Citing a drop in cash donations and rising rent costs at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, organizers have canceled the 2009 Citywide Safe Halloween Carnival.

"We are not having it this year," said Sandi Moss, a longtime carnival volunteer. "The main problem is that nasty 5-letter word: money."

The economic downturn hurt donations to the carnival at the same time civic center management said it will begin treating the carnival like every other nonprofit organization that uses its facility.

In July, civic center management told the carnival it was expected to pay the nonprofit rental rate at the facility for the first time in the event's nearly 20-year history, said Jayne Kraemer, civic center assistant manager. The center's nonprofit event rate is $1,500 for two days (including one day for set-up), plus additional costs for extra equipment fees.

"I think we need to treat all the nonprofits fairly," Kraemer said. "Why should we be subsidizing one nonprofit and not others?"

In 2008, the carnival group's bill from the civic center was $3,147.50, of which it still owes $1,947.50. A $750 carnival subsidy from the city of Rapid City went to the civic center in 2007, but the city did not make a donation in 2008, said city finance director Jim Preston.

The carnival was canceled in 2006 because of lack of funds, but was revived in 2007 and 2008. This year's cancellation was news to the civic center, Kraemer said.

"This is the first we've heard of it," she said. "I still have the date held for it."

Jason Nelson, chairman of the Citywide Safe Halloween Carnival, said it usually costs between $8,000 and $10,000 to put on the popular alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating that can draw as many as 12,000 people. Last year, donations added up to a little more than $8,000, most of which went to purchase 140,000 pieces of candy, he said.

Finding an extra $3,200 in rent isn't possible.

"We run so tight every year, the added expense of trying to rent the place is just not possible this year," Nelson said. "It's unfortunate. I wish we didn't have to, but there's only so much that we as volunteers can do."

Of 48 donation solicitation letters sent to past contributors, just two responded this year.

"The answer on both of those was no," Moss said. "The money's just not out there this year."

Citywide Safe Halloween Carnival has been a registered nonprofit corporation with the state of South Dakota since 1998. It also has 501(c)3 tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, Moss said. The organization has $1,000 left over from last year's event, thanks to a $2,000 post-event donation, half of which went to the civic center bill.

Alice McCoy, a longtime volunteer at the carnival, is disappointed by what she sees as a change of policy at the civic center. As the vice president of the North Rapid Civic Association, McCoy said the civic center's decision to charge the carnival risks alienating the community it was built to serve.

"There's nobody getting breaks any more," she said. "I just can't believe that they're that bad off."

Kraemer said there has been no change in the center's policies toward nonprofits.

"Absolutely not," she said. "Most of our business is nonprofit. But just because an event's nonprofit, we still have labor costs for our employees, we have electrical costs, we have heating, lights."

Kraemer said the civic center is being unfairly blamed for ending an event that it has long supported.

"Just because times are tough, … we can't keep subsidizing and paying for that event," she said.

Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8424 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com