The Oz Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Don't forget another big expense ... salaries. A non-profit can put cash into its employees pockets. Within reason, of course. But then "reason" is subject to interpretation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 That is what I'm trying to figure out. Thousands of kids/parents are paying thousands of dollars for the honor (not sarcasm) to march. thousands of fans are paying thousands of dollars to watch the activity. I understand that it costs alot of money to buy drums, horns, guard equipment and to pay instructors and "techs" and then wrap the whole thing up in a travelling show. But, alot of instruments are used, kids are still out of pocket for things like off day meals and laundry, gloves, shoes, soap, essential everyday stuff that's not included by dues but adds up. Even cruises give you fresh towels and shampoo for less than a tour and you dont have to bust your lip.Where does the money go? I'm going to assume that your questions are genuine, which, to be honest, is not something we often can assume here. So... Profit is the difference between revenue and expense. More revenue, less expense, and you have more profit. You can increase your profits by either increasing revenue, decreasing expense or both. In the drum corps case, I think we would agree that corps generally attempt to maximize their revenue. That is, they surely would accept more revenue through sales, donations or other channels if they could recognize those opportunities. Where it's trickier is on the expense side. I know there is a determined cadre here who thinks drum corps can roll back the clock to a time of regional touring without electronics. They believe drum corps can thrive in an atmosphere of austerity similar to the days of the 70s, 80s and 90s when hundreds of corps were trying in vain to stave off extinction. Today's drum corps managers should rightly ask whether lower spending would yield any benefit other than profit. Indeed they might correctly argue that less touring under poorer conditions would trim revenue as well as expense, thus not helping profit at all. Reducing expenses by itelf isn't a virture. Even profitable companies understand that value - with its expense component - is an essential element in their sustainability, never mind profitability. That's the real issue with profit for any drum corps. Achieving it comes at what price? HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 You might be the exception 06, but I imagine the majority have learned something during their time in D&BC. Some have improved their brass, percussion, equipment work. Others have learned to live away from home for a period of time, get along with others, help out without being asked (hopefully), manage money, etc. That's what I said. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 That is what I'm trying to figure out. Thousands of kids/parents are paying thousands of dollars for the honor (not sarcasm) to march. thousands of fans are paying thousands of dollars to watch the activity. .... Even cruises give you fresh towels and shampoo for less than a tour and you dont have to bust your lip.Where does the money go? BUT a typical cruise is 7 days. How much would it cost you to cruise for the entire summer? How much does a good 2 week summer music camp cost? You need to compare apples to apples. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) Where it's trickier is on the expense side. I know there is a determined cadre here who thinks drum corps can roll back the clock to a time of regional touring without electronics. They believe drum corps can thrive in an atmosphere of austerity similar to the days of the 70s, 80s and 90s when hundreds of corps were trying in vain to stave off extinction. " Electronics " implementation has absolutely nothing at all to do with this thread question. Its all about " Economics ", and what form, ie " For profit " or " non profit " DCI should adopt as a tax structure for its units. Had DCI believed it was feasable and financially more preferable to adopt a " For Profit" tax structure for their units they would have done so.... whether it was 1973, 1993, or 2012. Edited March 1, 2012 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) When a corps finishes a season there isn't too much meat left on the bone. A profit margin is just a fantasy. Edited March 1, 2012 by Piper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 People have been really bad at realizing sarcasm on here in the past couple of months. To me most people are blatantly obvious with their sarcasm. Maybe that's just me. But I've seen it happen quite a few threads lately with people freaking out about something that someone said sarcastically. And since we are all drum corps or marching band people, I just expect that everything is going to be sarcastic. But I digress... it's not that big of a deal. I think we all need to lighten up a bit though. It's just band On topic: I feel like corps could never be for profit. Not without a HUGE change in the business model and a nationwide demand for drum corps. The demand for drum corps will never be high enough. Drum corps just doesn't bring in a lot of money. Dues do not pay for it all. Not even close. Corps rely heavily on donations, merchandise sales, and the money they get for doing shows. And that money just isn't a lot. It's a lot of work for corps just to end a season in the black. And then the raising funds starts all over again. I don't think I'm getting my point across very well right now. I need a nap. Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 These pretzels are making me thirsty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkfdPRphan Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 ...no one is even mentioning INSURANCE!!!! THAT has to be a BIG piece of any corps budget each year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Where it's trickier is on the expense side. I know there is a determined cadre here who thinks drum corps can roll back the clock to a time of regional touring without electronics. They believe drum corps can thrive in an atmosphere of austerity similar to the days of the 70s, 80s and 90s when hundreds of corps were trying in vain to stave off extinction. HH oh so drum corps is thriving now? look, I'm not saying we have to roll back time. But in an era of ever rising gas costs, is criss crossing the country for the entire summer a smart financial move? Oh we know, it's all about the big venues etc. But by focusing solely on the big venues, you've also removed yourselves from a lot of fans that came out loyally to buy tickets. It's not cost effective for a lot of people to go see a show when the show 30 minutes down the road is now 4 hours away in super stadium. so regional touring DID have some positive aspects. After all...last year, the season opener, in THE marching band hub of the world as we're often told, with the pervious years top 8 corps......only filled half the stadium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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