Gantang
-
Posts
305 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Gantang
-
-
14 hours ago, Tim K said:
Other than placing below some competitors, I’m not seeing the connection.
That is the similarity. Not doing full tours, losing often while being entertaining, etc. JS has been placing in the mid to low 20s for a decade, similar to Pioneer.
The goal of winning wasn't pushed at Pioneer. It was a place for kids to cut their teeth in drum corps before they moved on. -
On 8/2/2023 at 2:22 AM, Mariana said:
Why are they still somehow a World Class Corps?
In a word...Pioneer.
-
3 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:
Maybe some people don’t look at it as a way to save taxes.
Then, they would not be viewing a donation to Cadets as a tax-deductible charitable donation. I make donations despite claiming the Standard Deduction because I know it's a gift (not under the IRS' definition. Those who do itemize and have deductions greater than the Standard do benefit by making additional donations. They usually make SIGNIFICANT donations to reduce the tax burden. Some of us are simply altruistic.
-
8 minutes ago, dbc03 said:
then as my circumstances changed I eventually switched to Itemized deductions.
You are rare, especially in this activity.
I expect that most of the people on here don't itemize since 90% of taxpayers claim the standard deduction. Thus, 90% of the people would see no tax benefit from donating to a charity, as cixelsyd suggested. -
26 minutes ago, dbc03 said:
Most people aren't donating exclusively to lower their taxes
I didn't say they were! Where did you get that idea?
cixelsyd wrote that "you can make tax-deductible donations directly." I disputed the ability to use a donation as a tax-deductible donation under the current IRS Code.
Since you chimed in, do you take the Standard Deduction or Itemize? -
29 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:
...Cadets are a registered non-profit entity, to which you can make tax-deductible donations directly.
The Standard Deduction of $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married filing separately has nearly eliminated the ability to deduct Charitable Donations. Unless those donations combined with every other Itemized Deductions amount to a greater dollar amount than the SD.
Is anyone reading this using Itemized versus Standard Deductions and could lend some insight on this?? -
3 minutes ago, lowend said:
Cadets have had their second chance already.
I wonder if this is the consensus of the alumni.
-
It's been three weeks since the GoFundMe for the Cadets was started. The ask was for $50,000, but as of now, only $905 has been donated by 16 donors. How do you interpret this?
Are people donating directly to the corps?
Are people looking at their bank statements and seeing a balance that gives them nothing to spare?
Has the IRS Standard Deduction disincentivized charitable donations?
Are people holding a grudge against the corps for Hopkin's sins?
I know this platform isn't as popular as it once was, but I have to believe that the link to the donation page has been shared in other media besides DCP.
If the most ardent drum corps supporters aren't opening their wallets, who will? -
On 10/20/2023 at 7:19 AM, dbc03 said:
Which corps have consistent revenue streams that cover all their expenses without donations?
Donations are part of a consistent revenue stream IF the corps is good at generating donations AND they can collect the pledged dollars. I don't consider GFM dollars a meaningful donation since it is a one-time commitment.
-
51 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:
It's not a pipe dream.
I may be picking nits here, but I consider a sponsorship to cover the entity's cost. IE Penske Racing. It is possible to secure minor donations, but that requires a FT person working 12 months a year to cobble together $10K at a time. While $180K is nothing to sneeze at, it is a drop in the budgetary bucket for a World Class corps.
From a Jeff Ream post from May 2, 2022, referencing an interview with Tim Hinto, "the average cost to house, feed, transport and of course things like insurance is $9800 per kid", for a budget of $1,470,000. With a $5,000 dues, that still leaves $750,000 to operate for a season. -
31 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:
Wow, the BD story is a little hard to imagine.
I was shocked, especially since BD has so many opportunities for Concord kids. It just shows how niche the activity is.
EDIT: The CEO has been at that financial since 2004. That's almost 20 years IN Concord. It's not like she's a newbie in Concord.-
1
-
-
On 10/19/2023 at 11:00 AM, LabMaster said:
Reach out for corporate sponsors;
DRUM CORPS IS A NON-ENTITY IN THE GRAND SCHEME*
You are clearly passionate, and I will not poo-poo your post, but I have some interesting (I hope) insight into this portion. First of all, there has to be a benefit to the corporation. Bill Cook was an outlier because he became passionate about the activity, AND he could write the check on his own volition. The marketing budgets for most companies are one of the smallest budget lines. If a corps can't demonstrate a strong ROI, the company has no incentive. My wife is a CEO and her marketing department is inundated by organizations with their hands held out looking for donations. The local United Way reached out their hand yesterday, but the 2023 community giving coffers are empty. There can be no more giving until January. There is a finite amount of money to be spread around.
