Donors, big and small, fired up to save Fourth

An 11th-hour radio campaign to save Seattle's Independence Day fireworks show at Gas Works Park was close to succeeding Thursday evening after Starbucks and Microsoft each pledged to chip in up to $125,000.

Just one day earlier, it appeared the Family 4th at Lake Union was dead after One Reel, the nonprofit that has run the show for more than two decades, announced it had failed to find a title sponsor to cover the $500,000 cost and was canceling this year's show.

But Thursday morning, 97.3 KIRO FM radio host Dave Ross, along with restaurateur and One Reel board member Tom Douglas, launched what they say was an unplanned campaign to save the fireworks.

Douglas pledged $5,000 and challenged other small-business owners to kick in money. Ross pledged $1,000.

The idea struck a chord with many in the community. By 5 p.m., KIRO said business owners had pledged $79,000. But then came the big news: Starbucks and Microsoft would match all donations up to a combined maximum of $250,000.

Just after 8 p.m., Paul Allen's Vulcan announced it would kick in $50,000.

By 10 p.m., pledges (including the full matches) had reached nearly $450,000 — leaving only about $50,000 still needed to save the event.

"I think we can guarantee this thing," Ross said on the radio after the Starbucks and Microsoft announcement.

In an interview, Ross said he used to enjoy going to fireworks shows when his children were younger but hasn't been to many shows recently.

"It's not just personal, but a feeling that a city the size of Seattle ought to have a fireworks show," he said.

Douglas said that, as a board member, he knew in advance the show was going to be canceled and "it wasn't sitting well with me."

"As I was listening to Dave talking, it struck me that we can't just let it pass," Douglas said. "We ran with it immediately, and it was very exciting."

The donations just kept coming: $3,000 from Red Mill Burgers, $10,000 from Seattle Bank, $1,000 from Paddy Coyne's Irish Pubs, $25,000 from Nordstrom. For those wanting to donate less than $1,000, One Reel set up a donation function on the Web site www.family4th.org.

One Reel spokeswoman Mikhael Mei Williams said she was "stunned" by the reaction.

"It wasn't anything we anticipated," Williams said. "If the community rallies behind this and meets the goal, then, for sure, One Reel is on board with doing it."

Williams said the organization needs to know by the end of the day Monday whether there is enough money pledged for the show to continue in order to meet organizational timetables.

Williams had earlier said that putting on a scaled-back event for less money was not an option, given that much of the costs are tied up in items such as insurance and barges. She said the fireworks themselves account for perhaps $150,000 of the total cost.

In a statement, Microsoft spokeswoman Karen Bergin said, "We had been talking internally about how we could help with this situation, and had decided that a coalition of local businesses made the most sense. So joining up with Starbucks and the Tom Douglas effort was a natural fit."

Vulcan spokesman David Postman said Allen hoped the contribution would inspire others to give.

"The donation was approved very quickly by Paul and company CEO Jody Allen once the request was put to them," Postman said.

Starbucks spokeswoman Stacey Krum said the organization had been approached earlier by One Reel to be the title sponsor.

"I think we had conversations with them, like a lot of companies did," she said. "But the full sponsorship didn't work for us."

But when the grass-roots campaign got going Thursday, and Douglas called Starbucks asking for help, Krum said, there was lots of enthusiasm in the company.

"It was absolutely organic and spontaneous," she said. "Sometimes it's the spontaneous efforts that really get the attention and momentum."

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com