Every official Fiesta event that takes place during Fiesta each April is sponsored by a local nonprofit or military organization. Fiesta never ends because those groups are giving back to their neighbors throughout the year.
Below are some of the ways Fiesta impacts San Antonio and our local non-profits.
Scholarships
Many of the Fiesta Commission’s 100 participating member organizations give scholarships to local students. They include:
- Alamo Area Square and Round Dance Association
- Alamo Mission Chapter, Daughters of the Republic of Texas (Pilgrimage to the Alamo)
- Cherice Cochrane Mentoring for Success Foundation (Mr. Teen San Antonio Scholarship Banquet)
- Fiesta Cornyation
- King William Association (King William Fair)
- League of United Latin American Citizens Council #2 (Reina de la Feria de las Flores Reception)
- Military-Civilian Club (sponsor of Fiesta military ambassadors)
- NAACP Youth Council (Youth Image Awards Banquet)
- Palo Alto College (PACFest)
- Pan American League (Fiesta Olé Style Show & Luncheon)
- Psi Alpha Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. (Fiesta Masquerade Party)
- Queen of Soul Inc. (Queen of Soul Pageant)
- Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation (Fiesta del Rey: Crown the King!; Fiesta de los Reyes at Market Square; Rey Feo Consejo Fiesta Reception)
- Rey Feo Scholarship Committee (El Rey Feo Reception)
- San Antonio Blues Society (Fiesta Blues Heritage Series)
- San Antonio Woman’s Club (Teenage Queen Coronation; Fiesta Flower Show; Fiesta Luncheon, Style Show & Hat Contest)
- St. Mary’s University Alumni Association (Fiesta Oyster Bake)
- Texas Hill Country Scholarship Organization, Inc. (Miss San Antonio Pageant)
- University of the Incarnate Word (Cutting Edge Fiesta Fashion Show)
Other Ways Fiesta Gives Back
Here are some of the other ways Fiesta organizations give back to their community:
- Alamo City Rugby Club (Rugby Tournament)—Participation in Elf Louise’s Christmas gift drive.
- Alamo Exhibition Bird Club (Alamo Bird Mart)—Members take exotic birds to schools for a Rainforest Education program.
- Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Tau Omega Chapter (Praise Dance Celebration)—sponsors programs for young women.
- Battle of Flowers® Association (Parade & Band Festival)—Oratory & Essay contests.
- Cherice Cochrane Mentoring for Success Foundation (Mr. Teen San Antonio Scholarship Banquet)—Mentoring program.
- Clark High School Band Boosters (Fiesta Funday Sunday)—Proceeds support band activities.
- Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Alamo Couriers Chapter (Children’s Texas History Forum)—sponsors free living history programs for San Antonio-area schools.
- Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Alamo Mission Chapter (Pilgrimage to the Alamo)—Gives four $4,000 scholarships, honors teachers of Texas history & sponsors essay contests for 4th & 7th grade students.
- Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Alamo Heroes Chapter (San Jacinto Memorial Ceremony)—scholarship, book & flag donations, history programs at area schools.
- Therapy Animals of San Antonio (Fiesta Pooch Parade)—provides specially trained dogs for visits to hospitals, hospices & schools.
- DRT Alamo Inc.—Summer education camp at The Alamo.
- Lo Bello de San Antonio Women’s Club (Champagne & Diamonds Brunch)—Makes donations to local charities.
- Randolph Art League (Exhibit & Sale)—gives a donation to the Battered Women’s Foundation.
- Reaching Maximum Independence, Inc. (Fiesta Especial®)
– providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities, allowing them to live as independently as possible, since 1982. - Retired Senior Volunteer Program (Senior Fiesta)—Takes part in Community Emergency Response Teams, provides volunteers for other needs.
- San Antonio AIDS Foundation (WEBB Party)—Uses revenue from its Fiesta event to serve AIDS patients throughout the year.
- San Antonio Botanical Society (Viva Botanical)—Connecting people to the plant world through experience, education & research.
- San Antonio Charro Association (Day in Old Mexico & Mexican Charreada)—educates local youth about the traditions of Mexican charreria.
- San Antonio Conservation Society (A Night in Old San Antonio)—Preserves historic San Antonio buildings, donates books to local libraries, gives bus tours, offers grants, sponsors cultural festivals & presents awards for restorations.
- Southwest School of Art (Fiesta Arts Fair)—art classes.
- St. Jude’s Ranch for Children (Texas Corvette Association Car Show)—Provides a safe haven for abandoned, abused & neglected children in central & south Texas.
- Texas Cavaliers (Investiture of King Antonio, River Parade)—Supports area children’s charities through its charitable foundation.
- Action United for Entertainers & Diverse Artists (Piñatas in the Barrio)—Helps artists on the West side.
- The Brighton Center (A Taste of the Northside)—has provided services for San Antonio children with disabilities & their families since 1969.
- Urban 15 (Incognito: Fiesta’s Masked Ball)—Gives area children the chance to express themselves with music & movement.
- Witte Museum (Fiesta exhibit)—Innovative programs in history, science, & culture.
- Women’s Soccer Association (Soccer Tournament)—Promotes soccer for girls & women of all ages in San Antonio.
Additional nonprofit groups raise funds through selling parade street chair sales. More than 100 small local nonprofits—scout troops, church groups, civic clubs, etc.—raise thousands of dollars each year by selling chairs along the route of the two major street parades. By selling tickets to both parades, these organizations combined earn more than $600,000 each year.