EVENT DETAILS
28th Annual Fruits of the Harvest Saturday, September 6, 2025
Important Deadlines and Times
Details
Gift Card and Auction Donation Ideas
Important Forms
FOTH Committee
IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
Decorations work party dates are to be determined (TBD.) Look for news on the weekly Thursday Announcements online and in the Sunday Bulletin. Please bring scissors and a sack lunch or snack. Sign up on the "Helpers Sign Up" page on this website when you hear the announcement for a work party. Let Leslie Firth know if you are crafty and can do some projects at home.
July 28th to September 5th - Sign up to help. Volunteer on this website at the "Helpers Sign Up" page with SignUp Genius (preferred option) or the FOTH bulletin board on Sundays after services. We need your help in so many areas.
July 28th to August 24th - Donations of gift cards: Please donate gift cards for the event. Sign up on this website on the "Helpers Sign Up" page with Signup Genius so we can plan ahead. To support FOTH, we're asking parishioners, and our church ministries to donate gift cards in lieu of gift baskets. Some will be in the mini silent auction and some will be in the raffles. We may bundle some gift cards together as prizes.
Deliver them in an envelope with an aqua donor form and write “FOTH” on the envelope. Put them in the Outreach box in the church office during business hours: Tues. - Thurs. 10 to 3.) After hours you may put them in the locked mailbox outside of Grace House, or hand them to Leslie F. or an attendant by the FOTH bulletin board outside the church, or in the parish hall after Sunday church services. These gift cards can be brought in anytime starting July 28th and no later than August 24th.
August 24th – Early Bird $50 pricing ends. Price goes to $60 per person on the 25th. Youth dinners are $18. The price is $70 on Sept. 6th and at the door. If this is a hardship, we can arrange for a confidential complimentary ticket. We don’t want anyone to feel that they cannot come to the event. Please contact Leslie Firth or Sally Shea Potts at foth@sainttimothysdanville.org.
August 24th – Childcare registration ends. We're providing free childcare so you can all come to have a fun night together. Please fill out a form for childcare that is on this website, make a hard copy and bring it to the church office or the FOTH bulleting board. There are more forms in the Grace House entry, the church office, and at the FOTH bulletin board outside the church entrance or in the parish hall after the services. Please sign a waiver at the church office after you RSVP. Let us know you are coming.
August 24th- Last day to bring donation items of wine for the Wall of Wine and for the bar. Please bring them to the attendant at the FOTH rolling blue bulletin board on Sundays after the services, or during week days, bring them to the Grace House library (office hours Tues. to Thurs. 10 - 3:00.) All wine should be accompanied by an aqua donor form so we know who donated it. There will be forms in the library. Please note on your donation form if the wine is for the Wall of Wine or for the Bar.
If you cannot comply with the August 24th deadline, let us know at foth@sainttimothysdanville.org so we can make other arrangements.
August 31st at Sunday Services: showing of the FOTH video created by Carolyn Bried highlighting the superheroes at our Ministry Partners.
Sept. 4th, - Thursday: Event setup starts – Help get the table centerpieces, and overhead decorations put up in the parish hall, and help put up the back wall scene covering, and other misc. jobs. This effort really helps us get ahead of the schedule. Starts at 10 am. to whenever. Bring a snack.
September 5th - Friday at 10:00 and Saturday, 6th, at 9:30: The big setup days: Lunch is provided both days at 12 noon! Let's turn the parish hall into a comic superhero scene and get the auction and raffles set up. Friday, the 5th is a full day until about 3:00 so we’ll take you for as much time as you can give.
Saturday, the 6th, we’ll have you home by 1:30 so you can become your SUPERHERO, or come as yourself, and be back for the party that starts at 4:00.
FOTH starts at 4:00 Don’t be late. A lot happens between 4 and when dinner starts at 6:00. The auction bidding and raffles start at 4:00 and close down at 5:30. Closing of auction times will be announced at 5 minute intervals starting at 5:15. No bidding after 5:30 when the auction closes! No crossing out other people's bids. No shoving. Be nice.
