Santa Clara Vanguard 2024

[Jeff Ream]

1 hour ago, waliman4444 said:

As a fan of drum corps I have nothing to add to this subject other than this: We live in a country governed by LAWS..Once made aware of our responsibilities under these laws we either follow them to the letter, bend them to suit our agendas(but still legal) or ignore them altogether...If a law is broken, the offender is expected to pay the penalty regardless of status, wealth etc...So, if an organization is not in compliance with the law and the governing body( State of California) prohibits their continuance until they've paid the penalty and reestablished their credibility, this is not a drum corps issue, but rather a legal one as Jeff Ream has stated several times...It would seem that everything else is moot...I'd like to see SCV on the field in 2024 as would most of us, but unless and until the LEGAL is definitively CLEARED, 2024 competitively has to be on hold...no?

Sadly not everyone prioritizes the truly important things cause to them bringing Sanford home trumps all

[Jeff Ream]

55 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Regarding the last sentence: Thought SCV already lost their non-profit status and hence the tax exemption. 
Edit: or….. SCV is not allowed to ask for donations but still considered non-profit 🤔

Membership fees are considered donations 

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

I'll be first to distinguish that, to the best of my knowledge, they never lost federal nonprofit status. Search yourself here: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations

That is different from adhering to state laws in California for registering your nonprofit to operate and solicit/disburse donations within the state. This just led me to look up their status in Texas, where they regularly operate.  According to this (https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/exempt/verification-letter.php?tp_id=12370734381) they are exempt from some, but not all taxes in that state. Soliciting and disbursing donations are not addressed herein. But now I'm curious....

In a quick search, I could not find them as listed as a charity here: https://www.secctexas.org/search-charities. But perhaps they aren't actively soliciting or disbursing donations in Texas? Or other states? Are all scholarship recipients in CA... where they aren't currently allowed to be disbursing? Always more questions than answers with my house.

But federally, they still have 501c3 status AFAIK.

Cali is the state that counts because that’s where their sole income source of bingo runs

Edited September 9, 2023 by Jeff Ream

[scheherazadesghost]

10 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

Cali is the state that counts because that’s where their sole income source of bongo runs

Confirmed here: https://labyrinthinc.com/texas-fundraising-registration-requirements/

Ew, my home state is, guess what, pretty lax on this stuff. No one is surprised.

Edit to add:

However, bingo is not their only revenue source. Donations and grants are also revenue. So are services provided, like those provided in exchange for member fees, which come from all over. I don't think member fees are donations... but I could be wrong and welcome correction.

This is why having a weathered nonprofit pro (not just board experience, but admin, outside of insular drum corps) or lawyer in their ranks might be wise. 'Cause people like me thrive on learning more about this stuff and dig our heels in when we aren't provided transparent information.

Edited September 9, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[JimF-LowBari]

14 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

Membership fees are considered donations 

Mmmmmm 🤔

Guess time to bring up my “is this tax deductible” or not story. Take standard deduction on taxes so didn’t matter to me but this came out shady. 
Wanted to donate to a members dues but the corps wanted donors to give through the corps and not directly to the member. Corps had form to use. Wish I could remember exactly what was posted that made this way sound deductible, somehow. But do remember that I would get something from the corps to verify my donation which is standard for other groups.

Two years in a row I gave and nothing back from the corps. Emailed to make sure they weren’t getting ripped off and the freaking corps head (some guy named Roman) responded. Guy said the member I donated to should have sent a thank you message for the donation. If I wanted to discuss it further here was the members PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS (without the member knowing this was given out). With that the corps took no responsibility. 

[IllianaLancerContra]

16 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Confirmed here: https://labyrinthinc.com/texas-fundraising-registration-requirements/

Ew, my home state is, guess what, pretty lax on this stuff. No one is surprised.

Edit to add:

However, bingo is not their only revenue source. Donations and grants are also revenue. So are services provided, like those provided in exchange for member fees, which come from all over. I don't think member fees are donations... but I could be wrong and welcome correction.

