Tim K

The Philanthropy Roundtable (philanthropyroundtable.org) is a resource many people in advancement/development will use for planning and targeting purposes. Roughly 67% of American households give to charitable causes. Generation X had the largest percentage increase in 2020, especially at the higher ages in this category. Baby Boomers give the most but donations are larger from those at the lower age spectrum. So key donors are between 50-65 which makes sense. You’re more than likely still working and have the income to give. Millennials give the least but before we get into a boomer v. Millennials debate, this is not a slight. Millennials have started donating to causes at an earlier age than their predecessors which makes them likely to keep the habit of giving. The biggest reason people give to a cause is belief in its purpose. The least likely reason is for a tax deduction.

I have donated to Cadets in the past. For right now I would donate directly to Cadets rather than Go Fund Me but before I do I’d want to know how much needs to be raised to pay past debts and how much needs to be raised for a 2025 tour.

I seem to remember it being cost of using the stadium though venue cost is the reason for so many shows being canceled, I may be confusing it with another show. I think the first year there was no Buffalo show was the same year there was no Rome show. Also the New Jersey shows that were held close to the New York border were not held, so people felt New York fans were being ignored. Given the distance, I’m not sure how many people who attended Buffalo or Rome attended Clifton, NJ or Met Life Stadium, but I’ve made similar lengthy treks to Clifton and Glassboro from Boston, so you never know.

My understanding with Les Stentors is they do not require auditions which makes sense since they recruit with the promise of giving lessons. They do require interviews. They want members who are serious about performing and being committed. They’re not afraid to cut those who just want to travel to the United States. They’re pretty talented kids. I know Cadets and Crown actively tried to recruit some members who they learned were attending college in the United States. If they ever had 145 members, they’d probably be competitive, maybe even a powerhouse in OC.

Michael Boo, of happy memory and sorely missed, used to do a write up with a video of famous screamers as a way to celebrate Halloween. Maybe Tom Blair could collect these on a Blu-Ray disc as a farewell project and Michael Cessario “bathing in chocolate” with Steve Rondinaro dressed as Willy Wonka could reprise their roles on the Legacy DVD’s and give the intro.

I’m not sure the “gloomy Gus seniors” are all that gloomy or seniors, unless your definition of seniors is the same as AARP which considers anyone who pays their dues a senior!🙂 On a more serious note, I agree and disagree with “thriving.” In spite of its shortcomings, DCI as an organization, meaning head office, not the individual corps (I know DCI is the corps), is thriving overall. Attendance at events such as San Antonio and finals is up, the donor base has expanded, Friends of DCI is growing, and many aspects of the tour are top notch. The member corps need to give the head office more policing authority as far as safety and management, but that’s another issue for another thread. Looking at the quality of the shows, the overall quality improves most years. Sure some corps have an off year, but that’s the case with every corps at one time or another. In that respect I’d say thriving. When it comes to individual corps, that’s a difficult matter and a mixed bag. If you lose two or three corps a year with no one to replace them, that’s not thriving. Whether there are questions as to whether a corps will have the finances come June, that’s not thriving. When safety issues by some of the same corps are not addressed, that’s not thriving.

I don’t think Drum Corps is alienating middle and high school kids. BOA takes place in the fall, WGI winter into spring. These are school year activities. Where so many percussionists and color guard members and now in some cases brass are in WGI units and march DCI, I don’t think they are choosing one over the other. As far as BOA is concerned, most are from public high schools with a smattering of Catholic, private, and charter schools. They may choose to be in the band, but they don’t choose where they attend school or whether the school competes in BOA, US Bands, or whatever the circuit happens to be. Though I have heard some of the top BOA competitors do not want their members to march DCI due to band camps and rehearsal time, I’ve also heard many young people with more competitive bands want to march DCI.

There is another thread that states Capital Regiment plans to return to the field for 2024 and reportedly purchased equipment from Southwind.

I knew there was a Capital Regiment post from back always and found it. It may be worth reading for those who may not know the history of Capital Regiment. I’ll admit I either forgot or never knew some details, but I couldn’t help but think as I read the thread “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

This post may be a helpful reference for those who wish to comment on an October 2023 post about the corps returning to the competition field.

