Click on the Donate button above to make a donation through PayPal. As a 501c(3) organization, your donations to Watkins Glen Promotions are tax deductible.
Grand Prix Festival accepting donations toward Law Enforcement Expense
Several months ago, the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival committee issued a plea for
help via the Google Groups. At the turn of the year, due to budget constraints at the
Village of Watkins Glen, the village board has decided to start charging the Grand Prix
Festival a rather large sum of money to cover the overtime costs of the Village Police that
are associated with our festival.
As you all know the Grand Prix Festival is extremely dependant on police personnel
during our great event. Most of you will likely agree that they do a wonderful job of getting
us through intersections and traffic lights when needed, not to mention all that they do the
night before relative to closing off streets and parking areas etc. Often, they are at points
distant from downtown.
The police personnel are made up of a great combination of state, county, village and
state park police. We even utilize some police from neighboring counties. It is quite an
endeavor on their part and fortunately most of them seem to really enjoy it.
The Grand Prix Festival is owned by a 501-C-3 not-for-profit corporation called Watkins
Glen Promotions. The Grand Prix Festival does bring in some sponsorship money as
well as funding from rallye participants, but it operates on a very limited
budget and there is no room for extra expenses such as paying the Village of Watkins
Glen for police services. It takes a bunch of money to be able to put on a festival like this,
as if there was any other festival like this.
Many participants and enthusiasts responded favorably to the situation, and there
was lots of chatter on the Google Group. Unfortunately, not too many donations were
forthcoming. There is still opportunity for you to make a tax deductible charitable
contribution to Watkins Glen Promotions to help defray the costs of the Village Police.
We understand that you already invest when you sign up to be a participant in the
Grand Prix Festival, but that goes directly to expenses. We know that most of you really
appreciate the role that the police play in our event and some of you might just be willing
to spend a bit extra to lend a helping hand.
We have made this process easier by utilizing PayPal, in addition to check or credit card.
Watkins Glen Promotions
PO Box 322
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
Or you can donate with a credit card by calling 607-535-3003
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