Fireworks Sales Generate Thousands of Dollars for Dixon Nonprofits

Local nonprofit groups are reaping the rewards of revenue generated from the sale of Safe-and-Sane fireworks over the busy Fourth of July weekend.

In all, thousands of dollars was generated from the sale of state-approved fireworks, giving a much-needed boost to the eight nonprofit agencies that were allowed to sell them in Dixon.

The two-year pilot program – approved in April by the Dixon City Council – called for eight fireworks booths within the City. The Dixon Fire Department held a lottery that determined which nonprofit groups in town would be allowed to sell the fireworks.

While the Dixon Fire Department worked to craft a program that would satisfy the City Council’s decision to lift the ban on state-approved fireworks, firework companies TNT Fireworks and Phantom Fireworks held informational meetings with the nonprofit groups. The fireworks companies also worked alongside the fire department to help craft the ordinance.

TNT Fireworks sponsored six of the eight nonprofit agencies drawn in the lottery including: American Legion Auxiliary, Dixon Rugby Club, Young Ladies Institute, Knights of Columbus, St. Peter’s Youth Program and Word of Life Ministries. Phantom Fireworks backed the Dixon Girls Softball program as well as Dixon Montessori Charter School.

TNT Fireworks stands collectively generated $162,500 amounting to an average of $27,083 per stand said Dennis Revell, president of Revell Communications which is the lobbyist firm that works with TNT Fireworks.

“This doesn’t include the sales tax collected this is actually gross retail,” Revell said. “That is phenomenal, particularly in a community the size of Dixon.”

Revell declined to give out sales figures for the individual stands, saying that he didn’t have the permission of the nonprofit groups to release those figures. But at least one of the TNT Fireworks-backed stands had above-average sales.

American Legion Post 208 Cmdr. Greg Coppes said the American Legion Auxiliary’s stand – which was shared by the American Legion Post, Toys for Tots, American Legion Riders and Rough Riders – grossed $52,000 in sales.

“We were the busiest ones,” Coppes said. “It was that we had a lot of help.”

American Legion Auxiliary’s stand was located along Pitt School Road in the Safeway Parking lot and was highly visible from the busy intersection of Pitt School Road and Stratford Avenue. The stand generated sales mostly from out-of town travelers.

“Twenty-five percent of our customers were from Dixon,” Coppes estimated.

Coppes said that although the stand made a lot of money from the fireworks sale, the sense of community created by state-approved fireworks was an even bigger benefit to Dixon.

“It was hard to find a neighborhood or cul de sac that wasn’t having a fireworks display,” Coppes said. “Neighbors that had never met were out socializing, so that is the (most important aspect). Forget about the money raised, the sense of community is the biggest benefit to Dixon.”

Phantom Fireworks’ two stands – Dixon Girls Softball and Montessori Charter School – generated over $53,000 in sales according to Joe Hass, sales assistant for Phantom Fireworks. The charter school grossed $33,725 and Dixon Girls Softball garnered a little over $20,000 in revenue, Hass said.

“Our two (stands) did exceptionally well so we are happy and the groups are happy,” Hass said.

For the Dixon Girls Softball, the revenue generated from the sale of the fireworks is a boon for various teams under the group.

“It’s going to go very far, we are definitely going to be able to buy some needed equipment,” said Chris Lyle, fundraising coordinator for Dixon Girls Softball. “We are discussing buying a quad.”

The money will help purchase a replacement quad so that the group can level softball fields Lyle said. Dixon Girls Softball's stand was located in the Wendy’s parking lot and generated about 700 customers Lyle said. The group did not keep track from where their customer base hailed from, but Lyle said she estimates about 20 percent of the clientele was from outside Dixon.

None of the eight nonprofit groups will be able to keep the entire gross amount of the money generated. The actual profit that the nonprofit groups see will depend on which firework company they chose to do business with and what type of plan they chose as well.

TNT Fireworks does two plans. One plan is a 50-50 split in which the nonprofit agency and the fireworks company split evenly with the nonprofit the operating costs of the stands and the gross amount of the revenue. The other plan TNT offers is a 70-30 split in which the nonprofit group is guaranteed 30 percent of the gross amount generated.

Similarly, Phantom Fireworks offers a 50-50 split with its groups. The nonprofit groups were not exempt from paying sales taxes and must file their taxes with the Board of Equalization in August.