festivals not only means you don't get to have an amazing time, but it impacts the donations we make to so many organizations and the businesses that benefit from our economic impact.

It also directly affects our organization. We are a self-funded non-profit charitable organization. We pay for our overall annual operational expenses from the events as well. It has been a good business model for the past nine years. However, we need help now to survive the impact of this virus, so we can get back to doing "our thing" when it is over. 

Check out the ways you can help us survive these crazy times.
Click on the question below to see the answer. 
Who are we & what do we do? 
Smithfield VA Events was a vision a decade ago, and we held our first festival in 2012.  The concept was to utilize the new Windsor Castle Park and it’s beautiful historic grounds as a backdrop to create something special that would benefit the community. Since then, we have proudly donated over a million dollars back to our community. Our festivals have grown from our signature spring Wine & Brew Fest to the current Trio of Festivals that include the fall Bacon & Bourbon Fest and the funky-fun oyster BOB Fest in January.  We have held (21) total festivals over the past nine seasons and donated to over (90) organizations. We select benefiting organizations each year, donate back to groups that volunteer, make donations on behalf of individuals who volunteer to their favorite charity and support other’s fundraisers by donating tickets, tables and chalets for them to use to raise funds at their own events. The funds donated to all of these organizations assist them in fulfilling their important missions & causes that benefit the community.
Why is $1.2 Million Dollars important? 
The proceeds from our (3) festivals enable us to annually donate about $225,000 to about sixty different local organizations. Total to date, SVAE has donated $1.2 million dollars. The organizations we support then go out and “do their good” by impacting the community with their own missions and causes. SVAE has an estimated $1 million dollars in annual economic impact. When we can’t hold festivals, it is a big deal to those groups we donate to, businesses that benefit from our economic impact and to ourselves as a self-funded organization.
How is covid19 IMPACTING US? 
Besides making substantial donations, we fund our overall operation as a non-profit from the festivals. The financial loss of the canceled Bacon & Bourbon combined with the cancelation of the 2020 Wine & Brew Fest this past spring means we are struggling to stay afloat. We have not made a decision on the 2021 January BOB Fest, but unless this virus situation gets better by late Fall, we may have to cancel it as well.
 
For the past nine years our financial model has worked very well and we are proud of what we have accomplished. What we do for the community is extraordinary. Due to this yucky virus, like many other businesses, we have to figure out how to survive.  By not holding festivals, we also are not funding ourselves. 
donation recipients
Click below to see who we have donated over a million to! This list was thru the 2019 Wine & Brew Fest when we hit the Million Dollar Milestone.  
So, what now?
We have to have a new plan.
We need your help.