I think you need to be careful with Go Fund Me. It is great for grass root efforts and when the money is used for the intended purpose, that’s great. If the funds are not used for the intended purpose, donors have no recourse, at least none that I’m aware of, so you need to be careful. In the case of Cadets and SCV I’d want to see a specific game plan before donating. Cadets has a history, or at least it has sounded as if there was a history of robbing Peter to pay Paul with the exception of 2017. I don’t think Peter and Paul liked that show too much so Peter hid the money!🙂

When I saw the FB post about auditions and a few hours later the post about going inactive, I found it odd and chalked it up to a lack of communication. Then I wondered if the announcement about 2024 was made earlier than intended. I’m thinking they planned on holding off until after the reunion weekend rather than put a pall on the events, but announced it prior to the event to avoid the disaster that would have occurred if news leaked out at the reunion. There’s no way that news could have been contained.

I would add a huge word of caution: for drum corps you want a grant writer with a proven track record and a track record with an activity similar to drum corps. I would go so far to say that I don’t think there are too many grants for drum corps out there but I’ve never had the need to research it. I know a friend who has worked for three different non profits, one as a development director for a small college, another with a homeless shelter, and a third with a visiting nurse association. She has also served on advisory boards for two Catholic schools and a senior service agency. She is now semi retired and advises groups about advancement and fundraising. She advises if you hire a grant writer, the grant writer not only understand how to write a grant, but the specific lingo of what the person or organization awarding the grant wants to hear. She uses her experience with the homeless shelter to point out that a person who writes for a grant for housing may not be the one for medical care grants or job training. Each has nuances and specifics. This is especially the case with government grants. It’s my impression from talking with her (I heard her speak at a conference I attended and we had a mutual friend) that many people who offer to write grants may not know how to do it but can talk a good game and blame it on the government or group awarding the grant.

Cutting costs and sticking to a budget are both important, but a significant culprit is not having revenue to cover the costs in the first place. In the case of Cadets, the official statement mentioned fund raising as a problem. Whether you call it fundraising, development, advancement, corps need to find long term sustaining ways to fund corps. Hitting up alumni or going hat in hand to businesses is a very limited source of revenue and at a time when non profits are hurting, if you’re a business being hit up for funds, is a flashy and expensive drum corps going to be as worthy a candidate as let’s say the day camp for underserved children? Which looks better? Which can use the funds more effectively? Which serves local people in a local community?

My understanding is that alums have been hit up quite a few times to save the Cadets. There’s only so many times this can happen.

One of my earliest memories of Cadets is singing “Amen” at the end of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” long before singing was allowed. So many great shows, many of them groundbreaking. I was surprised that Cadets was able to field a corps in 2018 and thought after 2019’s challenges which involved finances, leadership, and all sorts of off field issues, I did not think Cadets would survive the pandemic. I’m glad I was wrong. 2021’s exhibition and the solid shows of 2022 and 2023 made me think Cadets could survive anything. That being said, inflation is hurting non profits overall and the increased expenses of drum corps make this a very difficult time. I hope Cadets return.

After last year’s show, I thought we’d see Southwind move closer to Gold and Spartans in 2024. It saddened me to see a Facebook post which I was sure would be an announcement about auditions to have such somber news. For me, what makes this different, and I would add sadder, is the finality. There’s no talk of hiatus or reorganization. I am sure they are being realistic and where they were inactive for a while understand the challenges of returning to the field, but it is too bad.

I understand about background checks for volunteers and agree they are necessary, but I never mentioned that in my comments because I believe it is already the case with most corps. Regarding staff and volunteers, I believe it is important to keep staff and volunteers to a manageable number for supervision and having clear boundaries is crucial. The application process I am referring to is for marching members. I know no process is fool proof, but when you hear that someone who exhibits problematic behavior in one corps marches with another and often better corps the next year, bullying behavior was ignored because of talent or connections, or a person who just can’t handle the experience and often becomes a target, I wonder how some marching members are vetted. I do believe that the majority, I would even venture to say well over 90% of kids who march are hard working, talented, motivated individuals who attend top colleges and universities, and from what I see these kids are usually polite and friendly, these folks will have no problem with a thorough application process. That being said, something has to be done to discover potential problems. We’re not doing any kid a favor by ignoring problematic behavior just to win a show or accept someone just to fill a bus seat. It’s not fair to the other marching members and it’s not fair to the young person in question.

