Save the Glassmen

[AlexL]

I agree...if they are moving three busses around anyway, they may as well maximize the revenue produced by each 'seat' on the busses, unless the revenue ends up being less than the expense of uniforms, instruments and meals.

Assuming you couldn't use that space for something else, however, like volunteer seating. If 15 volunteers could fit on the bus before but then require separate transportation, that adds costs on that side.

[AlexL]

Well, speaking only to the statement in bold, if G-Men charge $2,500 for tour, times 150 kids, that is $375,000 right there. If they charge $3,000, that is $450,000 (and I have NO idea what they charge each member). Then add the fees they get from appearances, and it is not that far fetched to get to $550,000.

This puts how much they need in perspective. In 30-60 days Gmen need almost as much money as their entire dues bring in, or put another way, they need more money in 30 days than they get from all non-dues sources in a year, or even multiple years.

And this doesn't address the future. What will they do to make things sustainable? If they can only raise 550k a year from dues\fundraisers (even if they get 300k this time, it won't work if they do this year after year), can they survive dropping their operating budget by more than 25% to get to that level when a lot of the costs are uncontrollable transportation costs. Especially if i were the type of major donor it is going to take to get to 300k this quickly, i would want to know the plan beyond just 2013 but into the following years as to how this corps plans to meet its budget. If not, its just throwing money at a lost cause.

[perc2100]

$300,000 seems an awful lot of money to raise in one to two months

No kidding: that's a lot of money for an organization to have to rely on donations for.

People talk about the touring model needs to change, and I won't necessarily dispute that, but I think what's more apt is that drum corps' business model needs to radically change. If a corps is relying on private individual donations to fund a third of their annual operating budget, there are serious concerns with the business model.

I honestly have no idea what the answer is (I'm a teacher, not a business person), but hopefully whomever takes over Glassmen permanently will have a better grasp on how to run the corps from a business side. I'm not necessarily taken aback by the amount of the donations needed, but I am taken aback by the fact that the donations needed = 1/3 of the entire annual operating budget: not exactly the best idea to become/remain financially solvent.

Here's hoping Glassmen can right the ship

[Iplaytimpani]

I think what needs to be remembered is the corps is not trying to obtain stability through the donations, at least as far as I can see. They are aware that a long term solution is necessary. But in finding that which he BOD and Mr Stinson seem to be well on their way to doing, the corps needs assistance to get back to zero. They are not using this kind of donation as a permanent means of sustaining the corps. This is a great drum corps trying to fix what's wrong and needing some help in that process.

[garfield]

The term "1%" has recently morphed from political to apolitical. HockeyDad thought you meant it politically, but you didn't, so everything is good.

There have certainly been celebrities and wealthy people associated with the activity over the years. I'm sure DCI does try to get celebrity involvement. But, like commercial/media marketing, it's not their core competency.

Oh, bunk and bull. HockeyDad called it right (which surprises me, considering he's from Michigan ) The 1% phrase as referenced was clearly meant to identify wealthy backers. Hiding behind "political" or "apolitical" is nothing more than shrinking in the face of contention - something that the "Occupy" class has gotten very good at doing.

None-the-less, the idea falls on its face anyway. We in drum corps had our wealthy donor in the name of Bill Cook and even he couldn't attract a bunch of wealthy friends because he knew that throwing money at drum corps is simply throwing it down a black hole (and he said so in writing!).

The answer is not to find a wealthy donor. The answer is to make the activity truly profitable - that, in itself, would draw wealthy supporters more than any other solution.

I could, very easily, attract a staggering amount of money to the activity if I could just figure out how to provide the investors with a real, tangible return on their money. Fifty- or 100-million dollars would be duck soup, and do-able in less than 1 season. And they'd ask for less than a market return due to the benefit to the kids. But I can't show them that they'd make even a positive return, much less a respectable one.

Fix the business plan and DCI won't have to worry about funding. Until that happens I'll follow Bill Cook's advice and direct my clients to other opportunities.

