Supporters of the arts and community-outreach programs offered through the Sunburst Foundation in Eureka will have a chance to lend their financial support to the foundation at its fifth annual Toast of the Town event on Friday.

Toast of the Town begins at 6 p.m. with a silent auction concluding at 8 p.m. Admission is $15 and includes a locally made pottery mug, one free drink, appetizers and entry into the drawing for a door prize. The event is at the Four Corners restaurant in Eureka and is open to the first 100 patrons.

“In Eureka it’s always a challenge for nonprofits to find the money they need to keep going,” said Rita Collins, the art and education director with the Eureka branch and coordinator of organizational development for the Sunburst Foundation. “We do very well with grants to cover things like the Missoula Children’s Theatre or Shakespeare in the Park. But a lot of our overhead — things that you just can’t really do without — aren’t covered by those grants, and it’s a challenge to find money to cover them.”

Some of the expenses not covered by grants are as basic as heating and utility payments. So far, the Toast of the Town event hasn’t quite covered all of the bills for the year, but Collins said the event is growing every year, and “every little bit helps.”

Last year the Toast raised about $2,500 and the Foundation is hoping to raise $3,000 this year.

“By some standards that’s a drop in the bucket, but it’s a lot of money for here, and it makes a big difference,” Collins said. “It hasn’t quite been enough to cover our bills, but it sure does help.”

Fundraising for Sunburst is a year-round event, with letter-writing campaigns and booths at the local farmers market in the summer and options for people to become “patrons of the arts” and support winter concert series.

“We’re always trying to find ways to get money so we can continue our programs,” Collins said. “It’s amazing what we can accomplish, and people really seem to enjoy what we have to offer throughout the year.”

Those programs include arts and cultural opportunities as well as education, mental health services, concerts and a wide variety of community classes.

“It’s pretty amazing for a town this size, the number of events that we’re involved in,” Collins said. “We made a commitment when we started in 1995 that we wanted to bring more arts into the community, and we’ve done that, and the people really seem to appreciate it.”

The Sunburst Foundation has been so successful that it has grown from just four people in Eureka in 1995 to more than 50 employees at six locations across the state.

“The Toast of the Town event is something we use to raise funds so we can keep the lights on and continue to offer those other programs, but it has also become something that people really look forward to each year.”

Last year Collins said 85 people attended the event.

“I think next year we’ll have to order more cups, because we sold out last year,” Collins said. “We had 85 people attend, and all the rest of the cups were purchased. The event has been a hit so far and this year we’ve got some amazing items for the silent auction, so I think it’s really catching on and more and more people will want to get involved with it.”

Items for the silent auction are donated by local artists and businesses and include a hand-felted rug, a pair of German harmonicas, pottery, gift certificates, rounds of golf at local courses and much more.

“Some of the auction items are just amazing,” Collins said. “Watercolors, catered dinners for two and a lot more. This year is one of the best; we’ve got some really great quality items, and this year we’re adding a door prize, so you could win something just for showing up. I always look forward to this event, but this year I think it will be especially nice.”

Collins said the Toast of the Town began out of a need to do something unique to help cover the bills, but it has grown into something more.

“It seems like businesses and the community are really getting behind this,” she said. “We decided to do an upscale event, and it was a hit. People have donated some lovely items — really amazing things — and everyone really looks forward to it. This time of year, it’s a little bit gray and people haven’t really slipped into the holiday scene yet, so this is a perfect way to get out and do something fun and support your community at the same time.”

“We end the auction at 8 p.m. so you don’t have to stay up too late, but we usually have people staying after to finish out the evening,” Collins said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

Reporter Melissa Walther may be reached at 758-4474 or by email at mwalther@dailyinterlake.com.