HomeMy WebLinkAboutM-83-0205TO Howard V. Gary
City Manager
FROM ert fibWard, Director
Department of Recreation
CITY OF MIAM1. FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
COMMISSION ACTION
DATE March 7, 1983 FILE:
SUBJECT: Gold -Diggers, Inc.
REFERENCES:
ENCLOSURES:
This Department does not recommend approval of
this request since it has not followed adequate
City procedure by submitting needed documenta-
tion, nor has it been reviewed by the Festival
Advisory Committee, or requested funding from
Dade County Council of Arts and Science.
The Gold -Diggers, Inc., have reserved Gusman Hall for March 25-26,
1983, in order to perform a benefit concert for the Leukemia
Society of America.
They are requesting that the City reimburse them of the deposit.
already given, of $1,300 and grant the balance of $2,585. in cash
to cover all expenses of operating Gusman Hall on those days.
Since they do not qualify for consideration by City Commission,
we do not recommend this request.
AHH/AHL/ar
FACT SHEET EVALUATION
THE GOLD-DIGGERS, INC.
100 Sunrise Avenue
Coral Gables, F1. 33133
Tel. 667-5705
Chairperson: Joan G. Walker, Founding Member
Amount Requested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,885.00
Amount Approved Festival Committee . . . . . . - 0 -
Amount Now Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . - 0 -
Type of Event: Benefit concert leukemia Society of America
South Florida Chapter.
Sites: Gusman Hall Cultural Center
Dates: March 25 - 26, 1983 - 8:30 p.m.
Cash Match: Not Specified
Audience Expected: 3,200
We do not recommend approval of this request since it has not
fol o'f wed —adequate City procedure by submitting needed documen-
tation nor has it been reviewed by the Festival Advisory
Committee, or requested funding from Dade County Council of
Arts and Science.
AbeI /o/a4r,irector
Department of Recreation
83-,:Q"
•
February 250 1983
Mr. Manny Alvarez
Assistant to City Manager
Miami, Florida
Dear Mr, Alvarez:
L" IGG RS
IRMOLO
As per our conversation of yesterday, I respectfully submit
the following:
THE PURPOSE:
To obtain a fee waiver from Gusman Cultural Center for The Gold -Diggers, Inc, a
non-profit charitable organization, benefiting the Leukemia Society of America,
Southern Florida Chapter.
THE FACTS:
The proposed charges from Gusman per contracts are as follows:
Theatre Rental
House Personnel
Security
TOTAL
Less Deposit already
given Gusman
Balance due
$2,700.00
725,00
460,00
3,885.00
1p300.00
2,585.00
We request that the entire amount be waived which would entail a $1,300.00 refund
to the Gold -Diggers, Inc, and the balance waived.
THE REASON:
The Gold -Diggers, Inc. gives all proceeds from their performances to the
Leukemia Society of America, Southern Florida Chapter. For six years we have
produced and performed in a show at Gusman. The $3,885.00 due Gusman represents
an enormous percentage of our budget, as we are all volunteers and receive no
payment for our work. We feel that the City of Miami will recognize our efforts
to help the community and support us in a way most important to us -- the waiving
of the fees. The Gold -Diggers, Inc. is a positive force in the community. Our
show is an "event" which combines the fun of theatre with the importance of C=
trying to cure a dread disease. All of us will be waiting (with fingers croqVd)
for your decision. -M a
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THE GOLD-DIGGERS'
83 —1.'! r
F1
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
1333 RAR —4 PH 4: 43
GAIL SOSBY
Executive Producer
2600 S.W. 3rd Avenue
Miami, Florida 33129
Tel: 858-1818
March 4, 1983
Mr. Howard V. Gary
City Manager
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, Florida 33133
Dear Mr. Gary:
IGGE S
OLD
I have received your letter of February 28th addressed to Joan
G. Walker of The Gold -Diggers. Thank you very much for taking
the time to advise us of the information which we must provide
to the City Commission.
Before answering the questions raised in your letter of the
28th, I would like to give you a brief description of The
Gold -Diggers and the purpose of our organization. The Gold -
Diggers, Inc. was founded -as a non-profit Florida Corporation
in 1976. Pursuant to our By -Laws, the object of this
organization shall be "to serve the Community by means of
raising funds for charitable purposes, either local or
national, its fund-raiser being the Annual Theatrical
Production of Razzle-Dazzle; its major beneficiary being the
Leukemia Society of America, Inc., Southern Florida Chapter."
The Gold -Diggers was founded by six women for the specific
purpose of aiding Leukemia research, and all money donated
goes directly to the support of research scientists. At the
present time we support two research scientists, and have
given approximately $141,000.00 in su or of ..Lqukemia
research. •.-.-�- ''".::
F1'�k
THE GOLD-DIGGERS INC. ^�- ; MIAMI * LA
_ __ __ ....is..i�ry.a 1i.. •y,,V :. .. � � ..���iriL.t.-- ..ii.�i—�— __
83—'o_w`0t;
#� 4
-Page 2-
The Gold -Diggers chief means of fund raising is the Annual
Production of Razzle-Dazzle, a musical dance extravaganza held
each spring at Gusman Cultural Center. Thousands of hours of
volunteer work, support for the business community and under-
writing from generous individuals and companies make this
possible.
