Stu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Agree, but there are certainly exceptions to that rule. Consider all walks of life where professionals donate their services for the good of others; doctors, attorneys, law enforcement, dentist, auto mechanics... the list goes on. But the volunteering time an attorney does pro-bono for a small non-profit is very minimal compared to the exorbitant time required for a staff member engaging with a World Class drum corps. Moreover, show us a Major Corporation which utilizes volunteer doctors, attorneys, law enforcement officers, dentists, auto mechanics and we will show you that the same Major Corporation still has to have 'paid' professionals running the corporation. And the larger the corporation the more paid professionals are required. Again, your 'real' problem is with DCI, and its corps, being Major Corporations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaseyW Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 (edited) Or hire an experienced sponsorship sales marketing guru that can convince an arts corporation to sponsor the Glassmen. The Glassmen would just have to put the corporations logo on all of their merch, and maybe even tow around a merch truck for the sponsor every where they go. I don't really know the inside world of drum corps business, but how many corps actually try to do something along the lines of that? Is it even possible? Edited January 6, 2013 by kaseyW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Or hire an experienced sponsorship sales marketing guru... Baja would balk at 'hiring' that person because to Baja that guru should be altruistic enough volunteer! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 (edited) double post Edited January 6, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Agree, but there are certainly exceptions to that rule. Consider all walks of life where professionals donate their services for the good of others; doctors, attorneys, law enforcement, dentist, auto mechanics... the list goes on. My dentist did that too in Central America until he passed away (RIP). But... he did it two weeks out of the year and it was his vacation time that he sacrificed. Plus he was widowed with kids out of the house so financially he was pretty well set. How much time during the year would volunteers have to give up for a corps and how bad would it hurt their families to be missing a chunk of income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbandguy Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Of course talented people need to be paid but does it have to be in dollars and cents or could it be for another reason? Such as giving back or the reward of helping someone else excell? Unfortunately the last time I checked my grocer demanded "dollars and cents" for my food, my bank demanded "dollars and cents" for my home mortgage, even my drum corps demanded "dollars and cents" for me to watch them perform. Come the "payment due date" they weren't interested in talking about giving back or helping me excel. Your idea might certainly work on some level of the marching arts, but certainly not with Marching Music's Major League or even in the world of competitive high school marching bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiga Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Staff salaries are not, and never have been the major driver of corps budgets. It is transporation....primarily fuel costs and vehicle leasing, with food right behind. Yes, when I marched 30+ years ago, tour fees were much lower. We ate lots of mac and cheese and hot dogs. And, does anyone here remember the quality of buses most corps rode on? Would you really want your kid to be riding on 35 year old buses with no AC, bald tires, and suspension so worn that many of those old relics listed to one side or the other as they plodded down the rode with someone's grandad at the wheel? Sure, you could find an all volunteer staff. Where would you find professional, trained bus and 18 wheeler drivers who would work for free? And, where would you find 3 or 4 buses and a couple long haul tractors for free? Finally, please tell me exactly where you would find free diesel fuel. And when the Sysco or US Foods truck shows up at your housing each week to off load the equivalent of 30 meals for 200 people, let's ask them to donate all that food. Sorry guys, I'm not buying. The food or the original premise of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
En929 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 (edited) Many years ago a business partner said to me, "I like to hire people who work for things other than money." What she meant is that no matter how much a person is paid, sooner or later it won't be enough. Ask yourself that question, am I being paid enough? Unless you are a CEO of some fortune 500 company I'll bet that the answer is "no". As demostrated by the 990's thread, typical drum corps operators must raise $500,000 to $2,000,000 anually. This is a tremedous burden on any organization and it doesn't go away. It is year after year after year. Is it time to move to an all volunteer activity? Is it possible to have an all volunteer administration, an all volunteer staff...bus drivers, truck drivers, seamstresses, cooks, fund raisers, etc.? Clearly some of these positions are and have been all volunteer and some used to be. Does a competent business manager have to be paid? Can one find talented and dedicated instructional people who do not require salaries? Do administrators need 401K and health care packages along with a salary? Do bus and truck drivers need to be paid. At one time, none of these postions was paid, they all volunteered. People worked for other thngs than money. They did it for the love of the activity and for the benefit of the youth. I encourage the Glassmen to restart the organization as an all-volunteer corps, no pay to anyone. There will be dedicated, hard working and caring people show up and they will show up because the activity and not the paycheck is most important. Yes, it can be done and yes that's the way some corps has done it. I don't even understand why it has to cost so much to run a drum corps. For one, I was running a corps and I did a lot of things by myself. I did all the teaching by myself (except color guard-- I had some girls do that), I bought stuff with my own money, brought some kids to practice with my own car and other kids who were dedicated found a way to practice, and when we sounded good, things were donated and given to us (including instruments, uniforms, more places to practice, invites, etc); people were willing to help out (because it was a constructive thing for the kids and everyone involved). I kept the corps going and did everything because I enjoyed the activity and I have a friend who had his own drum corps who also did a lot things by himself. He had more help than I when he started (including a bus driver), but he didn't pay anyone and his corps sounded pretty good when it got off the ground. I mean, running a drum corps by oneself is kind of what some band directors do when they have their own high school band right? And they somehow find a way to make their band work against the odds (i.e. school administration, distractions; knuckle-headed students who don't practice, and so forth). Thus, I don't see it being that much different. I don't know, maybe the mentality of doing an all (or mostly) volunteer drum corps is not here today because there are so many who think (and I emphasize think) it can't be done, and maybe I was successful because everything I did in the corps was localized (we didn't do as much touring, etc), but the way I was successful is I found ways to do things, was creative, and was constantly thinking of how I could do this and that without spending a a dime. I'm sure there can be at least major cut back so that it won't cost as much to run the drum corps. My idea is if a person has to be paid a huge sum of money to become a instructor for a drum corps, then that person is not dedicated enough. I know that some people have to pay rent, have kids, etc. But so did my friend who started a drum corps and who had volunteered to help his organization and so did some of his volunteers. They all found a way to do things all because they were truly dedicated and wanted to see the corps get off the ground and I'm sure there are people like that around. Since the Glassmen is a fairly famous corps, maybe they can just post something that says they need volunteers to help their organization out and I'm sure people will flock to them (and I would too if I could) because people love the Glassmen and don't want to see that organization fail. So yes, I'm sure it can be done (or at least could be done much cheaper). Let's not forget their former members, people who has been with the Glassmen for a long time, spectators,etc. I'm sure they can have something in the near future and yes,hopefully could revolutionize (reboot) the way drum corps has been put together. All it will take is a few people (maybe 2 or 3 or 4) who was as dedicated as I was and who has the talent and the Glassmen could carry on! Edited January 6, 2013 by En929 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 ...I was running a corps and I did a lot of things by myself... Please name the corps; years you were running the corps; venue/organization it was associated with; competitive placements; and itemize the revenues/expenditures. ...I have a friend who had his own drum corps who also did a lot things by himself... Please also name this corps; years your friend was running the corps; venue/organization it was associated with; competitive placements; and itemize the revenues/expenditures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 It is actually time for drum corps to aggressively pursue several diverse revenue streams that have NOTHING to do with drum corps, band, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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