dcikon2 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I now remember being told by people from Tennessee that some of the administration from Memphis Sound ended up starting Forte. I was not told favorable things about this circumstance. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 One poster mentioned things will not change until one of the "Big Boys" folds. I'm not sure that's true. Lots of DCI era "Big Boys" are gone: 27th Lancers, Bridgemen, North Star, Kilties, Freelancers, Anaheim Kingsmen, Suncoast Sound...the list could go on. All these corps had financial struggles, some more so than others. As a matter of fact, the only major "Big Boy" that I can think of that folded due to other reasons was Star of Indiana. I know, Blast still exists as a show, but that's not the same as a competitive corps. We've lost lots of great corps. In an ideal world, any youth organization would have enough funds for the season prior to beginning and fees and fundraing one year would finance the following year. There would also be an endowment for emergencies. Some youth programs operate this way, but these organizations probably do not have the costs associated with drum corps. Blue Devils, SCV, and perhaps Crown may be close, but I'm sure even they have some financial struggles and may be only one or two fiscal emergencies away from disaster. Some corps probably run on the theory that if an emergency happens, people will come through "for the kids." This could happen, but it's a huge risk and would probably only happen with corps that have a long tradition, a well-heeled donor list, and a loyal alumni group. Others may run on hope and luck, and since I've never been in a position where I've had to make such a decision, I'm not being critical and I'm not sure what I would do in a similar situation. I do donate to some corps, and the corps I donate to usually are pretty upfront about what they need and why it's necessary. Perhaps Teal and Forte did the same thing, but I do not recall seeing it. I would also think that if a drum corps was completely upfront about financial woes, it could give them a perceived competitive disadvantage which would have an effect on recruiting and discourage potential donors. Who wants to donate to a six figure organization that may not materialize? Most non-profits today focus on development and regular donors rather than fundraising, but this takes years to develop and some corps may not have the luxury of time. Another important aspect of running a non-profit is the make up of the board. Many non-profits believed that it was best to fill a board with potential donors. This has been shown not to work. Better boards usually make sure that the members have gifts that will enable the organization to get to where it wants to be and can be brutally honest in what needs to happen. Parents, alums, and instructors have a vital role in the organization, but the board may not be the best place for them. The problem? Finding people to fill such a board. Also, such a board needs to be educated about drum corps and needs to come together as a group. Again this needs the luxury of time. In the end, there are no easy solutions, and this is sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbeau Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 sounds like TWO bad cases of a mis managed business....these groups should have NEVER started their tours. Agreed, it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to know you can't cover expenses over an 8 week (or less) tour. The idea that you would take a corps on the road betting on uncertain future fundraising is totally irresponsible. Also that your members did not have a total accounting of the financial condition of the organization they invested their money, time and emotion into is wrong. The sustainability of drum corps faces the same challenges that all nonprofits do in this economy. Finding funding takes talent, organization and luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7567BC Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Agreed, it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to know you can't cover expenses over an 8 week (or less) tour. The idea that you would take a corps on the road betting on uncertain future fundraising is totally irresponsible. Also that your members did not have a total accounting of the financial condition of the organization they invested their money, time and emotion into is wrong. The sustainability of drum corps faces the same challenges that all nonprofits do in this economy. Finding funding takes talent, organization and luck. It isn't as simple as it being entirely or only a mismanaged business although that is a huge component of it. It is a circumstance where good intentions outweighed sensibility. Growing corps need to have much more financial restraint for a lot longer than they may initially plan to. It is somewhat ironic that DC teaches us discipline yet that is forgotten in situations like this. The competitive nature takes over and common sense departs. Corps need to build slowly and maybe along the way sustain a setback or two and maybe one year they don't grow but maintain their gain from previous years. Be patient. Pursue many many avenues for raigin funds. start an annual fundraising effort. Contact corporations. Work with alumni, etc., etc. Get it to the point where the corps is not relying on tuition or tour fees to put them on the road. Do the tour you can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Just wondering why bad news from open-class is allowed to sit on the WC forum, while good news (i.e. Oregon Crusaders thread) is not. But while we're here.... Memphis Sound would have completely evaporated had it not been for a contingent of members and staff (and eventually, administration) from north Texas. They made up such a majority of the corps in 2009 that they actually declared themselves "Memphis Sound, from Grand Prairie, TX". In order to resolve conflict between the corps and whatever administration remained in Memphis, they reorganized as a new corps for 2010, adopting the name Forte. The 2012 corps was the result of all-new administration from that of 2010-11....and judging from the "interim director" reference in the press release, it appears the new admin did not stay for even one full year. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphononium Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) We just got off the phone with one of our students that was marching Forte this year. It appears that they incurred a lot of costs via some bus/transportation trouble, probably more than they were expecting. Thinking back on the post on Facebook the other day, it doesn't exactly scream or call out for help, they asked for all of their fans to donate $5. Which would have fed the corps for maybe a week. Once again, I think that a little more clear of a message would have prevented this situation. If they would have come out and said "hey, our buses keep breaking down, and we have no money" we probably would have scraped together $100 and sent it to them, instead of the $5 they were asking for. I applaud the administration to a certain point, they decided to pack up before they got too far from home. But at the same time, the kids had "spring training" for like 6 or 8 weeks, and performed 3 times. Could nobody see this coming? Edited July 26, 2012 by euphononium 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamversus Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Regardless of any considerations of mismanagement, expect at least 3 additional world class corps to cease operations. Given both industry dynamics and major outside financial pressures contraction is inevitable. At least two of the three will be west coast from what I understand. This is real folks, get used to it. Acheson is claiming ticket sales are up 5% year over year, uh no. Perhaps at legacy shows or TOC, but not across the board. Even regionals showing continued empty seating blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Regardless of any considerations of mismanagement, expect at least 3 additional world class corps to cease operations. Given both industry dynamics and major outside financial pressures contraction is inevitable. At least two of the three will be west coast from what I understand. This is real folks, get used to it. Acheson is claiming ticket sales are up 5% year over year, uh no. Perhaps at legacy shows or TOC, but not across the board. Even regionals showing continued empty seating blocks. San Antonio looked pretty #### packed to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 DCI is the problem and has been for awhile. The removal of the regional touring model (DCM, DCW, DCE, DCS, etc) has made it nearly impossible to start up a new corps and give it time to grow, structural and financially...not to mention the state of the economy and the rapid rate of inflation over the past few years. I suspect we'll see more of this, not less. Unfortunately, won't cause many waves until it happens to one of the big boys, as almost happened to Cadets a couple of years ago. how OC is compensated needs to be changed. maybe it's time OC and WC tour together all year 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I havent heard anything? Are Raiders going to make it onto their second tour? I know they were having issues too. And as to open class/ world class threads. I think we should just change it too a DCI open discussion, because Open Class just doesn't get a lot of traffic. I know I don't go over there a lot. I forget it is there. Kinda like how open class is kinda forgotten by DCI.... and fans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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