Kiwanis Club flashes cash for Lawn Party

In past years, the winner of the Longboat Key Gourmet Lawn Party raffle grand prize has faced a choice: car or cash?

Typically, the grand prize was $20,000, although last year, the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key offered just $10,000 to nudge the winner to accept the car that a dealer offered for the contest.

This year, however, the winner won’t have to choose, because the grand prize is $20,000 cash with no car option.

“When someone chose the cash, the dealer has essentially lost a sale,” said Michael Garey, chairman of this year’s event. “The last two years, the car was never even sold, which didn’t seem exactly fair. Offering $20,000 cash is going to be more enticing.”

The committee hasn’t ruled out the possibility of partnering with a dealership that could offer an incentive to the grand prize winner if he or she is interested in using the money to purchase a vehicle.

Regardless, the committee is gearing up for the Nov. 8 event and has set $70,000 as the fundraising goal — an increase from the approximately $50,000 last year’s event raised for local children’s charities and college scholarships.

To generate more funds, the Kiwanis Club will increase the number of $100 raffle tickets it sells from 400 to 500 and focus on increasing ticket sales and sponsorships.

Garey said that while the chances of winning will go down, the club will offer four runner-up prizes instead of two and that the prizes will be of higher value than in past years, although he can’t yet disclose them.

“The second through fifth prizes are going to be much more enticing,” he said. “If you hold a raffle ticket, you have a one in 100 chance of winning something of value.”

This year, Garey hopes to draw 32 participating restaurants, however, he explained why the event is about more than food and drink:

“It’s the official kickoff to the season for returning guests and visitors, but let’s keep in mind that the benefit, as recently occurred, is giving 30-plus deserving students in the Sarasota and Manatee areas scholarship assistance.”

Save the date
Longboat Key Gourmet Lawn Party
When: Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8
Where: Resort at Longboat Key Club’s Islandside Driving Range, 301 Gulf of Mexico Drive