*I was at a dinner earlier this year with the CEO of a $1.5 billion financial institution in a city with a DCI corps. I asked her if she was familiar with the organization. She wasn't, and she had never heard of drum corps. I explained the activity a bit and told her that her city arguably has the premier drum corps in the activity.
The CEO's financial institution is in Concord. Concord only has 126,000 people and Blue Devils has been on the major drum corps map since 1973. That's 50 years of publicity that the Devils have brought to Concord, yet they are not even a blip on the radar in their home city. Imagine how insignificant corps are to communities around the country. Corporate sponsorship is a pipe dream.
-
2
-
-
20 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:
COMPLETELY agree with you, and you've made the point about Cadets' transparency so other people should take note.
Example:
Cadets have been more than transparent over the past few years about where their donations have been going.
You completely missed my point. Do they have a consistent revenue stream that can fund the corps? Are they confident that the budget can be met from all revenue streams? I don't care where the money goes since I can see that on their 990. I care whether all of the budget lines can be met CONSISTENTLY year after year. Do they have such streams?
-
2 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:
so careful with the sanctimony
How is asking about the reality of them having consistent operating revenue sources sanctimonious? And what other corps are doing has nothing to do with Cadets.
-
15 minutes ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
if we just throw our hands up
Who is "we"?
-
I wish Cadets ZERO ill will, but maybe they don't have the financial backing to operate a DCI corps. What happens the next time they're short on money if the GFM bandaid has been removed from the medicine cabinet?
Corps need a consistent revenue stream that will allow them to meet their needs and it appears that there is no such stream here. Has anyone done a deep dive into the reality of them having operating revenue sources?-
2
-
1
-
-
On 10/14/2023 at 7:42 AM, IllianaLancerContra said:
Spring training starts no earlier than 1 June.
The shortness of the season is absurd, and some corps didn't finish their shows by July 2nd. If you take away a week or two of ST the shows will be crap until the third week of July. Would you want to buy a show ticket to see crappy shows?
-
On 10/7/2023 at 10:55 AM, HockeyDad said:
So much for that argument that placements don’t matter because all that matters is the kids are having fun.
Performing will always be the highlight of the day, but the leaders need to reflect on their marching days and admit that losing (yes, not beating corps is losing) every night is demoralizing. Marching under the sun rather than under the lights is demoralizing. Watching your friends in other corps perform every night because you went on so early is demoralizing. Boarding a bus to head to the next town while your drum major stays behind for Finale and getting to the town before the DM does the Finale is demoralizing.
No football player wants to go through off-season weight training, two-a-days, and in-season practice, only to get smoked every Friday night. No matter how much they love the game, losing is demoralizing. It's human nature, and the leadership needs to realize that there is nothing noble about a standing ovation when you are about to be passed by Open Class corps. Remember...Madison is competing against the Blue Devils and SCV, but it's the second-tier BD and SCV. Have they dug a competitive hole too deep to climb out of?-
1
-
-
On 10/11/2023 at 8:00 AM, Keith Hall said:
Safety and Security Team for each corps!
Each corps hire a team to keep watch over corps members as well as staff. One on one meetings with adult and MM should only happen with a Safety and Security team member present. Kind of like, member doesn't meet one on one with a staff member without representation. Also making sure MM's are safe on tour from outside issues.
The Mike Pence approach is advised. NEVER be alone with a minor, student, or anyone who can make claims against you for sexual assault or abuse.
-
2
-
-
On 10/13/2023 at 7:04 PM, TenHut said:
Come-on now. Blaming Hoppy? Really?
Not 100%, but he held a lot of sway in 2003. There was the Hopkins camp and the Stewart camp. Stewart was deemed a Ludite while people hopped on the Hoppy bullettrain. He led the movement.
-
Remember how Hoppy pushed to add members, amplification, non-traditional instruments, voice, and props galore? The cost to field a corps...and to march...is exorbitant.
IF they're doing this because of $, they can blame Hoppy for a second black eye.
-
4
-
-
2 hours ago, cixelsyd said:
a large cat toy randomly rolling around the field.
I love that!
-
No. That corps needs to decide who they are now that they're co-ed. It's what the leadership had to do when they merged Capitolaires with the Madison Junior Scouts. Capitol Sound couldn't be one or the other; it had to be a new iteration with its own identity.
This corps needs to master a show of lower quality and build from there. They don't have the talent to pull off a typical Madison Scouts show. If they can manage to be a contender for Saturday night, they may attract better talent. BD's horn line is filled with boys and girls as young as 18 and they were stunningly good. But Madison could not have begun to do justice to the Chasesque baritone and soprano runs in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Crawl, walk, run, sprint, then in your face!-
1
-
2
-
-
3 minutes ago, kdaddy said:
the BOD chair was on board with Robb.
To run the organization?
Madison Scouts 2024 repertoire: “Unholy”
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
It's just a little bit of history repeating.