Sat. 6th and Sun. 7th – Super helpers are needed the night when the event is over and the morning after the event. This is crucial. The Super committee and helpers have been working for days and their super powers are gone. The parish hall must be ready for coffee hour the next day. Many hands make it go faster. Chairs and tables must be put away, and decorations go down.
Sun. 7th, after church services: Cleanup heroes are needed. Even if you did not go to the event, you can help us with your time and effort to clean up. There are so many things still to be put away such as clipboards, stands, prizes must be claimed and taken home, tables must be returned to other buildings, tablecloths must be sorted, etc.
Details
No-show admissions are not tax deductible. We purchased a dinner for every attendee. If you cannot attend the event due to unforeseen problems, you must let us know by two weeks before the event in order for us to switch your admission to a donation and receive a tax deduction form. If you must have a refund, we will deduct $10 per ticket to cover the credit card charges.
Gift Card or Silent Auction donation suggestions:
Donations are what make this night a success to raise the funds needed to help all these organizations that do the work of helping so many. If you need ideas, please talk to the folks at the table by the FOTH board after Sunday services or look at your July 2025 Tidings newsletter online on the Saint Timothy's website at www.SaintTimothysDanville.org./newsletters.html.
- Gift certificates for restaurants, or services. Please help by donating or soliciting these from your favorite restaurants. We are asking for support from all ministries at Saint Timothy’s with gift cards to restaurants or services, or for events in lieu of gift baskets.
Gift card Ideas:
ACE Hardware, Danville Chocolates, Rakestraw Books, South Austin Lane, Sweet Street, Trader Joes, Whim House, Bridges, Chipotle, Cielito, Cocina Hermanas, Crumbs, Crushed Wine Bar + Kitchen, Danville Brewing, Domenico’s, Esin, Revel, Hazy BBQ, Lottie’s Creamery, Norm’s, Pete’s Brass Rail, Piatti, Primo’s, Sideboard, Great Impasta, Peasant & the Pear, Yogurt Shack, The LOT movie theater tickets in the City Center in San Ramon, Cinemark Century theater tickets in Walnut Creek to see the new Superman movie, and that’s just a few ideas!
Hosted Events:
These are popular and in demand. Examples: Dinner/lunch, activity, class, tour, etc. You get to control the details – what, when, who, how many…No matter how big or small, elaborate or low key, the fun is in getting together. Below are some ideas for themes but feel free to come up with your own, plan it with friends, or ask for help.
Game night, Margarita Party, Burgers and Beer Tasting, Dine around the world, Mexican Fiesta, Italian Fest, Paella Party, Korean BBQ, Crawfish Boil, Cooking Class, Jewelry Making Party, Scrapbooking Party, Hike and Lunch, Charcuterie Making Party
Google "auction signup parties" for more ideas.
Important Forms
If you feel comfortable asking for gift cards or donations, please take an*Auction Solicitation Letter and an *Auction Donation/Receipt Form – aqua color with you. Most businesses will require these letters to give a donation.
These forms are located on the rolling blue FOTH bulletin board outside after Sunday services or in the parish hall, or in the Grace House entry, or the church office. The Donation/Receipt form is also on our FOTH website and can be downloaded from the website and filled in using Adobe Reader (free).
*Auction Solicitation Letter:- Take some with you to your favorite restaurants or places of business that you use often. They will ask you for one of these letters. It describes why we are raising funds to benefit which non-profit organizations.
