How can smaller DCI corps survive?

[garfield]

Here's how you fund a scholarship (or a corps for that matter)....not as a "suggestion", not a "plea"...but as an expectation; that alumni pay annual alumni dues year in and year out to support the current corps.

The alumni supported you when you became a part of this fraternity...now it's your turn. "Once a Scout, Trooper etc always a Scout, Trooper, etc" is a nice phrase..but isnt there a little juice that comes with that association?

Just because you "paid your dues" when you marched (in sweat and tour fees and so forth) doesnt mean the benefit to that effort stops when the season ends. After all....you get to "be" a Scout, Trooper now, for LIFE...even after you stopped marching. A lifelong (and super cool) association as a tradeoff for a year or two (or three or five) on the field is a SMALL price to pay.

Let's create an expectation of support through a little peer pressure and get every alumni on the wagon every year - by credit card, debit card (and automatically renewable) for $50. IF you want to give more...that's a personal decision. But the MINIMUM expectation is $50.00 a year...$1 a week.

Madison Corps has a model for their givers...and there's some swag to go along with the alumni dues so it isnt a contribution without a little extra attached as a thank you. Its CLOSE to what I'm talking about but I like the language ALUMNI DUES. It speaks to an OBLIGATION and I think that's ok. Send a buck of it to dci and get them on board, too....offering a little additional swag...discount tix or a merchandise coupon for those that paid their member corps dues...another way to show a little give-and-take appreciation from the corps and the umbrella organization over it.

Get the darn lists together...names, email addresses, mailing addresses and drop a card in the mail. "Pay your dues...and yes, we're being a pain in the ### about it. we need our family...you are a part of it...tax deductible".

How hard is it to get a corps picture out from each of the previous 5 or ten years and compile the names? Dont tell me someone cant afford $50 if tour is $3000 for the summer. Let next season's members know when they get their 2013 letter that being in the corps TODAY means a little something down the road, too. You're an alumni; dues are expected by March 1.

1000 alumni at $50 equals $50,000...enough to make a difference in ANY operating budget. And for the $50 you'll get that sense that you are a part of THIS YEAR's production...a sense of pride that you arent just part of the PAST of the corps, but here with us in the PRESENT. And SO IS EVERY ONE OF THE ALUMNI YOU MIGHT RUN INTO AT THE SHOW, because, of course, they paid their dues, too.

The Brotherhood you mentioned exists right there. Arent we tired of the tricks and gimmicks? Gas funds and pleas and so forth? This isnt a suggestion. It's a strongly worded "ask"...like when your mother asks "are you going to clean up your room?"

Hi, Bob...Are you going to pay your alumni dues?

If you want some help with this...any corps....I can start TODAY.

Second, will you describe where you've applied these laudable efforts with success now, or in the recent past?

[garfield]

Get the darn lists together...names, email addresses, mailing addresses and drop a card in the mail. "Pay your dues...and yes, we're being a pain in the ### about it. we need our family...you are a part of it...tax deductible".

Third, do you have any tangible evidence to suggest that DCI or it's marketing committee or the individual corps themselves do not already have this data?

Edited July 19, 2012 by garfield

[garfield]

How hard is it to get a corps picture out from each of the previous 5 or ten years and compile the names? Dont tell me someone cant afford $50 if tour is $3000 for the summer. Let next season's members know when they get their 2013 letter that being in the corps TODAY means a little something down the road, too. You're an alumni; dues are expected by March 1.

The odds are good that the vast majority of a MM's tour fees come from parents, fundraising (begging), or working a job. After age-out, likely two of those three are not available. "Working a job" now means paying rent and buying beans. I rolled pennies to survive when I was 23. $50 is a lot of money for many. Pleading doesn't make money magically appear.

[wishbonecav]

copy and paste this thread...or the better parts of it as you see fit...and send it to the DCI webmaster requesting a prominent space on the home page for the scholarship/foundation. that seems very doable and appropriate as the viewership(eyeballs) on the site are at a peak over the next 3 weeks.

