cixelsyd

Okay, then, here is a new idea. Follow the money. Identify the "next big thing", the area of greatest growth in drum corps related expenditures. Then, have a corps (or DCI) provide that thing as a service. What is the "next big thing" in drum corps? Lawsuits! Start a law practice specializing in personal injury law. It should get off to a quick start, as DCI and their corps have the inside track for finding clients. Turn that weakness into a strength.

I tried to steer it back on topic, but the thread has been plagued throughout by a lack of ideas, and a lack of people offering ideas. Not right now. But suppose air travel became impractical. What then? Sorry, but this is misleading. Spirit was in response to bad behavior. Both Cadets and SCV were financial.

So true. There is another aspect of this that bites DCI in the rear. The whole operating model of DCI is based on "haves" and "have-nots", "members" and "non-members". Always has been. We are down to 37 corps, and still DCI divides them by class, and further excludes several of the world-class from "membership". How many times has someone slipped through that gaping crack because information is not shared between haves and have-nots, and vice-versa? (Speaking of which, add all-age to the divisional communication network now.)

Sure, if scores or recaps were involved.

I agree with nearly all you just said, especially the final sentence. However, this thread is here to discuss revenue ideas. Debating the futility of those ideas is fair game in many other threads here, but in this one it is off-topic.

"The goal of winning" is not pushed at any corps. There are 37 corps, and only 2 will win in the end; that makes a very dissatisfying activity if the other 35 have no other goals they can meet. More importantly, this is a competition where corps pursue excellence in parallel, not an adversarial sport where one team literally defeats another in head-to-head combat. You can only be the best you can be - you cannot stop someone else from being better than you. As for Pioneer, it was winning that got them into world-class. Remember that in 1996, Pioneer was the most hated corps in the world for staying in division II at the same time division I had dropped to an all-time low of 18 entrants. Ironic that Pioneer later became the most hated corps in the world for staying in world-class.

I would only add as a point of clarification - they still get appearance fees at shows. Only the post-season revenue sharing payment is totally lost. I rarely waste the time on podcasts. This one reminds me why.

This podcast states that SCV is not competing in 2024. They will tour and perform in shows. They will be judged, perhaps scored... but still "not competing". Can anyone corroborate this?

If you ask DCI how they compute their revenue sharing formula for the Cadets, the answer will be different.

True. I was wrong for doubting you.

No... it does matter what they say, and whether it is true. Those things always matter when charitable contributions are an indispensable part of your budget.

I am also confused at why this complaint keeps referring to YEA! as equally relevant and culpable "at all relevant times", when the relevant times are 1982-1983 and YEA! did not exist until 1988.

Wait one second here. The Cadets board chair tells us in a press release that 2024 is off because "budgeted fundraising amounts did not materialize as anticipated". Is that a lie? Because if it is, then all that talk about their "transparency" only means they are transparently dishonest. The principle is the same. If a corps cannot afford the cost of props, uniforms, tour, spring training and sexual abuse, they should look at eliminating some of that cost. Starting with the one I underlined.

There are two responses that come to mind. 1. Generally speaking, drum corps is like many other amateur competitive activities in that it spends to whatever extent its constituency is willing to contribute to the competitive cause. For 100 years, we have had corps with budgets based on the three-legged stool of member fees, program-generated revenue and "fundraising" done by or donated from the corps constituency. Corps live or die depending on the generosity of others. You want full transparency... there it is. 2. Specifically speaking, the Cadets have gone through a total reorganization upon parting with YEA!. But you are probably right - there is more to the story. They may essentially be going through another reorganization right now with the move to Erie. When you look at the "revenue" thread here, you do not see nearly as many of those ideas in practice at Cadets as you did 6 years ago. The likely path to recovery here involves several things: a replacement CEO constituents developing new revenue-generating programs and fundraising events re-engaging with the donor base Those things should probably occur in the sequence listed. I sense this is part of the reason the corps is taking a year off, because they cannot fix all of that quickly enough to do 2024 right. If my description of the situation is accurate, we will not get greater transparency right now. Going forward, we will get it gradually as the above pieces of the puzzle are assembled.

I only said "tax-deductible". You may choose not to exercise that ability after reviewing a galaxy of potential deductions vs. the standard deduction. But you still have the ability.

Though others have said it already, it bears repeating. Why donate to a third party via a fourth-party platform like GoFundMe instead of donating directly to the corps? Ironically, that false alarm only re-confirmed that Cadets are a registered non-profit entity, to which you can make tax-deductible donations directly.

On the sidewalk today, I spotted a small candy bar still in its unopened wrapper. One of the local trick-or-treaters must have dropped one of their treats last night. Sure enough, the wrapper was labeled "Butterfinger". Sometimes, the punchline writes itself.

I think you have to join the BD board of directors. Let us know when you do, and we will start a thread.

There is no accounting for how slow DCI is to implement good ideas.

You are seriously calling others "old" and "antiquated" under the account name "Phantom56"?

On the other hand, whose version of "transparency" would you prefer - Cadets or SCV?

That grass was so long, the mulch afterwards was ankle deep.

Exactly. If there are "haves" on your resume, why even bother mentioning the "have-nots"?

No... I think you were more accurate in your next post. Selective memory.

Per the topic of this thread, there are several revenue ideas that would either require, or benefit from, having some local participation. If a corps wants to run concessions at a local sports venue, operate ensembles for local sports teams, or perform for corporate gigs, those efforts will need people who live nearby to participate. And an often-raised point regarding large sponsorships is that the biggest thing the corps has to offer the sponsor is visibility....the kind of visibility that local, year-round corps used to have. That said... For a multi-program "youth arts org", maybe the DCI program can remain locally invisible while the other programs provide the local membership that opens up these opportunities. And for a plain-old drum corps that is not running other youth programs that are more community-based, well, maybe they can live without those opportunities and make up the difference somewhere else. Remember that as you ask this question, a corps in Pennsylvania recently relocated their home base from one end of the state to the other, over 300 miles away, and is just now wondering why fundraising did not materialize as anticipated.