[Brigadier80]

Am I missing something or do you have to download their boosters form then fill out and drop it in the mail? I can't believe they are not setup to accept online donations.

[SoSC1324]

It was mentioned in another topic, "at shows you don't see as many people donating to their [glassmen] fuel fund but people are breaking in line to buy t-shirts from the cavaliers." This is the sad truth and it is because they are not apart of the top 12 or for that matter the G7. It is coming down to this in my opinion, the 13-23 place corps are losing the support of the community and it is finally taking a plea for money along with TWO corps folding this year for everyone to realize that. No matter what Cavaliers, Crown, and Regiment are ALWAYS going to have the support of the drum corps community through good and bad (look at the cavaliers this year, everyone still loved their show,....not sure why but they did.It is a sad time when "guess I got my swagger back" is the last thing heard on the field of a drum corps but those kind of decisions aren't up to me.) I guess what I am trying to say is, the entire drum corps community should really start supporting DCI and not just "the corps who are cool" so this entire activity doesn't die off 10 years from now. (For the record I am not putting down cavaliers regiment or crown by any means.) Anyone who can, PLEASE support not only this drum corps but every drum corps, even if you aren't a fan because if the entire activity fades away who will we have to cheer for? Good Luck Glassmen I hope everything works to your advantage so we don't have another corps just disappear from the books.

Edited October 24, 2012 by SoSC1324

[chaos001]

It was mentioned in another topic, "at shows you don't see as many people donating to their [glassmen] fuel fund but people are breaking in line to buy t-shirts from the cavaliers." This is the sad truth and it is because they are not apart of the top 12 or for that matter the G7. It is coming down to this in my opinion, the 13-23 place corps are losing the support of the community and it is finally taking a plea for money along with TWO corps folding this year for everyone to realize that. No matter what Cavaliers, Crown, and Regiment are ALWAYS going to have the support of the drum corps community through good and bad (look at the cavaliers this year, everyone still loved their show,....not sure why but they did.It is a sad time when "guess I got my swagger back" is the last thing heard on the field of a drum corps but those kind of decisions aren't up to me.) I guess what I am trying to say is, the entire drum corps community should really start supporting DCI and not just "the corps who are cool" so this entire activity doesn't die off 10 years from now. (For the record I am not putting down cavaliers regiment or crown by any means.) Anyone who can, PLEASE support not only this drum corps but every drum corps, even if you aren't a fan because if the entire activity fades away who will we have to cheer for? Good Luck Glassmen I hope everything works to your advantage so we don't have another corps just disappear from the books.

Maybe the market is too saturated. There's a limit to how much the fan base can support this many corps in the activity.

[Iplaytimpani]

Am I missing something or do you have to download their boosters form then fill out and drop it in the mail? I can't believe they are not setup to accept online donations.

At the bottom of the save the Glassmen letter there's a link that takes you to their online store. You can donate through there by adding the quantity you wish to donate and checking out. Thank you for your contribution.

[Pete Freedman]

Oh, bunk and bull. HockeyDad called it right (which surprises me, considering he's from Michigan ) The 1% phrase as referenced was clearly meant to identify wealthy backers.

Of course it was. But that doesn't violate DCP policy, does it? Even HockeyDad wasn't saying that mentioning wealthy backers is inherently political. He was claiming that any use of the phrase "the 1%" is political and violates DCP policy (as I understood his meaning). I was saying no, the phrase is now commonly used by the media and by politicians on both sides of the aisle to mean "the rich", and not necessarily in a contemptuous way.

Hiding behind "political" or "apolitical" is nothing more than shrinking in the face of contention - something that the "Occupy" class has gotten very good at doing.

Congratulations, you have now criticized a political movement, which is clearly a political statement. Well done. (But then, one suspects your purpose in reviving this issue pages after the fact was to seize the opportunity to make a political statement.)

Also, your argument is hilarious. Hiding behind political or apolitical? That's the only issue! What's to hide behind? It's like if HockeyDad called someone "Guilty". I said "Not Guilty". You then call that "hiding behind guilty and not guilty." Can a prosecutor try that in court?