The following questions are covered on this page:

• When and where is the Garden Party being held?
• Who is attending the Garden Party?
  
• Why should I attend this event?
• What kinds of food and drink will be available?
• How do I get my ticket?
• I'm a teacher - is there a discounted ticket available for me?
• I'm interested in being a cohost for the event. What do I need to know?
• My business is interested in sponsoring the Garden Party. What do I need to know?
• Will childcare be available?
• What should I wear?
• What will we do at the Garden Party?
• I cannot make a contribution now, but I want to attend the Garden Party! How can I get a spot?
• How can I help spread the word?
• Is my contribution tax-deductible?
• How will the funds raised at the Garden Party be used? 

When and where is the Garden Party being held?
Saturday, August 18^th from 1pm - 4pm at Debbra and Don Lindo's home.


Who is attending the Garden Party?
Click here to see our current guest list.

Why should I attend this event?
Here are just a few of the many reasons:

• The garden is absolutely beautiful.
• You will see and meet so many great people who care as much as you do about Oakland public schools.
• The food, wine, and beer will be plentiful, very tasty, and complimentary to all attendees!
• You'll be supporting our work to help do critically important work this fall - elect excellent school board members for Oakland's children.
• This event is always a hit - you'll leave wanting to sign up for our next Garden Party in 2013.

What kinds of food and drink will be available?
We will have great food and drink from many Oakland restaurants, breweries, and wineries - including but not limited to Chop Bar, Miss Pearl's Jam House, Linden Street Brewery, Bocanova, Home of Chicken and Waffles, and Kincaid's.

We are appreciative of our sponsors of the event - these restaurants as well as Holmgren and Associates and Sylvan Learning!

How do I get my ticket?
Two easy steps and your name will be on our guest list!

1. Donate $50 or more here on our Fundly site. Every contribution of $50 or more will make you eligible to attend our Garden Party. If you have already contributed more than $50* to GO-PAC through our Fundly site, you are eligible for a ticket!
   
2. Once you have contributed, make sure to let us know you'll be attending by RSVPing here. Make sure to reserve your spot by RSVPing before August 15, 2012.
   

I'm a teacher - is there a discounted ticket available for me?
Yes! Teachers can attend for $25. Please follow the steps above to make your contribution.

I'm interested in being a cohost for the event. What do I need to know?
To be a Garden Party cohost, we ask that you give or raise $500 or more. That can mean you contribute $250 and raise an additional $250 from your friends and family (by encouraging them to donate and come to the Garden Party, perhaps!), or any other combination (giving $100 and raising $400, for example).

We have tools to support cohosts (example emails to your friends, a Fundly site where you can set your own goal and easily send that link to your friends, etc.). Drop Jessica an email to get these tools - jessica@gopublicschools.org.

My business is interested in sponsoring the Garden Party. What do I need to know?
Sponsorship opportunities are available from $250 - $5,000. Click here to learn more about what we can offer to our event sponsors, and contact Jessica at jessica@gopublicschools.org if you would like to discuss.

Will childcare be available?
Yes! The Garden Party Kid's Zone will be full of fun arts and crafts, cookie decorating, story time, and games. Childcare is available for $10 per child for the event. You can pay for childcare at the event in cash, check, or credit card. We would love to welcome any child ages 2 - 7.

Please email Richard at richard@gopublicschools.org (and include information regarding your children's names, ages, and any allergies) to sign your children up beforehand so that we can prepare snacks and have sufficient staffing. This information will help us to prepare for the day of fun and to arrange groups based on the children's ages.

What should I wear?
Please come wearing your favorite summer clothing to celebrate a beautiful day in the garden. Depending on the weather that day, it might get a bit chilly - a jacket or sweater might be useful. To be able to fully enjoy the garden, we recommend that women not wear tall heels.

What will we do at the Garden Party?
There will be lots of time to enjoy great food and drink, explore the Garden, and spend time connecting with others. We'll also share an update on our elections work for this fall and let you know what we will be up to over the 76 days between the Garden Party and Election Day.

I cannot make a contribution now, but I want to attend the Garden Party! How can I get a spot?
Become a volunteer! We'll make sure you have a volunteer role for a part of the party and that you can enjoy the party for another portion of the event. Email Richard at richard@gopublicschools.org to sign up. You can help us with set up, clean up, check-in, donations, childcare, tech setup, or many other tasks.


How can I help spread the word?
Email your friends about the event, RSVP on our Facebook event and then share it on your wall, Tweet about it and mention our Twitter account (@gopublicschools). On the day of the event, we'll be using hashtag #oaklandkids for the event, so be sure to bring your phone with Twitter app ready to tweet!


Is my contribution tax-deductible?
No - contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible.


How will the funds raised at the Garden Party be used? 
The Garden Party is a fundraiser for Great Oakland Public School's sponsored political action committee ("GO-PAC"), which will support the election of great school board members for Oakland kids this fall.

Contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible. The law requires GO-PAC to publicly disclose the names of contributors of $100 or more, as well as their street addresses, occupations and employers. GO-PAC may accept contributions in any amount, and may accept contributions from individuals, corporations, other types of business entities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other PACs. The PAC may not accept contributions from foreign nationals (but may accept contributions from "green card" holders).


*If you were one of our first 100 donors as part of our "100 Donors in 10 Days" campaign (even if you donated less than $50), we have reserved your spot at the Garden Party. Let us know you'll be there!