Nonprofit organizations around the state are holding their breath. When legislation passes and is signed by the governor allowing vintners to pour wine at charitable events regardless of the type of licenses they hold, those same organizations will breathe a sigh of relief.

For nearly a year, since three local vintners who owned the wrong type of licenses were cited for pouring wine at an event attended by consumers, the little-known law under which they were charged has had an effect on many organizations, which have had to cut back on the number of wineries they could invite to take part in fundraisers.

At first, the vintners were told that they could not pour at fundraising events; they could not even contribute wine for auctions. Reaction was swift. Within weeks the California State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board “re-interpreted” the law and said that vintners holding any kind of license could make a wine contribution, but held firm on the ruling that they could not pour.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, introduced a bill last month that will amend this part of the law, but it is not expected to take effect until early next year. In the meantime, nonprofits that depend on fundraising events to continue their activities find their sources of wine limited until then.

Just what does the ability to pour wine at an event mean to a nonprofit?

Napa-based New Level Group, which provides consulting services to clients including many local nonprofits, conducted a survey of nonprofit organizations in Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Marin counties recently to determine what effect wine donations have on their fundraising efforts. More than 600 organizations were queried, and 73 responded, which in the survey world is considered a good response.

More than a third were located in Napa County, and nearly half of the total were relatively small, with annual operating budgets of less than $500,000.

Asked how important donations from wineries are to fundraising efforts, 58 percent said wine donations were “very important” and 36 percent said they were “somewhat important.”

In Napa County the results were even more one-sided — 96 percent said the wine donations were very or somewhat important.

“Wine donations are a huge part of all nonprofit fundraisers,” said one respondent.

It isn’t so much the actual value of the wine that makes the donations so vital — nearly three-quarters said the total retail value was under $5,000 — it’s the amount of money that the wines bring in at auctions and the fact that many of the wines poured are made by boutique producers.

“The mere presence of a Napa Valley winery at an event adds cache,” said one comment on the survey. “Visitors to the valley love that they can ‘visit’ a winery in an event setting.”

Wine-related donations, such as winemaker dinners, tours and tastings and winery lodging which are usually auctioned, also bring in funds, with 75 percent of the respondents acknowledging that these accounted for up to $5,000.

If Evans wonders if nonprofits are happy about her legislation, the answer was strongly positive. Ninety percent said they felt wineries should be allowed to pour at nonprofit events without obtaining a special permit. But it’s the organizations, not the vintners, that need to have the permit, and nearly 40 percent of them admitted they did not understand which permits are needed for wineries to provide wine.

The wine industry’s impact on nonprofits goes beyond the direct contributions of wine. “Not only do they donate wines for pouring and auction, but many family wineries make cash contributions to our school, which they are able to do because of their success in the wine business,” one respondent wrote.

Another praised the wine industry for its generosity, saying it “is one of the few commercial industries that gives more than its fair share to the nonprofits who serve this community,” and added what could be an admonition to lawmakers: “Don’t penalize good citizenship and philanthropy.”

For information, contact New Level Group at www.newlevelgroup.com.

Question: How important are donations from wineries are to the fundraising efforts of your nonprofit organization?

Answer: 58 percent of responding nonprofits said wine donations were “very important.”

36 percent said they were “somewhat important.”

96 percent of responding Napa County nonprofits said the wine donations were very or somewhat important.