Contact Steve Vickers at Drum Corps World as well to see if there is an opportunity for an article in next month's issue on this (I'll guarantee a response from Steve...the MOST responsive person when it comes to queries of any kind that I know and an army of writers he can assign this one to).

My request of you is to take the next step...away from DCP "conversation" and channel these high emotions into an actionable step. Sometimes we are frustrated by just not knowing what to do.

I hope my suggestion/request was ok to present to you.

No I haven't. Is that because I'm not smart enough to figure out where and how to do it? Maybe it's because DCI does a really poor job of promoting it. I seem to be kept in the loop of alot of other things they want to promote.

This is the 2nd time I have seen you insinuate that the Drum Corps fan is not paying attention to a specific agenda that is "clearly" there. You make it sound like fans are too stupid or full of **** to "put their money where their mouth is".

I just read the "about us" page on DCI.org and the "special promotions and offers" page and see no mention of this scholorship foundation. I also checked the "what's it cost" tab of the parents page, and apart from a brief mention of some possible alumni assistance, see no mention of scholarships available to assist with marching in a Drum Corps.

Please share the info about this foundation.

Edited July 19, 2012 by wishbonecav

[wishbonecav]

Jeff,

Would the stadium have been "just as half full" if it included NONE of the G7 but a similar lineup to the Rome Show?

My sincere belief is that the lineup similar to this year's Rome show would have generated the same number of sales. Or perhaps a marginally different number - but one easily offset by the lower per-corps appearance fee than demanded by the G7.

Kids/parents/fans don't go to "the (insert corps name here) show"....they go to the "dci" show.

Collecting the metrics on this as a thesis/white paper and generating econometric conclusions is the only way to take it from conversation/hypothesis to data-driven conclusions.

I wonder if the G7 would pool some money to contract that study.

the G7 had their huge chance last year...the big season opening show in Texas, remember? Them and only them.

in the marching arts hotbed of the word...Texas. Ya know, we hear so much about how Texas is it.

the stadium was half full.

if they want to pay for it on their own, good luck. Sure, a sellout in Rockford is great, but the stadium isn't all that.

Notice no specific TOC numbers were released after last year. Hmm, wonder why?

[garfield]

Here's how you fund a scholarship (or a corps for that matter)....not as a "suggestion", not a "plea"...but as an expectation; that alumni pay annual alumni dues year in and year out to support the current corps.

...

1000 alumni at $50 equals $50,000...enough to make a difference in ANY operating budget. And for the $50 you'll get that sense that you are a part of THIS YEAR's production...a sense of pride that you arent just part of the PAST of the corps, but here with us in the PRESENT. And SO IS EVERY ONE OF THE ALUMNI YOU MIGHT RUN INTO AT THE SHOW, because, of course, they paid their dues, too.

So $50,000 is a nice number that any corps would love to have. Maybe you should define "funding a corps" before I go on.

The Brotherhood you mentioned exists right there. Arent we tired of the tricks and gimmicks? Gas funds and pleas and so forth? This isnt a suggestion. It's a strongly worded "ask"...like when your mother asks "are you going to clean up your room?"

Hi, Bob...Are you going to pay your alumni dues?

I can't possibly disagree with the connotation of this sentence, or its passion. But you missed the point. The "Brotherhood" to which I referenced is the brotherhood of the corps directors working together to promote the longevity of the activity. Working together IN FREAKING UNISON to chart the path of the activity for which they share passion. A bond between brothers that included doing what is necessary, trusting in one another to do what is necessary, to keep and grow with long-term success. Do we have this today? I'm not talking about the brotherhood OF FANS (vets or otherwise) because I believe the faction of rabid fans has become more concentrated as the activity has shrunk.

I'm talking about the kind of leadership that it took for the first leaders of DCI to hold firm to that commandment by demanding, forcing even, the BOD and other member-directors to the table to talk. I'm talking about a trust between directors that their BOD leaders believed in strength of solidarity for the benefit of the whole group that was evident in the founding documents. DO WE HAVE THAT IN TODAY'S DCI?