This year's production of Razzle-Dazzle 183, titled "New
York/Fact or Fantasy" will be held at Gusman Cultural Center
in Downtown Miami on March 25th and 26th. In an effort to
reduce our expenses and increase our donation to Leukemia
research, we are requesting that the City of Miami waive the
rental fees due from The Gold -Diggers to the Department of Off
Street Parking, Maurice Gusman Cultural Center, in the amount
of $2,700.00. Of this amount, we have delivered our deposit
check to Gusman in the sum of $1,300.00.
With this background in mind, I will now respond to your
letter of February 28th according to the numbered paragraphs
thereof:
(1) Paragraph (1) does not apply to our function.
(2) Attached please find a copy of the Articles
of Incorporation, the Certificate of
Incorporation, and current By -Laws of The Gold -
Diggers, Inc.
(3) Paragraph (3) does not apply to our event.
(4) The Gold -Diggers, Inc., is a non-profit
corporation organized under the laws of the State
of Florida in good standing; our non-profit
corporate tax number is 06-03119-00-23.
(5) The objectives of Razzle-Dazzle 183 are as
follows:
a. To raise funds for Leukemia research.
b. To provide the Community with additional cul-
tural opportunities.
c. To provide our contributors with a real sense
of participation in this charitable process, and,
hopefully, to inspire additional members of the
Community to give their time, money, and efforts
for charitable purposes.
53-"r.. 0 . r
-Page 3-
(6) There will be three
performances of
this
year's production of Razzle-Dazzle The cast
will
consist of 49 Gold -Diggers
and 34 supporting
men.
Professional stagehands
and technicians
will
assist us backstage and we
will use Gus man's
house
personnel for ushering, ticket
taking, etc.
Our
Director/Choreographer,
Ron Headrick,
our
Choreographer, Patricia Strauss, and our
Stage
Manager, Demetrio Menendez
are all theatre profes-
sionals from the Miami
area, and all
have
extensive experience in
their fields and at
Gusman.
(7) Gusman Cultural Center has 1,746 permanent
seats, and we project an attendance at the three
performances combined to be somewhere in the
neighborhood of 3,500 to 4,000 people. Crowd
control measures, central planning, audience flow
charts, etc., are those established by Gusman
Cultural Center.
(8) Rain dates and alternate sites do not apply.
(9) We have projected income this year of
approximately $80,000.00 through ticket sales,
fund-raising events, contributions, underwriting,
and program advertising. We have projected
approximately $32,000.00 in expenses, $24,000.00
of which are administrative expenses and less
than $8,000.00 of expense is attributable to
produc tion costs, such as wardrobe, props,
scenery, sound equipment, supplies, accessories,
spot lights, etc. The bulk of our expenses are
theatre related, ie. theatre rental, house person-
nel, security, technical consultant, stage
manager, stagehands, etc.
(10) The Gold -Diggers' internal business is
funded by membership dues. These dues are totally
segregated from any charitable donations which are
made to The Gold -Diggers through fund-raising,
individual and corporate contributions, ticket
sales, etc. One hundred percent of the funding for
Razzle-Dazzle 183 is by way of charitable contri-
bution and ticket sales.
(11) Arthur Young & Company, Certified Public
Accountants, performs an annual audit for The
Gold -Diggers, Inc. Mr. Norman T. Crout of that
83
C.
-Page 4-
firm has kindly offered to answer any questions
that the Commission may have regarding the
financial status of The Gold -Diggers. Attached
are the Corporation's tax returns for the tax years
1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, and 1977.
In conclusion, I would like to point out that The Gold -Diggers
are aware that many groups approach the City for waivers of
fees. However, we believe that our request deserves
consideration when one considers the thousands of hours of
volunteer work, the hundred of businesses who donate money and
merchandise to assist in our fund-raising, and the thousand of
citizens who support Razzle-Dazzle by their ticket purchases
and attendance at other related fund-raisers. We work so
very hard to raise money for Leukemia research, trying to
reduce every possible expense without sacrificing the quality
of our perfomance, which is what keeps the audience coming
back year after year.
' The waiver of theatre rental fees for Gusman Cultural Center
would be a tremendous reduction (almost 10%) of our overall
expense, and would allow us to donate that much more to
Leukemia research.
Once again, on behalf of our membership, I thank you for your
time and consideration, and certainly hope that the Commision
will agree to waive the balance of $1,400 due to the
Department of Off Street Parking for theatre rental, and to
refund the $1,300.00 deposit which has already been made to
the Department.
If I can answer any questions, please do not hesitate to call
upon me.
Sincerely,
TERESA GAIL SOSB
Executive Prod r
The Gold-Digge , Inc.
TGS/to TELEPHONE (305) 858-18I8
Enclosures
SUITE
CUADRADO 6 SOSOY, P. 2600 SOUTHWEST
A. 300 AVENUI
ATTORNEYS MIAMI, FLORIDA 33129
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