Just a note before I begin. My knowledge of this area comes from familiarity with church settings, Scout settings, and elementary (K-8) and Middle/High Schools (7-12). I understand that some of what I say may not fit drum corps exactly but can be modified for the activity. I’ve read the posts in this thread as well as other similar threads both past and present, but as I read “hire a team,” that’s all well and good, but something else has to happen too. Best practices guides say predators love getting “lost in the crowd” so to speak. Corps often have large instructional staff, with assistants who help, not to mention volunteers that help the instructional staff and staff and volunteers doing a host of other tasks. Monitoring these numbers and specific tasks is difficult. Drum corps can be an ideal place to be unnoticed and “get lost in the crowd.” Hire a team if you think it will work, but streamline staff and volunteers. I know the argument for 165 was bus capacity, but if bus monitors are needed, decrease the number of marching members if need be. Not all predators are staff. Some are marching members and it is not always a situation with an 18-22 and a minor. A thorough investigative process is not easy with the age of kids in drum corps, but applications, while not fool proof, can be a deterrence to those with problematic behavior. I understand the audition process, or I think I do, but how does a marching member apply and who verifies the application? I’m sure it involves more than name, address, and phone number, but do those who want to march have to submit references? Does anybody verify the references? Are potential members interviewed to make sure drum corps is a suitable activity for the person? The band director being friends with the percussion caption head is not good enough. Getting a good vibe while watching a member of a corps rehearse and perform and then recruiting the person is not thorough enough. Most bad behavior is not done for the public to see. Have across the board applications. This may already happen with some corps but I don’t think it happens across the board.

I just saw on Facebook that Southwind has announced they will cease to operate citing the cost of touring as the major reason. I under This is a World Class forum but the reasons have been discussed in many threads. I always hate to see a corps fold, especially one that has made steady improvement. It is also sad to hear it is so final.

I’m sure the adjusting of scores played a role in the ways scores were announced. Some scores were announced earlier in the day and if you were in Indy you knew which corps from earlier in the day would compete in semi’s, though we may have had to look online. When you think about how close some groupings were, especially 2-4 and 5-7, as well as 9-11 and the contention of who would place 12th, holding off in case adjustments had to be made is logical, at least to the judges and if you think they should be able to adjust numbers.

You have to go back in time, but some of the issues between BAC and Crown are similar to when staff from 27th Lancers went to Garfield Cadets. Though financial issues plagued the corps in its final days, 27th lost its competitive edge after so many staff members and marching members went to Garfield. Garfield also had a strong fan base here in Boston which at the time didn't help matters but time healed at least some wounds. I know some 27th alums who marched about that time who love Cadets. I am a Boston Crusaders fan and have been for years. Though I know alums and people associated with the corps, I do not have any formal connections to the corps, so I base what I say more on observations and scuttlebutt. I know some folks associated with Crown, but not well enough they would share inside info with me. I do know that at least in 2017, Crown boycotted BAC shows. Crown did not keep that secret. Gino C's and Colin M's departure from Cadets was not a huge surprise, but the Crown guard staff departure was a surprise and the departure was bitter. That would have been at a time that corps like Crown, Bloo, and Spirit came to the Northeast, set up camp, worked on their shows, competed and took part in parades. A free day in Boston around July 4th was a huge plus, and fans were very receptive to Crown. 2020 was cancelled but prior to changes were made in the tour that have remained which made the Northeast leg of the past impossible, so I think scheduling has as much to do with Crown not coming East as hard feelings.

In 2017, Crown competed in early season shows at Beanpot and Cranston (formerly Bristol). It was rumored they were not going to compete in the BAC show that usually took place at the time that depending on who you ask was either cancelled because Crown and Cadets would not compete (Crown version) or not scheduled because BAC was doing a different tour (Boston Crusaders version). Carolina Crown competed in East Coast Classic and Beanpot in 2018 and placed 2nd in both shows and in 2019 they competed in CYO Nationals tribute and placed 1st. They have come to New England and have competed in Boston Crusaders shows.

My understanding is that is exactly what he did. There was a change in the way many corps were managed after he came on the scene and while you don’t hear him credited as much today, fifteen to twenty years ago his business management suggestions were quoted all the time. He was pretty open about what corps needed to do to thrive. Also like many successful leaders he knew what he didn’t know regarding drum corps and learned from those who could teach him.

He met with WC leaders yesterday but nothing leaked out? That may be a first for DCI!🙂 Though his bio does not list drum corps experience, he may have knowledge of the activity itself from a fan point of view. My guess is if he doesn’t, he still attended shows this past summer and Flo Marching was his best friend. One of Dan Acheson’s strengths was he knew many of the founders, marched in DCI in the early days, and knew the next generation of which he was a part. That was needed in the 1990’s but given the changes in the times and activity, it’s not what is needed today so an outsider with trusted allies who know the inside could be a great combo and hopefully he has the allies. I’m thinking that his credentials make him qualified for the safety issues as well as keeping DCI solid financially. Dealing with the cast of characters in DCI will be interesting. All the best to him.