Your ideas have merit, certainly, but they have been tried and tried and - like the scholarship fund - failed in their execution. The ideas are wonderful, except there's no will to fund them and back them (and they're just a band-aide anyway.

If you want some help with this...any corps....I can start TODAY.

This is where you probably picked up the notion that I think fans aren't paying attention. There are many "solution" threads started. You know the name of the corps, right? You know where they all are, right? Do you suppose that if you walked into the hall of ANY corps and OFFERED to be their alumni fundraiser that a single one of them would say "No thanks"?

Have you done that yet?

Edited July 19, 2012 by garfield

[Granny Smith]

The G7 statement from last year suggests that they are "the drawing card" and the success of shows (attendance) is based primarily on their appearances and, by extension, they should be awarded the headliner's share of the gate. That might be a reasonable conclusion but for the fact that there might not be real evidence to support it.

I think I may be missing your point, but there is evidence. It's called Tour of Champions. I have been going to the Rockford show for years. While it is always successful, it is HUGE now. In fact, I don't see how they can keep it at Boylan High School any more. If they moved it to Northern Illinois (just down the road) they could potentially put a lot more butts in seats. I'm guessing of course.

[garfield]

the G7 had their huge chance last year...the big season opening show in Texas, remember? Them and only them.

in the marching arts hotbed of the word...Texas. Ya know, we hear so much about how Texas is it.

the stadium was half full.

if they want to pay for it on their own, good luck. Sure, a sellout in Rockford is great, but the stadium isn't all that.

Notice no specific TOC numbers were released after last year. Hmm, wonder why?

I keep clicking +...

OT, and why might that be?

[truman]

copy and paste this thread...or the better parts of it as you see fit...and send it to the DCI webmaster requesting a prominent space on the home page for the scholarship/foundation. that seems very doable and appropriate as the viewership(eyeballs) on the site are at a peak over the next 3 weeks.

Contact Steve Vickers at Drum Corps World as well to see if there is an opportunity for an article in next month's issue on this as well(I'll guarantee a response from Steve...the MOST responsive person when it comes to queries of any kind that I know and an army of writers he can assign this one to).

My request of you is to take the next step...away from DCP "conversation" and channel these high emotions into an actionable step. Sometimes we are frustrated by just not knowing what to do.

I hope my suggestion/request was ok to present to you.

YES!!! A constructive idea that is certainly welcomed!

I did manage to find "the friends of DCI Scholarship" information. This year they are giving (2) $2000 academic scholarships to (2) 2012 Corps members who "compete in the 2012 DCI Tour" One could contact Friends of DCI for donation information if they wanted to help more current members pay for college.

DCI SCHOLARSHIP INFO

I am more inclined to present the idea of a seperate scholarship fund to assist kids to become marching members, specifically in the corps who rely on membership dues for the majority of their operating costs, and have challenges attracting willing and able kids with money.

[garfield]

I like a lot o ideas from the OP, particularly the idea of a group of lower tier corps who do a short, late tour. I can think of additional benefits as well. You could hold off starting camp until late June which could give more kids a chance to participate who are constrained by high school schedules or kids that got cut late from their top choice full-tour corps.

I can almost guarantee you that the top corps will resist paying the same money to a lower "division" corps as what they're getting now, if said corps is playing "half as much" season as the top corps are.

I can almost guarantee you that the not-top corps will not like being segregated out, pushed to a lower division, and paid less from DCI.

"Divisions" don't mean anything to the top corps so long as their income from DCI is the same or greater.

"Divisions" don't mean anything to a non-top corps if it means they get a lesser cut of the pie.

Top corps say "Make your own championship, and fund yourselves".

Non-top corps don't want to because they don't think that's the answer, they control the BOD, and they don't want to.

There's only one entity missing from this apt description of the problem. What is it, and is it a potential solution or is it an impediment to the problem?

Edited July 19, 2012 by garfield