fsubone Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Cool Couple of times I posted asking why people don't try out for "lesser corps" (my term) if they don't make their dream corps. Been a few years but I still remember the big reasons were: 1) Costs were about the same so a "lesser corps" was not worth it money wise. 2) Only can march one year so not worth it it not to be with the best. IOW - it's not 100% of what I wanted so....no. Lot of the responders said they could only do one year or probably only do one year. I marched Open Class for two years before moving to World, put my time in. It was a feeder corps, after getting cut, went to Open Class, but had a great time, and prepped me to move up later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 So, solve it. Money is a solvable problem. If you don't know how to solve a money problem, find someone that does. Sometimes a challenge, but there are much more difficult problems to solve than this. How do you plan to solve it? Bands do fund-raising, but with all of the bureaucratic red tape involved with that, even that costs money, and causes problems. My high school band had a $500 fee every year, so multiply that over 150 kids, and that's $75,000 right there. Plus any other trip we went on would probably be another $100 to $200. SO take all of that income away, and everything becomes much, much harder. Maybe in your dream world, you can fund-raise that $100,000, but it doesn't quite work that way in the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Maybe in your dream world, you can fund-raise that $100,000, but it doesn't quite work that way in the real world. I do kind of live in a dream world. I'll give you that. Worked my ### off to get here though... Anyway... Point is... $100k is a hell of a lot of money if you are trying to raise it from a group that is rather tight at the moment. For those that have more considerable and liquid means, it is a phone call or two. Once again, the activity is going to the wrong well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I do kind of live in a dream world. I'll give you that. Worked my ### off to get here though... Anyway... Point is... $100k is a hell of a lot of money if you are trying to raise it from a group that is rather tight at the moment. For those that have more considerable and liquid means, it is a phone call or two. Once again, the activity is going to the wrong well... yeah, but most of California doesn't have access to people who can plop down that kind of money. Getting the band fee every year from everybody was enough of a challenge, and there were times kids didn't go on the trips, because they just couldn't afford it. And we were at one of the more affluent schools in the city. Some didn't even travel anywhere that didn't require a school bus, because they couldn't afford charter buses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 yeah, but most of California doesn't have access to people who can plop down that kind of money. Once again... it is the "99 No's" philosophy. If you haven't heard 99 No's, you haven't tried. Access to people is EASY in this day and age, just play the long game... expect things to sometimes take 6-12 months. If you have google, email, can use powerpoint and excel... know how to iron a suit and are persistent... you're 90% there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 How do you plan to solve it? Bands do fund-raising, but with all of the bureaucratic red tape involved with that, even that costs money, and causes problems. My high school band had a $500 fee every year, so multiply that over 150 kids, and that's $75,000 right there. Plus any other trip we went on would probably be another $100 to $200. SO take all of that income away, and everything becomes much, much harder. Maybe in your dream world, you can fund-raise that $100,000, but it doesn't quite work that way in the real world. Nope, can't agree with this. I agree with Daniel on this subject. The money is out there. It didn't evaporate. It's hard to get, but it's still out there. Those who have it just need convinced of what their dollar is going towards. Most drum corps "fundraisers" only know how to pick the low-hanging (and mostly half-eaten) fruit. The budget isn't $100,000, it's $500,000. Each and every year until you can pay your dues and make enough mistakes to figure out how to become a $1-million corps. We must reach higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 yeah, but most of California doesn't have access to people who can plop down that kind of money. Getting the band fee every year from everybody was enough of a challenge, and there were times kids didn't go on the trips, because they just couldn't afford it. And we were at one of the more affluent schools in the city. Some didn't even travel anywhere that didn't require a school bus, because they couldn't afford charter buses. Band programs are first limited by the regulations of being a public entity. Some sponsorship comes in, but a full-blown corporate-sponsored band is not going to happen. Drum corps isn't limited by public regulations. Big corporations sponsor big things that many people find ridiculous. It's because the sponsor gets a return. And exposure is as valuable to a large corporation as direct purchases as a result of the advertising. Aim higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Band programs are first limited by the regulations of being a public entity. Some sponsorship comes in, but a full-blown corporate-sponsored band is not going to happen. Drum corps isn't limited by public regulations. Big corporations sponsor big things that many people find ridiculous. It's because the sponsor gets a return. And exposure is as valuable to a large corporation as direct purchases as a result of the advertising. Aim higher. Exactly. We were speaking about high school band programs. Corps can do much more in terms of sponsorships, can charge what they want, do what they want. Schools have regulations to deal with though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Once again... it is the "99 No's" philosophy. If you haven't heard 99 No's, you haven't tried. Access to people is EASY in this day and age, just play the long game... expect things to sometimes take 6-12 months. If you have google, email, can use powerpoint and excel... know how to iron a suit and are persistent... you're 90% there. Yes, but few people exert a full 100% of their energy so they never realize how far they can go if they do give it their all. In this discussion, the irony is that this "It can't be done" attitude comes from a group of people who worked 6 months to play 12 minutes of a show. <sarcasm> Did they lose all that experience or just forget about it? </sarcasm> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mellomad Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 I think we are asking to much of DCI . I think we need to get back to the state level. Were asking new corps to jump right in with the big boys. We need to have small corps and develop them at the state level with local circuits and state level competitions. When the corps evolve they can go to the big shows when they are ready. From the perspective of a DCI corps, it's the SAME as folding. They LEFT the activity. In fact, they took some members that could have marched in DCI (and DID previously with them in the beginning) and did something different. They ceased to be an active drum corps, folding as a drum corps to becoming something else. Think of the (intransitive) use of the word. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fold (intransitive) (poker) To withdraw from betting.With no hearts in the river and no chance to hit his straight, he folded.intransitive verb go out of business: to fail and stop operating as a business intransitive verb accept defeat: to give in and accept defeat" folded in the final minutes of the game" intransitive verb card games give up hand: in poker and other card games, to stop playing a hand in the belief that it cannot win Perhaps I am not seeing the emphasis of what is trying to be communicated here, but I think it is similar to something that has been brought up here before and maybe I'm reacting to that thread? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.