Donating towards member dues?

[Tony Flores]

I maintain a charitable trust (that I started with $1000.00 in 1998 and has grow pretty nicely) to raise money for fDCI as well as donating to corps. It has grown to where I contact corps to anonymously donate to members of need in the name of the trust. (I also give to local STL charities as well).  

[C.Holland]

you can call the corps, and find out.  They'll often be able to tell you who needs help. 

 

Some students can send you a gofundme.  however, gofundme takes a %.  So its always better to donate directly and specify where the money goes. 

[alphabetmonkey]

1 hour ago, Tony Flores said:

I maintain a charitable trust (that I started with $1000.00 in 1998 and has grow pretty nicely) to raise money for fDCI as well as donating to corps. It has grown to where I contact corps to anonymously donate to members of need in the name of the trust. (I also give to local STL charities as well).  

Hi Tony - if you have time, could you lay out a little bit about the steps involved in doing this? I am interested in doing something similar.

[JimF-LowBari]

Well this is going into very nice directions. 👍👍👍👍👍 Hope all this info helps more than just me.

[hairbear]

While still employed and not yet retired, I gave funds to several students who were participating in DCI corps, and recently, DCA corps. This was always in the form of cash directly to the marching member, sometimes before the season and sometimes during the season. One kid was polishing members horns for pocket change. The corps director pointed him out to me, and he didn't have to polish any more horns that season. Some were "full ride" cash grants that covered all fees and included spending money for tour, others were partial grants. I used money from playing gigs, overtime pay and/or tax refunds. I do know this: The kids I assisted are today: Gainfully employed responsible adults, mothers and fathers, teachers, medical professionals and more! It was money well spent! 

[Jurassic Lancer]

6 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Well this is going into very nice directions. 👍👍👍👍👍 Hope all this info helps more than just me.

So weird … this is DCP, right?

[craiga]

I have done both, contributing to the corps member directly and also to the drum corps directly for them to disburse to needy members. A couple thoughts on this:

Yes, if you contribute to the member's gofundme page they will lose a percentage of it to the site.

Also, remember that contributions made to a member directly are NOT tax deductible whereas contributions made to the corps itself (even their scholarship fund) IS deductible.  If you are going to pay someone's entire tour fee, the tax deduction is probably a consideration. 

Most kids of marching age these days are going to have apps like Venmo which can facilitate a direct transfer from you to them, but I am old school and still just get their mailing address and send them a check, which we usually share a laugh about.

The last three kids I helped out (in BAC) all sent me lengthy HANDWRITTEN thank you notes at the end of the season. I don't know if it was their idea,  or if they were encouraged to do that by their parents or the corps, but either way I was impressed with the act.

I'm now retired, so I already have had to scale back what I do, but will do what I can, just like somebody did for me 40 years ago.

 

[Sasha1]

during indy, i was chatting with a mom who had two children in an open class corp

after i thanked her and her family for their contribution to this sport, she said that they insist that their children pay for half of the cost for whatever activities they take up

the son came up with a plan where he asked people to pay $30 to sponsor a practice day or $40 for a performance day

then he would send them a photo from the day they sponsored, sweet concept!

[JimF-LowBari]

9 hours ago, Sasha1 said:

during indy, i was chatting with a mom who had two children in an open class corp

after i thanked her and her family for their contribution to this sport, she said that they insist that their children pay for half of the cost for whatever activities they take up

the son came up with a plan where he asked people to pay $30 to sponsor a practice day or $40 for a performance day

then he would send them a photo from the day they sponsored, sweet concept!

I like… When Erie Thunderbirds came back for a few years they had something like this. For certain amounts you paid for a meal, hydration, bus, etc. Then on that day the corps would take a picture of corps members with white board saying who donated what (and THANK YOU). The pic would be posted on their FB page IIRC. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by JimF-LowBari

[LabMaster]

Supporters of BAC can sponsor meals and snacks to the corps which benefits mm’s, staff, volunteers while they are out in tour.  They have varying $$ levels to help defray the cost for feeding everyone. Typically a photo is posted on the FB site, thanking the sponsors who are individuals, families, memorials or groups (like alumni apps, bass drums, guard and so on). Helping to feed kids or sponsor tour costs is appreciated.