This year’s Fourth of July fundraising month brought in almost $151,000 in food and ticket sales from the seven-day workweeks by royalty contestant Sophia Martinsen and her supporters.

It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for the chamber of commerce, which sponsors the royalty contest and coordinates the several days of Fourth events.

Of the total proceeds, about $117,000 came from Martinsen’s food sales, almost $19,000 in sales of the $1 fundraising raffle tickets, and $15,000 in donations of food and start-up cash for the food booth, said Tracey Martin, the chamber’s executive director.

But the $151,000 doesn’t all stay with the chamber.

About $52,000 went to buy food and pay other expenses of Martinsen’s team, which ran food sales at the downtown pavilion seven days a week. “The cost of food is a huge one,” Martin said.

The fireworks and shipping the explosives to town, a licensed pyrotechnician to set off the rockets, raffle ticket printing and raffle prizes, insurance and prize money totaled about $23,000, Martin said.

The logging show and a new chainsaw for competitors to use cost a few thousand dollars, though donations covered the prize money awarded to the winners, including a chainsaw donated by The Bay Co. for the winner of the Bull of the Woods honor.

“The logging show always costs more than the entry fees for T-shirts, fuel for the loaders, prize money and other supplies,” Martin said.

Alaska Vistas donated T-shirts this year and also a new chainsaw for the competition.

Unlike past years, when the chamber would hand out cash prizes for street games and other events, it gave away ribbons to reduce spending and found sponsors for every game and contest, saving about $9,000, Martin said.

Martinsen, this year’s only royalty contestant, will receive 30% of the fundraising pot after the chamber deducts expenses.

In total, expenses, including chamber payroll for the Fourth activities and Martinsen’s share, added up to about $120,000, leaving about $30,000 net for the chamber.

The nonprofit organization has to stretch out that $30,000, plus about $20,000 in member dues, over an entire year, Martin said.

This year’s net is at the low end compared to past years of profitable Fourth of Julys, she said, noting that the chamber has lost money in some years.

And there already is a new expense coming due. “The Fire Department has requested that we replace the 40-year-old homemade firing boxes for the fireworks, which will cost about $15,000,” Martin said. “The chamber is in talks with the borough about sharing that burden. We will need to do some fundraising for that.”

The Fourth of July income is an essential element of the chamber’s budget, she said. “There just are not enough businesses in town to fund a chamber office.”

The borough stopped donating to the chamber for the Fourth of July a couple of years ago, though it did make free office space available for the chamber at the Nolan Center starting in May.

The chamber board earlier this month decided to continue running the royalty fundraiser, the Fourth of July parade and the fireworks, but will turn over to community volunteers the work of coordinating all of the events and contests over the multiday holiday celebration.

The board decided it wanted to spend more of its time promoting businesses in town.

Martin estimates that visitors and locals spend more than $1 million on food, lodging and other goods and services over the Fourth. “That is a boost to local businesses and sales tax collections.”