What should DCI do...

[garfield]

And then put some restrictions on corps who choose to get involved in this funding scheme, making sure that the new money is being targeted specifically toward localized efforts at increasing awareness of their corps within their communities, rather than paying for a bigger or better set of toys for the pit or a bump in their CEO's annual salary. The funds could be used for hiring a development director or PR specialist, or for seeding community programs designed to increase their local participation levels in one youth performance activity or another.

This would require the funds be funneled through some organization that can withhold funds if the requirements are not met. Wait! Drum corps has one of those! DCI could distribute the funds at the end of each season.

There would have to be some measurable metric of results, or return. Is it participant-based? Do the corps live up to it by doing a parade?

[garfield]

My personal experience from a few non-profit clients in the small to mid-size range (under $10 million a year) is that matching gifts actually work very well with small donors ($10-$1,000). Matching gifts are not as important to larger foundations, but you never know - some family foundations might find it the kick they need to write that $2,500 or $5,000 check to the local drum corps.

Big donors are important, but the problem is that the biggest donors in town are already on the hook for the local hospital, the local theatre companies, the local museum, their alma maters, etc, etc, etc. Unless you have a Board member who already has that connection with the big donor, it takes a lot of effort to convince them that your drum corps is a worthy cause. Small donors, on the other hand, are the regular folks who are more in tune with the message of drum corps (it's an equal opportunity meritocracy; if you're good, you make it, if you're not, you don't). While it's going to be important to get the big dogs behind drum corps eventually, we need to help the corps do a better job of cultivating grass roots support from as many pockets as they can.

Great post. And you're right about small vs. big donors.

I do think matching contributions directly to the corps is a feasible idea, but my fear is that the strong will grow stronger in the same proportion that the weak grow stronger, and I wonder where that will leave the activity financially. If the idea is more competition, I don't think this will contribute to that.

[The Other Mike]

I got to thinking about what, exactly, DCI would/should do with $2million if it fell into their lap, under the condition that they'd have to use it wisely enough to pay it back over ten years.

Forget qualification and terms details for the moment and focus on what they should do with the money to grow the activity and meet the payback requirements.

Specifically, how should they use that money, starting day-one?

Invest in the grower of whatever it is you're smoking, harvest, package and sell at all shows.

( crowd shouts GOOD ANSWER GOOD ANSWER >

[danielray]

I got to thinking about what, exactly, DCI would/should do with $2million if it fell into their lap, under the condition that they'd have to use it wisely enough to pay it back over ten years.

Forget qualification and terms details for the moment and focus on what they should do with the money to grow the activity and meet the payback requirements.

Specifically, how should they use that money, starting day-one?

Keep $550k in reserve and seed 3 new entirely unrelated businesses with $500k each.

Each business should have the objective to return to DCI a min of $500k per year after the 2nd year.

Loads of possibility.

[Jeff Ream]

invset some, use the rest to hire a real sales team for better marketing for advertising revenue

[garfield]

Keep $550k in reserve and seed 3 new entirely unrelated businesses with $500k each.

Each business should have the objective to return to DCI a min of $500k per year after the 2nd year.

Loads of possibility.

What's the $550m in reserve supposed to do?

(and you and Slingerland need new calculators. Or did you mean $500m in reserve?)

[garfield]

Invest in the grower of whatever it is you're smoking, harvest, package and sell at all shows.

( crowd shouts GOOD ANSWER GOOD ANSWER >

I grow my own. Planted it tonight, in fact. Radish, lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks, tomatoes, peppers.

Maybe I'll set up a little stand outside Lucas...

:tongue:/>

[garfield]

Invest in the grower of whatever it is you're smoking, harvest, package and sell at all shows.

( crowd shouts GOOD ANSWER GOOD ANSWER >

BTW, don't discount the idea at all. It could happen with relatively little effort and require minimal commitment from the corps.

Certainly a lot less effort than starting three new businesses to support it, but support is what it needs, and the reason for the thread.

[Slingerland]

Well, your math needs work but the idea is sound. (There are 37 corps; the payout would be limited to $54,000 if linear, but I'd think it would work best based on pro-rata formula. Say, for instance, based on the inverse of the DCI payout structure last year. />.

You're putting a supposition on my concept - I didn't say the money would get distributed equally, I said it'd be capped. There would still be a reward for being aggressive (up to $100k) and a punishment for being feckless (not getting anything, or getting very little).

I don't believe in redistribution of nothin' without some effort put forth first. If everyone got on to it, likely no one would hit the cap because there would be too much effort going in to hitting the matches. But I doubt that would happen. More likely you'd see the usual suspects doing a great job of building matches, and some of the less aggressive bringing up the rear.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Slingerland

[acolli17]

Let me preface this with a lesser practical approach, and more "god, I wish this would happen" mindset.

Put DCI Back on ESPN. In prime time. :smile:/>

I know nothing about advertising, but couldn't you split commercial revenues from ad space?