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Madison Scouts 2018


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I don't have an issue with the music, drill or guard book. That prop though looks like an elementary school art project. I, like others, have lost faith in this administration.

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This show is a very bad design, Sorry Chad you self indulgent wasting of money the corps does not have, you should be ashamed! All you koolaid drinkers need to wake up. 15th is not the place for Madison. Wonderful, has so much potential, enough!!! You do realize that all the other corps are not gonna stand still. You are slotted. The experiment with the beginning of females is an epic fail

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10 hours ago, Volt said:

If this is true, then why did the organization receive record contributions in the previous fiscal year according to https://madisonscouts.app.box.com/s/xn4tb3tj0beo2gmc4nqniwlu9uu93fiw ?

 

Presumably, an organization as storied and old as the Madison Scouts derives most (majority?) of its contributions from alumni?  As a former member of the BOD according to your bio, is this accurate?  If not alumni, then who is donating?  And what percentage of donations do come from alumni? 

 

Thanks.

The "listed article" is leaderships attempt at putting lipstick on a pig...The "article' is in no way an accurate reflection of the financial health of the Scouts.  "Madisonsmiley" answered the same question back a page or two with the following:  "That's a press release. Look at their tax returns over the long-term. They show a long-term pattern of deficits and declining net assets. In 2017 a loan for $173,700 was forgiven. Otherwise they had a structural deficit in 2017".  In regards to your question and statement pertaining to the subject of alumni financial contributions.  As to exact percentages and numbers, I can't give you that...BUT, I can tell you that in relation to the number of members that have marched over our 80 yr history in comparison to those that actively give, that number and amount is extremely small.  And, that's a travesty, because Madison could have the most robust giving machine in the activity!  But, it's an area that has been squandered for a very, very long time!  Ideas have come forth over the years to try to rectify this glaring problem.  But, the ED has had no interest, and has even killed ideas that he couldn't personally control...Sad.

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I remember when Sal invited me to a late spring camp in 79.  I still think of the talent that Madison had that went on to teach at other corps.  That talent needs to be contacted, as well as getting the alumni involved, to help get Madison back to the top.  

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I know this show needs wholesale changes, but is there time in the new wgi ?? Is the staff talented enough to fix in weeks what took all winter? Plus as said before, everyone else is working their tails off to improve. How did we get here?

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Left out wgi
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Perhaps this is Madison's "Jump the Shark" moment?  Perhaps, just perhaps, they are overthinking the issue.  Becoming so esoteric is simply not "Madison" IMHO.  They should know who they are and embrace it rather then trying to be like every other corps or WGI unit.  Not to take anything away from these guys and girl but uniforms, props and gimmicks doesn't seem to be the answer.  In simplest terms 'Nosce te ipsum'.

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10 hours ago, Mad75 said:

The "listed article" is leaderships attempt at putting lipstick on a pig...The "article' is in no way an accurate reflection of the financial health of the Scouts.  "Madisonsmiley" answered the same question back a page or two with the following:  "That's a press release. Look at their tax returns over the long-term. They show a long-term pattern of deficits and declining net assets. In 2017 a loan for $173,700 was forgiven. Otherwise they had a structural deficit in 2017".  In regards to your question and statement pertaining to the subject of alumni financial contributions.  As to exact percentages and numbers, I can't give you that...BUT, I can tell you that in relation to the number of members that have marched over our 80 yr history in comparison to those that actively give, that number and amount is extremely small.  And, that's a travesty, because Madison could have the most robust giving machine in the activity!  But, it's an area that has been squandered for a very, very long time!  Ideas have come forth over the years to try to rectify this glaring problem.  But, the ED has had no interest, and has even killed ideas that he couldn't personally control...Sad.

I'm confused.  

You're saying that a forgiven loan is irrelevant?  How was the loan forgiven?  In snooping around the 'net, it sounds as if there may be a trust that benefits the organization.  Could this simply have been trust proceeds?  In which case, this is good, no?

Again, since I don't have the background with the organization that you do, forgive me if this is an ignorant question...If today's giving appears to be higher than ever, at what point were the legions of alumni actually donating?  Logically, that just doesn't make sense that there's more giving now but that there were hordes of alums giving in the past who are no longer giving.  Can you explain this?

Lastly, I'm also curious what initiatives were squashed by the sitting ED?  It would appear as if  -- again, based upon the report -- that if giving is at an all-time high, the ED may have had something to do with this.

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12 minutes ago, Volt said:

I'm confused.  

You're saying that a forgiven loan is irrelevant?  How was the loan forgiven?  In snooping around the 'net, it sounds as if there may be a trust that benefits the organization.  Could this simply have been trust proceeds?  In which case, this is good, no?

Again, since I don't have the background with the organization that you do, forgive me if this is an ignorant question...If today's giving appears to be higher than ever, at what point were the legions of alumni actually donating?  Logically, that just doesn't make sense that there's more giving now but that there were hordes of alums giving in the past who are no longer giving.  Can you explain this?

Lastly, I'm also curious what initiatives were squashed by the sitting ED?  It would appear as if  -- again, based upon the report -- that if giving is at an all-time high, the ED may have had something to do with this.

If you read the attached document, CK explains that the trust earlier requested that they carry the $$ as a 0% loan, (a liability).  In 2017, the trust made the "loan" into a gift.  That carries to the bottom line and a reduction in net liabilities.  Thats why the negative Net Worth is not as negative in 2017 as 2016.  But the "health" of the organization did not change.

I know nothing about the MS except what I read in the reports referred to above.

 

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20 minutes ago, Volt said:

 

Again, since I don't have the background with the organization that you do, forgive me if this is an ignorant question...If today's giving appears to be higher than ever, at what point were the legions of alumni actually donating?  Logically, that just doesn't make sense that there's more giving now but that there were hordes of alums giving in the past who are no longer giving.  Can you explain this?

 

Whether it is a school or college, athletic program, or in this case drum corps, with alums the amount of funds raised can often be irrelevant, what matters most is the number of alums who give, at least long term. 

If Corps A budgets $X from funds received by alums and received it based on 50 donations, that’s great for the immediate budget. If the same amount is raised with 200 donors, that is fine for the immediate budget but it is more hopeful for the future because it shows institutional support and often these people can be groomed for the future. Also, larger gifts are often one time, smaller donations tend to be repeated year after year. 

In the case of Madison, alums have often been the reason for their success, and have been viewed by many as holding the corps back. In many ways it’s like a family dispute where there is no way of winning. 

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21 hours ago, Volt said:

Presumably, an organization as storied and old as the Madison Scouts derives most (majority?) of its contributions from alumni?

I thinks it's safe to say, when considering contributions alone, that alumni are the single largest source at just about every corps.

If you're actually talking about the overall revenue stream, then contributions -- from alumni and the general public -- typically are just a fraction of all corps revenue. For corps who are not BD or SCV (and, increasingly, BAC), the single largest revenue chunk is member tuition and camp fees. For some corps, Bingo and related activities may be No. 1 or No. 2. Performance payments are a significant, yet minor in the overall picture, piece. Sponsorships and events (i.e., producing a show on the tour) are really big for some corps. And for a few, such as the aforementioned SCV/BD/BAC, side businesses are important revenue engines. Revenue diversification is the order of the day among DCI boards of directors.

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