by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello Owners; Hello July.
"Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." -Jenny Han
FY24 Fiscal Year
July is the first month of the new fiscal year, the magical month when we begin the process of closing the books from the previous fiscal year and focusing on the new one. Stay tuned for fiscal year end updates once the annual audit is completed.
July is Disability Pride Month!
We are highlighting vendors owned and operated by persons with disabilities: check out Chrysalis Pops (frozen fruit pops) and Mrs. Beaster’s Biskits (dog treats).
Look for the Inclusive Trade icon (gold circle with an “i”) on shelf tags that indicates a vendor is 51%-owned, -controlled, and -operated by a person or persons who are: women; Black, Indigenous, and/or Persons of Color; LGBTQIA+; veterans; and/or persons with disabilities. Learn more at willystreet.coop/inclusive-trade.
Help Us Name Our New Community Space
The Co-op has leased a new community space at 1226 Williamson Street. This space, which is directly across the street from our East store, will be the home of events and activities that were previously hosted in our Willy East Community Room. The space will have a teaching kitchen, meeting and event space, and gallery for art work to be displayed.
This space needs a name! We have solicited ideas from our staff, and now it’s your turn to vote on the name for this space that resonates most with you. The final options are: 1226, Aubergine, Flourish, or Mixed. You can cast your vote online at willystreet.coop/1226-name-vote. Voting ends on July 31.
FY22 Patronage Update
In January of this year, we began issuing patronage to those owners who were eligible to receive one as a store credit with an end date of June 18th. I now want to share the final amount claimed, as well as the total amount donated.
The total amount of patronage was $199,409.46, and $190,772 was refunded and used as a store credit (purchases), cash back, or donated; of that total, $10,766 was donated to Double Dollars, thank you!
The unused portion will be transferred from retained owner patronage to retained earnings on the Co-op balance sheet; that amount was $8,646 or 4.3% of the total patronage amount.
Festival Perks Passes
Up to 3,000 Willy Street Co-op Owners will be able to get half-priced meals and beverages (with or without alcohol) during a three-hour span at one of three community festivals near our stores:
• La Fete de Marquette (Owner perk valid: Thursday, July 13, 4:00pm-7:00pm)
• Good Neighbor Festival (Owner perk valid: Saturday, Aug. 26, 2:30pm-5:30pm)
• Northside Festival at Mallards stadium (Owner perk valid: Saturday, September 23, 2:00pm-5:00pm)
Owners with the Passes can display them when purchasing food or beverages and will only be charged half-price during the three-hour timeframe. Passes may be used to purchase up to four half-priced food items or beverages at one time so that caregivers can get food and beverages for themselves and dependents.
To get your pass, stop at the Willy Street Co-op store that corresponds to the festival starting on the date listed below:
• Pass for Fete de Marquette: distributed at Willy East starting on Saturday, July 1 at 10:00am.
• Pass for Good Neighbor Festival: distributed at Willy West starting on Saturday, August 12 at 10:00am.
• Pass for Northside Festival: distributed at Willy North starting on Saturday, September 9 at 10:00am.
Festival Perks Passes are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Each Pass is good for the one festival with which it is associated—for example, the one distributed at Willy East is only valid at Fete de Marquette. Owners with an individual Ownership account may receive a total of one Pass for this year; Owners with a household account may receive a total of two Passes (for the same festival) for this year if they wish. Festival Perks Passes are non-transferable.
2023 Madison Music festivals
This year we’re sponsors of Mad Lit, the free concert series featuring live music and highlighting local artists and businesses of color. The concerts are on select dates July through October on the 100 block of State Street. See the schedule at www.ourgmmc.org/madlit.
The Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center is celebrating its 54th year and the 16th year of bringing live music to the eastside of Madison with La Fete de Marquette—join in the festivities July 13-17 at McPike Park. We’re proud to be presenting sponsors of this event.
The 48th Annual AtwoodFest is July 29-30, the hottest couple of blocks on Atwood Avenue for live music, delicious food, and oodles of fun!
Board Elections
While the Board elections are not until October, it’s not too soon to consider that this may be the year to run for the Board of Directors. We have four board seats to fill; three three-year seats as part of the regular election cycle and one one-year seat, which was vacated before the end of the regular term. The Board Candidate packet is available this month at willystreet.coop/run-for-board . Check it out!