Bring Your Mission to Main Street in the Mum Festival Parade
By Kevin Tucker
TIPP CITY – The showstoppers of any parade are the cleverly-crafted, visually-stimulating floats that serve as the hallmark for most celebratory processions.
Participating floats in the Tipp City Mum Festival parade this year promise to be more eye-popping than ever before thanks in part to a collaborative effort between the Tipp City Foundation and festival parade leadership.
In an effort to encourage more float involvement and to provide a little more visual “punch,” the Foundation along with Ashley Cook, parade chair, and Tommi Malone, parade co-chair, have teamed up to provide $500 parade float participation grants to eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving the 45371 zip code.
“Working with the foundation has been amazing,” said parade stalwart Cook. “While trying to get this awesome grant going, they have been incredible and so incredibly sweet. We would truly love to see this collaboration continue for as long as we can. It's going to be extremely helpful in drawing in more people to participate in the parade. We would love to see this parade grow and grow and grow.”
This is the 67th annual rendition of the city’s premier event with this year’s theme being Blossoms of Liberty: Celebrating 250 Years of American Independence. The parade has been a highlight of every Mum Festival since its genesis in 1959, and even during times of inclement weather such as the storms that prevailed a few years ago, much like the postal creed, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these participants from their appointed rounds through the city center. Come rain or shine, the festival mainstay promises to persevere.
“The parade has always been a core part of the festival traditions, and we hope to see it always be a part of this amazing festival,” Malone said. “We know that a lot of the floats are going to be the kiddos’ favorites because they are able to see something so big, cool and shiny. A lot of times, people like to add some sort of element to the floats, whether that be bubbles, fog or music.”
In addition to receiving up to a $500 grant from the Foundation, participating nonprofits have an opportunity to showcase their mission as well put themselves in the running of taking home the trophy for best parade float.
“The Mum Festival Parade is one of the few events that brings our entire community together,” said Jim Ranft, Foundation distribution chairman. “We saw it as a great opportunity to help our nonprofit partners share their missions while also strengthening one of Tipp City’s favorite traditions. It was a natural fit for the Foundation.”
The goal, he added, is simple: to bring more nonprofits to Main Street.
“We hope to encourage organizations serving the 45371 area to showcase their missions, connect with new volunteers and supporters, and increase awareness of the services they provide—all without the cost of building a parade float becoming a barrier,” said Ranft. “At the same time, more nonprofit participation creates a larger, more vibrant parade for everyone to enjoy.”
Because these grants are funded through the Tipp City Foundation, they must follow the Foundation's grantmaking policies, furthered Ranft. A float whose primary purpose is to promote religious organizations or religious education is not eligible for a grant. However, community service programs administered through churches or other faith-based organizations—such as New Path, Give Medical Ministry, or Bethel Hope—are eligible because they provide charitable services.
Cook estimated for the past few years the parade has featured approximately 10 floats and with the addition of the grants, would like to see that number swell to 20 this year. Some past participants include Tipp City Library, Precision Strip, Abbot, Victory Church, Corvette Club of Troy, the Boy and Girl Scouts, Community Bible Church, among others. Also featured are the Mum Festival Queen and her court along with several area high school marching bands.
“There’s always so many amazing organizations and we couldn’t be more thankful for each of these groups coming to showcase what they are most proud of and who they are,” said Cook.
Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, the parade route will originate at the Hyatt Center and snake its way down Main Street, eventually winding onto Second Street and culminating at Tipp City Park, acting as the festival’s kick off. Duration of the parade is expected to be about an hour.
The application process is not complex, according to Ranft. There isn’t a separate grant application per se, instead, organizations simply indicate on their Mum Festival parade registration that they are a 501(c)(3) organization. The registration also serves as their application for the Foundation’s Bring Your Mission to Main Street grant. Deadline for submission is Sept. 1.
Grants up to $500 will be awarded after the parade following the receipt of a Float Expense Report and images of the completed float sent to Grants@tippfoundation.org.
A suggestion made by Cook and Malone to first-time entrants wishing to make a splash would be to bring items to give to the kids lining the parade route. Also, include some type of music to get spectators up and dancing as you pass them by.
“We really hope that this grant will help with the visual effect of the floats as we know a lot of arts and crafts stuff can be expensive,” said Cook. “We very much think that the grant will help increase participation since it will help provide the funds to make a vision come to life.”
Added Malone, “It will give people more of a chance to show off their brand and express their creative side. “Highlighting more nonprofits in this town would be amazing especially if they are newer and maybe not as known. People could see more resources that are available that they may not have known existed.”
The grants are funded through unrestricted charitable dollars entrusted to the Foundation and supporting organizations that strengthen the community is exactly the kind of investment those funds were intended to make, Ranft said. And, if there’s evidence of more nonprofit organization participation and a greater awareness of the important work they do that also coincides with a successful parade, the Foundation would certainly like to explore making this an annual partnership, he continued.
“I’d simply encourage our nonprofit partners to think about this as more than a parade,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to tell your story, celebrate your mission, and let the community see the impact you’re making every day. We hope organizations across our community will take advantage of this opportunity to truly bring their mission to Main Street.”
For more information, contact the Tipp City Mum Festival Parade Committee at tippmumfestparade@gmail.com, or by calling (937) 703-5860.
