Jump to content

Spending Limits


Recommended Posts

Well, I'll be the one to disagree with your contention that the "typical" corps spends $1.2mm.

As to your proposal, I'll suggest that creativity shouldn't be limited by money spent, but it MIGHT be controlled by the source of the funds that pays for the show.

Something like, 100% of the costs must be paid for by the MM's tour fees...

So many implications with such a simple concept.

Hmm..

Knee jerk reaction is corps would fold because there's no way members could pay $8000 fees.

So you go to the expense side. Fuel, transportation, insurance, food all have to stay.

What's the next big ticket item? Staff salaries.

Edited by corpsband
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many implications with such a simple concept.

Hmm..

Knee jerk reaction is corps would fold because there's no way members could pay $8000 fees.

So you go the expense side. Fuel, transportation, insurance, food all have to stay.

What's the next big ticket item? Staff salaries.

Yea, man. Now you're thinkin'.

It's obscene that the value of drum corps is not better represented to the kids. Too many of them think they pay for the show and don't actually recognize what it takes to make up the difference between what the kids pay and what the corps spends.

Too much of valuable executive time is spent searching for donor dollars or supplemental income sources to pay the cost to compete.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea, man. Now you're thinkin'.

It's obscene that the value of drum corps is not better represented to the kids. Too many of them think they pay for the show and don't actually recognize what it takes to make up the difference between what the kids pay and what the corps spends.

Too much of valuable executive time is spent searching for donor dollars or supplemental income sources to pay the cost to compete.

I have a feeling that the logistical costs alone are probably more than member fees. Even if everyone were a volunteer, corps probably could not afford to rehearse and tour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great idea, as long as you exclude expenditures that are outside the corps control, e.g. gas, medical expenses.

It would make things very interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should DCI pass a rule limiting the amount of money corps can spend each year?

Based on figures from guidestar, it seems that the typical top-12 corps currently spends about $1.2M per season. There is wide variability, but it seems that there is a rough correlation between budget and placement. Very few corps with < 1M budgets make it into finals, so it looks like this is an effective barrier.

I would suggest a limit of about 1.2M per year, with a variance based on miles traveled. Each corps would submit a detailed budget and be subject to random audits. There would be minimums and maximums for certain categories. Multi-corps organizations would have to budget each competitive unit separately. The budget would include the estimated value of sponsorships or in-kind contributions, including unpaid staff.

I think a spending cap would not only level things competitively, but would improve the long-term financial stability of many corps.

Most competitive sports leagues have spending caps and I think it is time for DCI to adopt this practice.

One must be careful. When I was taking Research courses in college, the very first rule that my professors stated over and over was this...

Correlation does not equate Causality.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...