Yellowknife (Aug 25/03) - Most people don't realize the work that is involved in planning a community event.

With so many groups and events out there it's becoming harder and harder to find those corporate sponsorships.

Even for successful events in Yellowknife, like the Summer Solstice Festival, and Folk on the Rocks, every year is a challenge to find enough money.

Lisa Tesar, executive director for the Summer Solstice Festival, is pleased with their growth over the past five years but it wouldn't have been possible without their sponsors.

"We've gone from a four hour event to a nine day event," she said.

The Summer Solstice Festival incorporates four events: Raven Mad Daze, National Aboriginal Day, the Solstice Festival itself and Funkfest. They are even looking at incorporating Heritage Day in next year's celebrations.

Last year, was the first time Tesar applied for funding from the federal government through the Heritage Committee.

It took sponsors from over 30 businesses to make the Summer Solstice Festival a success.

"Our goal is to try and keep the shows as cheap as possible," she said. "That's why most of our events are free. We can only do that through our sponsors."

Tesar said they try to entice their perspective sponsors by giving them free exposure through the week-long celebration. She added that one of the positives for companies in sponsoring an event is that thousands of people will see the company's logo.

"We had over 11,000 people go through all the events," she said.

Finding the sponsors is only half the battle. The other half is keeping them for the next year.

Tesar said making sure the sponsors are happy and are recognized for their work, is one of the most important part of her job.

"It's also important to acknowledge what the sponsors give us," she said.

"We are always thankful for what they are able to give us."

Of course, it's not just the big festivals that receives the funding but it's a variety of groups.

Tesar said communication is very important, not just between sponsors but other groups, so the businesses don't become overwhelmed with requests.

"Everyone has their hand out and there's only so much money to go around," she said. "Canada North receives about four submission a day for requests for funding."

Anne Kennedy, director of public affairs for Northwest Tel said they take a lot of pride in being able to help community groups and events.

NorthwesTel has a budget of $350,000, which is spread out through the entire north.

Kennedy explained the hardest part of the process is the number of requests they get.

"We receive about two submission a day," she said. "Unfortunately we have a budget that we have to stick too and that means we have to say no a lot."

For groups looking for sponsorships Kennedy recommends they follow a few rules.

The first one is don't leave the application until the last minute.

She said groups should be submitting their application in November of December of the following year.

"By January a lot of the budget is already alocated," she said.

The second advise Kennedy gives is to have a detailed application that decribes the event.

"The more details we have about the event the more we can support it," she said. "There are so many good causes out there and we want to be able to focus on the ones that will have the biggest benefit for people in the north."

Some of the events and groups NorthwesTel sponsors are: NorthwesTel Festival of Trees, the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, NWT Literacy Council, Midnight Float Plane Fly-in and Funk Fest.

Even though finding sponsorships is hard, there is some help for groups that are looking for some financial support.

Dave Anderson, director of Yellowknife Events Supports Agency, said there are funds available for organizations from all levels of government but the trick is knowing how and where to apply.

"Each group that looks for funds has to be prepared and do their homework," he said. "It's a matter of knowing who to call."

The reason the agency was created was because some events were threatening to cancel because of the lack of funding.

"A lot of community events depend on volunteers and one of their hardest jobs is finding enough money for the event," he said.

Anderson did admit that when it comes to applying for government funding, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. The support agency is still a fairly new organization. It was created in May. Currently the agency has catalogued over 200 groups and events.