Tim K Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 2 minutes ago, supersop said: Just a thought but there are still plenty of Fortune 500 companies that operate within the state of Michigan and are headquartered there. There are also massive endowment organizations like the Stewart Mott Foundation but have plenty of money to throw around at the end of fiscal quarters. Not many 501 c 3 organizations have the guts to go knocking on the doors of the big boys but the fact is... They HAVE to make donations to nonprofits in order to help themselves come tax time. Don't be afraid to knock on the front door of Dow Chemical or General Motors or Ford. They honestly have a very hard time getting rid of cash for tax purposes every quarter. The problem with drum corps and corporate donors is bang for the buck. Let's say I am a well to do donor and I'm giving $20,000 to an inner city after school program. That money will go farther than with a drum corps where it may make it possible for four or five kids to march. The $20,000 could help more kids who are poor, as opposed to fewer kids who are solidly middle class or higher. Raising funds for drum corps is hard, but if they are not asked, they won't give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I wasn't trying to make it sound easy. You definitely have to have an excellent pitch person to get the results you want. You also have to consider that there is a large enough donation made to your organization you very well may end up with liquid assets and cash at the end of your fiscal year which you can then use to buy equipment or you could make the promise to your donor that any funds left over would be spent on inner city programs or programs for the disadvantaged or disabled or whatever. As long as you know all the angles before you make the big ask... You'll do just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, supersop said: With regards to point 3.....Legends have at least 20 organizations in the state of Michigan they can turn to. The SAGINAIRES aka northcoastacademy.org, for one, would be a good start. Plymouth Canton is another. Corbin Hutchison at Grand Blanc High is another. The list is extremely long and very distinguished. To be completely honest, I've always questioned the leadership at Legends based on many many years of previous experience in dealing with them. This goes much further back than the birth of Legends. I'm not entirely sure whether they would get assistance from the people I have listed because they have either burned to many bridges or are too proud to admit that they need such assistance. Disclaimer, if the management running Legends has changed since their Inception then I retract my previous statement. Further, there are immense opportunities to raise funds in the state of Michigan because of their fundraising/501c3 legislature. If they get their act together they can easily raise the funds needed to continue to field the corps next year. All I can do at this point is wish them the very best. As a former marching member of a Michigan drum and bugle Corps...... way before Legends were born.... it does my heart good to see that there is still an active drum and bugle Corps in the state of Michigan. Now get your act together so that you won't be the last. If you have to downsize I'm not so sure that sound sport is the way to go. There are several successful models for WGI winter percussion ensembles and music ensembles and mcgc.net (Michigan color guard circuit) also has several performance ensemble categories. Some of the other points in the quote are a bit overboard. I appreciate the thought that you put into this but you're not trying to run a Fortune 500 company. It's just band... Your suggestions of who to consult with are great, and you are right that burned bridges are sometimes hard to overcome. My list was for most any corps that has often into a financial mess not just any particular corps. Asfor your last statement about band; while it is true DCI has ensembles that can be defined by some as bands, the sucusseful organizations are not 'just' bands. The parent organizations of the successful DCI corps are actually multi-million dollar per year 'corporations' which in turn facilitate performing ensembles, and each are ran as a high level business not a band. And in my opinion even if a group is running an organization facilitating a small budget SoundSport ensemble, the organization should emulate the business structure of the successful organizations. Edited July 22, 2017 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 On 7/22/2017 at 11:32 AM, Barneveld said: I think a certain corps in the northeast did #1 (I would change development director to executive director), #2, #6 & #8 not necessarily in that order. This season you are starting to see the results. For anyone who doesn't know: in the non-profit world, "development" = "fundraising". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 On 7/22/2017 at 2:33 PM, Stu said: Your suggestions of who to consult with are great, and you are right that burned bridges are sometimes hard to overcome. My list was for most any corps that has often into a financial mess not just any particular corps. Asfor your last statement about band; while it is true DCI has ensembles that can be defined by some as bands, the sucusseful organizations are not 'just' bands. The parent organizations of the successful DCI corps are actually multi-million dollar per year 'corporations' which in turn facilitate performing ensembles, and each are ran as a high level business not a band. And in my opinion even if a group is running an organization facilitating a small budget SoundSport ensemble, the organization should emulate the business structure of the successful organizations. Psst.... it was just s little sarcasm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totaleefree Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Hate to bring negativity into this, But working with several non Drum Corps non profits the big corporate ask is not as easy as it sounds. Also when a corporation gives money for a one year one time deal don't expect to get it again next year. I have seen many good well run non profits get almost destroyed when they receive a large gift then plan the next years budget based on getting another large gift which never materializes. I also recall though I can't find it right now, Mr Cook the funder of Star of Indiana saying that at one time he gave money to help every little corps that needed a little help to make it through the season, and that he later regretted some of those gifts because then the corps planned their budget based on getting extra help from him, and it actually held them back from building and working with a reasonable budget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 2 hours ago, totaleefree said: Hate to bring negativity into this, But working with several non Drum Corps non profits the big corporate ask is not as easy as it sounds. Also when a corporation gives money for a one year one time deal don't expect to get it again next year. I have seen many good well run non profits get almost destroyed when they receive a large gift then plan the next years budget based on getting another large gift which never materializes. I also recall though I can't find it right now, Mr Cook the funder of Star of Indiana saying that at one time he gave money to help every little corps that needed a little help to make it through the season, and that he later regretted some of those gifts because then the corps planned their budget based on getting extra help from him, and it actually held them back from building and working with a reasonable budget. excellent points here. I also wanted to add my shock at how little the US Grant system is used. I think it comes from a lack of creative thinking. Although you run a drum and bugle Corps AKA a non-profit Youth Organization, that doesn't mean you are limited to just grants for education. One of the easiest grants I've ever been awarded that was repeatable year after year was for public education supplies pre-k through 12th grade. The grant is usually $40,000 to $50,000 and specifies very clearly that you are to spend the money on school supplies in order to help supplement the dwindling budgets of our Public Schools. Out of the money won for the grant you are eligible to use some of that money for operating expenses. Usually between 5 and 10% although some grants allow an even greater percentage to the recipient of the grant. Often times this is not just one Grant. There are usually several grants for the same thing that you can apply to in each quarter of the year. And this is just one simple example of being a non-profit applying for a grant where the funds are to be used for education or poverty or whatever. So you don't get the full amount of the grant. Big deal you're still getting some of it and you're helping out your local community by Distributing the funds of the grant. That's good PR. That gives more people interested in your organization. That gets more funds donated to your organization. In other words, hire a grant writer. Most grant writers will actually work for free and only take their fee when a Grant is won. Food for thought 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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