*Auction Donation/Receipt Form – aqua color: Please fill these out and return them to us at the FOTH table by the rolling bulletin board or in the church office in the FOTH mailbox as soon as possible. Each donation item must be accompanied by a copy of this form so we know who sent it. The back has deadlines and directions. All forms (forms can be submitted sooner) and donations must be delivered no later than August 24th to the Grace House library, unless you notify us so we know to expect it later. Contact: foth@sainttimothysdanville.org
FOTH 2025 Committee – Fruits and Nuts of the Harvest
For Event questions, contact: foth@sainttimothysdanville.org
Co-chair - Leslie Firth, lesliefirth@comcast.net, 925.683.7868,
Co-chair - Sally Shea Potts, sallyspotts@gmail.com, 925.785.9823
Silent Auction Co-Chairs - Kimberly Bryant, kharving@hotmail.com and Alison Hill, alishill@gmail.com
Gift card and raffle donation questions - Kimberly Bryant kharvin@hotmail.com and Alison Hill, alishill@gmail.com
Food Chair - Tania Hanson De Young, taniahd@comcast.net
Reservations or Payments - Sally Shea Potts sallyspotts@gmail.com, 925.785.9823
Website questions - Leslie Firth,lesliefirth@comcast.net
Bank questions – Head Banker: John Geraci, johnfgeraci@gmail.com
FOTH SURVEY REVIEW
For the benefit of newcomers, we are including this information on a survey done in 2018 to
give you some background on the event.
In early 2018, we asked for parish input with an FOTH survey and your responses gave us the chance to improve. We listened and made many changes where we could. Some of you are new and are not familiar with our fundraiser for Outreach. Here is a review of the information which addresses some of the topics raised in the survey.
“Concerned that the ticket price does not go to the beneficiaries.” Ticket Prices include much more than the price of your dinner. As you are aware, prices for everything have increased greatly.
Our costs include the invitation paper, printing, and stamps, the software to help with registrations, banking, and website, decorations, rentals, catered food, bar, and publicity for the event. We hire servers who are in need a work, so we are serving out our mission to help people in need and they are helping us to do the hard work of serving and cleaning at our function.
Our caterers make the main dishes, but we make the salad, appetizers, and dessert to keep costs as low as we can while still giving you a nice dinner and a fun ambiance to provide an enjoyable experience so you’ll come back again next year. This event raises way more than what it costs.
“Younger people don’t come because it’s too expensive to hire a sitter.” By lowering the ticket prices and by offering free childcare, we hope to attract younger families to come and take part in this event. In 2018, only two children came to our childcare. In 2019 we had 11 children attend, so we will continue doing the free childcare so families can enjoy the event. We also are offering dinner tickets for youth for $18. Note: Since 2018, costs of everything have gone way up, as you are all well aware.
“Don’t like the asking for money at the Fund-A-Need.” The Fund-A-Need (F-A-N) is an event where people donate money without purchasing an item. We hold up our bid numbers on the backs of our catalogs to register a bid that the speaker calls out loud. This practice of donating funds is used in 85% of non-profit and school fundraisers.
It is now a major source of our donations which in 2017, brought in $16,000. In 2018, F-A-N made $17,930, and in 2019 it made an amazing amount, $23,960. During Covid, we only had virtual and low-key fundraising with no F-A-N. In 2023, we raised $17,000 at the F-A-N. This is totally tax deductible, while bidding in the Silent Auction is only tax deductible on what you bid above the value of the item. The F-A-N auction also allows people who did not win in the Silent Auction to still donate to the event that night. If all this still makes you feel uncomfortable, we do hope that you will still continue supporting Outreach with a mailed in donation. Helping make lives better is what we’re all trying to do here.
“How can I just give money to Outreach?” Monetary Donations are also given by very generous people who choose not to attend, don’t like big parties, or have conflicts but still want to support all the Outreach Ministries. Just fill out the RSVP card that comes with your invitation, and specify “Donation.” In 2017, a record $9,546 was donated in this manner. In 2018, you all blew us out of the water by sending in a new record in donations of $13,090, however, in 2019, donations sent in went down to $9,475 while the F-A-N went up by $6,030, which could be a reflection of our higher attendance.