This is why having a weathered nonprofit pro (not just board experience, but admin, outside of insular drum corps) or lawyer in their ranks might be wise. 'Cause people like me thrive on learning more about this stuff and dig our heels in when we aren't provided transparent information.

True.  But bingo is a big part of their finances.  And there are all kinds of rules that apply to bingo as it is a form of gambling.  They gotta be in compliance with these rules. 

[MarkHornGA]

A little more digging reveals that the California Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004 requires any nonprofit with a revenue north of $2M to perform an annual audit and form an audit committee. 

Vanguard just flat out didn't do this in 2019.

Edited September 9, 2023 by MarkHornGA

[lawdn]

2 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

Our favorite Mexican restaurant is called El Farolito in the barrio of Placentia CA.  Last year a kid in a black jacket brought me my take-out order.  When he turned around, it was a Santa Clara Vanguard jacket!  It’s fun to meet and speak with another Drum Corps person especially a current marching member.  He plays trumpet and it turns out he works there to help his aunt & uncle who own the place.  Now every time I go in if he’s working, we chat a bit.  

He did not march this summer to focus on working and making money for college, but he’s always said he will return to SCV for his age out year in 2024.  I’ve not seen him since the announcement yesterday, but I’m very-very happy for him!!!  He just seems to be a good kid – the type Drum Corps often produces.

We have family friends also and their kid will be returning in 2024, so, to answer your question, there will be at least TWO.  Beyond that, I have no clue. 

 

Thanks for sharing this. The announcements do make me more optimistic. It would be such a rush to be cheering for SCV at Indy next summer as they put on a great show. I will be overjoyed if SCV makes a successful return to the field and gives young adults like these two a great member experience while putting the organization on solid financial and operational footing for the foreseeable future. Probably everyone on this thread feels the same way, even if there are differences in how we view the current situation based on available i formation. This would be a very short thread if no one cared about SCV.

[Amil Muzz]

SCV has proven themselves to be an unreliable business partner. They flaked out on the post-COVID tour and sent a video and through a complete failure to take care of their financial obligations they flaked out last season. They don't seem to get that they are under a big microscope. Many of the ugliest issues that have plagued the activity in recent years, this organization has been the epicenter of a lot of it. The Troopers were tossed from DCI for the same thing that is on going here. They seem to be reluctant to be transparent. They are continuing down the same path that led them here. 

These aren't opinions, they are facts. Hard facts. The General Membership of DCI has some hard choices to make. Their gross financial malpractice leaves DCI in a bad spot, just like the Troopers prior to their suspension. It is grossly unfair to the organizations who struggled thru COVID to come out the other side. Again, look at Troopers. Pre COVID- very weak, post COVID setting new standards for themselves.

SCV has to rebuild trust that they aren't going to flake, AGAIN for the 3rd time. 

They have a suspect management structure. They don't seem to have learned anything. There is a word for this- HUBRIS. There is one way that ends and it's not good for anyone.  Especially the students and families who chose to engage with an organization that's shown to be unresponsive to scrutiny.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Amil Muzz

[Sutasaurus]

2 hours ago, Bruckner8 said:

Since SCV is a historical champion, we don't have to worry about that aspect of CI. So the question boils down to "When the competition is very close, does SCV still have enough CI to be given a slightly higher score than a new-comer who might otherwise deserve it?" (IOW, will SCV still be afforded "benefit of the doubt" when it's close?)

I say "Yes, absolutely." This is based on: 1) It was only one year off. No one will even remember this by next May. 2) Staff CI is still very strong, adding immense credibility to the organization going forward. Visual Design (Gaines) and Percussion (The Rennicks) will be world class champion competitors, no doubt. Daniel Riley has been Color Guard Caption Head for over 10 years. CI loves consistency.

I repeat: CI only matters when the judged caption in question is CLOSE. It's entirely possible that certain aspects of SCV will suck for lots of other reasons, making CI a moot point. 

I get what you’re saying, but from what I can tell it appears DCI is applying a different set of rules to SCV’s return to the field than other corps that have sat out for a season, or two if you count 2020.