Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. donates $75,000
News Release
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc. (SMRi), official stewards of the Sturgis brand, have announced that they have donated $50,000 to Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation, $20,000 to the Sturgis Rally Community Development Fund and $5,000 to Sturgis Community Preschool for 2015. The monies donated to Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation will in turn be distributed to local charities in and around the Sturgis and Black Hills community. This is the fifth year in a row SMRi has made such a contribution, all of which have been made possible by community-supported official licensing agreements that SMRi manages for the Sturgis brands. These donations come in the wake of SMRi’s overwhelming victory in court against Rushmore Photo and Gifts and Wal-Mart over illegal sales of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally counterfeit-themed goods.
“We’re just happy the legal ordeal is behind us and that the jury validated the legitimacy of our organization’s stewardship of the Sturgis brand, as it relates to the motorcycle rally,” said Dean Kinney, SMRi chairperson. “SMRi is good for the local community and the people who live in it.”
In keeping with its stated mission to “maximize the value of the intellectual property of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally(TM) on behalf of the greater Sturgis area,” SMRi donates each year to Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation, who dispersed funds Thursday December, 17th at the Sturgis VFW to dozens of local charities that have come to depend on revenues generated by SMRi licensing. Causes helped include Sturgis elementary school after-school programs and PTA, the Sturgis volunteer fire department, Sturgis public library, Sturgis Area Arts Council, Sturgis Alliance of Churches and many more.
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc., a South Dakota non-profit corporation, enjoys widespread community support, as well as official endorsements from The City of Sturgis City Council and the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce. SMRi have continued to be the official stewards of the Sturgis brands and, to show their support, they continue to support Sturgis and the surrounding Black Hills by giving back to Sturgis Rally Charities.
Hundreds of retailers around the world carry officially licensed Sturgis products every year, and, through royalties generated from those sales, SMRi is able to donate funds to benefit the local Sturgis community. SMRi’s volunteer board is pleased to support Sturgis Rally Charities and in turn the organizations that serve and support a variety of causes in the greater Sturgis and Black Hills area. SMRi values the time and hard work that these groups put into educating and protecting local children, supporting and rebuilding the community, and assisting community members in need. SMRi appreciates the strong participation of retailers throughout the world that support the licensing program and would like to personally thank them and all of the wonderful organizations that have labored to make the Black Hills and the Sturgis community a better place for all.