"It all costs so much.” In order to raise money, we must spend money. Most of our costs are fixed and in 2017 we spent 17% of our gross to put on the event which netted $37,737.34. In 2018, with an increase in your donations, and with the higher results of the Fund-A-Need, we netted $45,962.51. The yearly church budget allotment to Outreach was raised to $15,000 (thank you to the Vestry) and with other donations and rollover funds to add to our net amount.
We do not have sponsors that will underwrite our costs like big organization's fundraisers do. We have not been able to come up with a better way to raise this much money to help so many people who need our support and to do the work that we are called to do.
“The donations are the same every year.” Since we are getting the majority of our donations from our parishioners, you will probably see repeats of their wonderful donations. We made an effort to get more diversity, and there was quite a variety of new items. We no longer seem to get the favorites such as a large number of dinner parties given by parishioners, or as many offers for vacation homes for a variety of good reasons. We surely would love to have those.
Kimberly Bryant introduced the Mystery Boxes in 2019, and they were a resounding success. Donors were asked to provide contents of a box that would be valued at $150 or more. The boxes were anonymous and wrapped and were sold for a fixed price of $150 at the silent auction. It was fun and we had Mystery Boxes again in 2023. It raised $1,200. The Mystery Boxes were on hiatus for 2024, but they are BACK THIS YEAR for $100! This year we are returning to a bigger silent auction and raffles, but we really need more helpers and donations to make it a success.
IMPACT OF COVID YEARS : During these years, all of you opened your hearts and pocket books to help those who were suffering and in dire need. We had to revert to 3 years of virtual FOTH. We netted $68,905 in 2020. We had two anonymous donations of $15,000 and we used emergency reserves of $10,000 given for this purpose. We gave record grants of $93,550 to all our organizations in 2020 throughout the year. I don't know if that will ever happen again.
In 2022, we gave away grants of $54,200. In 2023, we had cost increases across the board for everything as was indicative of what was happening around the country. The event netted $52,000 and with the annual addition of the church budget allotted amount of $15,000, plus other donations, we ended up giving grants of $71,300 to 15 organizations.
GRANTS GIVEN IN 2024: We netted $57,318.29, and with the added funds, we gave away grants of $ $75,990 to15 organizations, events and programs that our church supports. What a great feeling to be able to send a grant for $10,000 to Trinity Center, a day shelter with many services for homeless men and women in Walnut Creek; or $9,500 to Loaves & Fishes, who are serving almost 4,000 nourishing hot lunches out of 5 dining rooms and a mobile van; or to send $5,500 to GAIA Global Health in Malawi whose programs impact AIDS with many services; or to give a grant of $7,500 to Monument Crisis Center, a food pantry in Concord that offers many services for families, children and seniors; or to send a $5,500 grant to provide addiction recovery services for clients at Options Recovery Services in Berkeley.
ONE BIG POT: The net proceeds from FOTH are added together and distributed in grants by the Outreach Committee to all our Outreach Ministry partners and events depending on size and need, number of people being served, impact of our grants on the organization and more. The list of Outreach Partner Ministries is posted on this website under “Beneficiaries” and all other information on our Outreach endeavors is posted in the Saint Timothy’s church website: “www.sainttimothysdanville.org under “OUTREACH.”
“The price of auction items is out of my reach.” Auction Items will be offered in many price ranges. There are also raffle items where anyone can participate by putting in a dollar raffle ticket for an item. Of course, this is a fundraiser, so there will be people bidding big to support Outreach Ministries, but we appreciate and value every single donation, no matter what the size, whether it be monetary, time or talent, and no one needs to feel uncomfortable.
Paraphrasing what Brene’ Brown said about her fundraiser, “Those who donated large amounts was breathtaking. One big donation means more money goes to folks in need. Multiple people making smaller donations means more eyes and hearts on the problem. We need both. And you delivered.”
Join us to raise funds for all
our Outreach Ministries!
SAINT TIMOTHY’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
