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Corps Income/Revenue Stream


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9 hours ago, Pantherett said:

Boston got a huge infusion from some alumni, hence moving from 12th to 6th. Like Star they are buying a championship by paying staff and designers outrageous sums of money. This in turn will trickle down to effect all corps. Supply and demand.

"...buying a championship..."?  Ask those kids if that's true.

"...outrageous sums of money."?  Who says what's outrageous, you?  Do you have specifics to share that compare to mine?

Wouldn't it be great if all corps took a jump in quality?  But it seems the Cadets would disagree with your "trickle down" theory.

What's being supplied in your comments, talent or money, and what's being demanded?

Your first post here is a doozie!

 

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8 hours ago, SuperSaderFan said:

Just to clarify a few things: The reported amounts are gross revenue and not net. Revenues can help cash flows especially in those periods of time when there is not a lot of traditional Drum Corps cash coming in. As for Boston, we have built the organization for the long term. The responsibility of a BOD is to fund raise and provide governance. We have a BOD of over 40 people with diverse backgrounds and skills - we have a give/get requirement. We have methodically built a sustainable non profit that services our members and runs on business principles. We have been very clear with the activity and the other Corps about our approach. We have been a major advocate for the Board consortium which brings together the Board members from all corps to share best practices and focus on the good of the activity. We have programs at the local level providing free music education and performance opportunities for local kids in need; a profitable regional Music Festival Company that augments scholastic music performance opportunities for 20,000 students and 500 programs across New England and New York; and our national touring program The Boston Crusaders. We bought a building in Hyde Park to be our headquarters; our main tenant is a music theatre program called Riverside Theatre Works; we opened a music store in our building and we are are distributor for Yamaha instruments - which we also provide for free to our local students; we have some other retail rental tenants and the building is also a positive contributor to our cash flow and a big part of the equity on our balance sheet. We do have an incredibly supportive Alumni and friends network and they contribute just like other Corps especially the older ones. We are committed to Building A Champion and have hired an outstanding Executive Director in Chris Holland former DM, Music Educator and Lawyer and he has assembled an incredible team he has signed on for the long term. Everything we do goes through a business development committee of the BOD and has an ROI assigned to it. We are very pleased with our progress and look forward to a very positive future.

BTW - I think the ultimate winner here are the fans as evidenced by their response at shows and the souvie booth. 

 

 

And there you have it...straight from the Inspire Arts & Music BOD.   And I think the website still lists the biggest contributors to the corps...you'll see names like Putnam Investments, Fidelity Investments, John Hancock etc.  As for "buying a championship", apparently BAC is supposed to know it's place and not strive to win?

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11 hours ago, Pantherett said:

Boston got a huge infusion from some alumni, hence moving from 12th to 6th. Like Star they are buying a championship by paying staff and designers outrageous sums of money. This in turn will trickle down to effect all corps. Supply and demand.

Right out of the gate on the first post; punish, attack, and blame a fiscally responsible corps like Boston.  A corps that will not abandoned kids out on the road; a corps that will not plunge into a $300,000 hole; a corps that makes sure it has the resources to secure quality staff in order to take care of the kids.

Oh, and as for Star; ask the performers who moved into the ranks of Star in 1985 over from Cincinnati how they felt about the awful and horrible influx of cash donated by Cook to get that corps off the ground in a fiscally responsible manner and give them a solid home.

Edited by Stu
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10 hours ago, Pantherett said:

Boston got a huge infusion from some alumni, hence moving from 12th to 6th. Like Star they are buying a championship by paying staff and designers outrageous sums of money. This in turn will trickle down to effect all corps. Supply and demand.

These things are exactly what corps' organizations ought to be doing - developing from alumni, fans, and corporate sponsors, and operating with the kind of cash flow that lets them obtain the best talent possible. Long-term, managing a sustainable nonprofit organization behind the corps is as critical as designing great shows and helping young musicians shine.

I realize that for some large group of people there is emotional satisfaction in thinking of a dichotomy between business and art - that somehow "buying a championship" happens only occasionally and is a bad thing. Artists with this kind of dichotomous outlook don't sustain their art very long.

Drum corps will be better because of what Boston showed us this year, both behind the scenes and on the field.

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13 hours ago, Pantherett said:

Boston got a huge infusion from some alumni, hence moving from 12th to 6th. Like Star they are buying a championship by paying staff and designers outrageous sums of money. This in turn will trickle down to effect all corps. Supply and demand.

Will you be posting similar thoughts about the four corps listed above who have larger numbers?

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I love the phrase "buy a championship."  Isn't everyone trying to buy a championship? I think so. No matter how small or large, you are trying to run your organization the best you can. That means making as much money as possible for things like great staff, housing, food, travel, facilities, instruments, equipment, and on and on. The more money you make the more opportunity for great staff, better travel, great instruments and equipment, and great performance opportunities. Ultimately all those things add up to being competitive - yes? I think so. That's called buying a championship. Everyone is trying. 

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6 hours ago, craiga said:

And there you have it...straight from the Inspire Arts & Music BOD.   And I think the website still lists the biggest contributors to the corps...you'll see names like Putnam Investments, Fidelity Investments, John Hancock etc.  As for "buying a championship", apparently BAC is supposed to know it's place and not strive to win?

The power of a substantial BoD cannot be understated.  BAC's building of the BoD has brought funding from corporate matching to the contributions of their employees (in this case, board members).

Some might say that BAC's BoD is too large to manage governance but is great for acquiring professional and volunteer diversity; Crown's example might work better that the actual board is relatively small and all professional members are part of the Advisory Committee.  This frees up talent from meeting the attendance requirements generally associated with BoD membership, as well as the legal fiduciary responsibility of BoD membership.  

A strong give/get policy such as BAC's can start every season with $100-thousand or more.

Many corps, BAC being the latest, have come to understand the importance of strong governance from a strong BoD.  And it's not all about fundraising, either. 

Edited by garfield
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18 hours ago, drumcorpsfever said:

It would seem, if your statement above is accurate (average tenure of a fan is 3 years), then therein lies an opportunity for DCI.  Turning over your fan base every 3 years is a missed opportunity to really grow the activity - and missed revenue as well.  To a large degree that's probably due to marching membership ever changing.  But if DCI could ever figure out a way to retain more fans - same as the corps growing their active and supporting alumni, then they'll be on to something.   Put this in context to, say, major league sports - if their fan bases churned every 3 years, imagine how that would affect those sports.  Their continued survival would always be challenged.  

it seems retention is trending upwards

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15 hours ago, Pantherett said:

Boston got a huge infusion from some alumni, hence moving from 12th to 6th. Like Star they are buying a championship by paying staff and designers outrageous sums of money. This in turn will trickle down to effect all corps. Supply and demand.

better yet, Boston was smart in how they used the money, ensuring it doesnt dry up all at once.

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