perc2100 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 IT CAN BE DONE. You just won't be top 12, or even World Class, and you will most likely be two million dollars and 40 points behind the G7. But it can be done. In the early 90's I was part of an all volunteer staff at a DIV 2 drum corps. If you wanted to drive a bus, the corps would pay for your license. If you instructed, the corps you got to play drum corps and travel during the summer (weekends only with a short tour at the end of the season). If you wanted to help on support staff you might get a tour discount for a child in the corps. We had several veteran instructors and superior writers/designers volunteering their time and talents. Most of the staff where young kids that had marched and wanted to teach, many older instructors had YEARS of experience but now had families and just wanted to give back to the activity. The parents were just great, and some gave YEARS (and still do) to the corps....free of charge. The corps director loved drum corps so much he pumped thousands of dollars out of his own pocket. For the love of the game. The corps has grown, and has out grown this model. But it was fun and it worked. On the flip side of this story, I had a very similar experience. Taught a Div. 3 corps in the 90's where everyone involved volunteered (most were alumni of the corps). Kids were inexperienced, most from marching band programs the staff taught. There were many reputable band directors involved, a staff member or two who were former DCI World Champions, and everyone involved was passionate about teaching and delivering the drum corps experience. The corps had a shoestring budget (though to say that might be overstating), did mostly weekend shows with a short tour at the end of the summer. The corps director and several staff members paid for many things out of pocket, staff members drove the equipment truck & vans (the corps was small enough to travel in rental vans), designers worked for free, etc. It was a fun year I suppose, I met my wife via the experience, one of the other staffers was the best man of our wedding, and my wife and I converse with other staffers and some former members frequently. But, the corps folded the following fall. None of the people involved were willing or able to contribute financially to the organization any more, and it became difficult for staffers to devote time to volunteer when it was more prudent to focus on paying jobs. Also, the corps' low placement wasn't exactly great from a recruitment standpoint and probably not a highlight of the members' experiences. I think the volunteer model is a large factor regarding why corps went inactive in the 70's & 80's. Conversely, I think going the for-pay route was a contributing factor to corps' success. Being able to pay good staff & designers = being able to better ensure a great experience for the members. Paying a director to manage the organization could attract a more capable director: one who not only has the passion and know-how but also can put in the necessary time knowing he's being compensated enough to pay the bills. I think we may be on the verge of an era where "less is more" with corps unable to financially compete with the top: maybe we'll see corps look at DCA as a more attractive financial model. But I think reverting back to a "volunteer only" type of business for DCI will not help, but will conversely further damage a struggling organization: be it competitively, recruiting, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 But the drum corps staff's aren't there to entertain, they're there to provide a service. Teachers will always want the pay they want based off their experience. Not to mention the entertainers on that show were likely promoting products: the appearance 'fee' was kind of negligible because they knew the publicity from being on a hit TV show would translate to more record sales. Obviously there's nothing like that in DCI to help most people who would 'volunteer' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Appearance - DCI (DC) 2009: $114,989 2010: $120,643 2011: $121,149 But would they make up the $121,000 they got from DCI in 2011 if they make the jump to DCA? You might as well list the dues / camps income while you're at it. No one's paying $2500-3000 to march weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Appearance - DCI (DC) 2009: $114,989 2010: $120,643 2011: $121,149 But would they make up the $121,000 they got from DCI in 2011 if they make the jump to DCA? That's true. Not knowing the revenue a DCA corps makes it's impossible for me to speculate on revenue streams, though obviously DCI would be significantly more. However, it's possible that a corps like Glassmen can take a year or two off from DCI, rehearse a few days a week (at their corps hall) with meals on the kids' own (as it is with many WGI groups), and then travel/compete on weekends at DCA shows. Maybe the significantly less revenue stream could be compensated for by having a significantly less summer expense budget. I don't know; maybe it could work on a short-time basis while the corps pays down debt, keeps operating & thus keeps members in the door + in the public eye, etc. Just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 That's true. Not knowing the revenue a DCA corps makes it's impossible for me to speculate on revenue streams, though obviously DCI would be significantly more. However, it's possible that a corps like Glassmen can take a year or two off from DCI, rehearse a few days a week (at their corps hall) with meals on the kids' own (as it is with many WGI groups), and then travel/compete on weekends at DCA shows. Maybe the significantly less revenue stream could be compensated for by having a significantly less summer expense budget. I don't know; maybe it could work on a short-time basis while the corps pays down debt, keeps operating & thus keeps members in the door + in the public eye, etc. Just a thought in 2011 the Buccs took in $103k in dues and $52k in appearance fees. Willing to bet a large chunk of those appearance fees were from parades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem." - John Boehner, 2013 (and 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012). Yeah... lets just avoid quoting politicians.............. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) /> For those of us who marched years ago, we weren't in drum corps because of our "world class" status (didn't exist back in the day). We were in drum corps because we got a chance to make friends, perform, and have fun. Sure there were elite corps (maybe some of you marched in them). In my corps, we looked up to the elites - not because we thought we'd ever be as good as them, but to enjoy them for the performance stature they attained. The top corps didn't have any more fun than we had - just scored a heck of a lot higher. I'm also sure that our expenses weren't as high either. We were a local group of kids who traveled much less. The difference today is many corps are regional/national/global. The touring model doesn't work for all corps. We need to find a way to encourage the development of small, open class corps, regional travel, and recruit more effectively at the local level. Who posted a negative to this? Really??? /> Edited January 7, 2013 by drumcorpsfever 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) I just made a post the 990's thread that directly relates to Glassmen. It's the last (or close to last) post, number 917. Go read it. Edited January 7, 2013 by garfield 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Who posted a negative to this? Really??? ditto :blink:/> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem." - John Boehner, 2013 (and 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012). well, the US has a $1.2 trillion deficit even though it brought in the same amount of revenue that was enough for a surplus 12 years ago (adjusted for inflation). so the analogy is not so good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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