A Cost-Cutting Proposal

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

8 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Not necessarily- if it fits in the allowed logistical footprint you can use it.  Let the designers make the choice- do we go w/ 2each marimbas & vibes and 10 tubas to open up truck space for the prop?  Or do we go no prop & max out size of musical ensemble?   Lets the creators be creative.   

My band director has told me that the minimal props we buy are incredibly expensive. Thinking about the cost of dci corps props, they must be 100X that

[LabMaster]

What I see here is never ending commentary about cost cutting.  Cut tours, cut shows, limit busses, trucks, staff and so on.  What needs discussion and new ideas (achievable ideas, not pie in the sky, what ifs) is creating revenue streams.  How do corps create revenue streams?  What does it take?  How does a corps actually go about it?  Saving money requires having money to save.

Corporate sponsorships: no need to limit to music companies, uniform companies.  There are companies who support the arts. Find them, approach them.  They don’t need a huge payoff, just an association with a group may be enough.  
Wound a transportation company be a sponsor? A trucking company?  A bus company.  Provide them an incentive to help.  Tax break for them to help a non profit youth org.? 
Food companies too.  Donations of food, services.

Grant writing.  You don’t need pro writers, you need to learn how to write them.  Do it yourself.  It is being done by some corps. 
Cutting costs is all well and good and very necessary, but corps struggle with money coming in and they can’t rely on tuition, camp fees and the like.  Teach corps how to find money and how to create sustainable revenue streams.  Then teach them how to manage money and be fiscally responsible.  Visibility around spending for and within an org., has become critical.  

[2muchcoffeeman]

2 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

Teach corps how to find money and how to create sustainable revenue streams.  

I can teach YOU how to be a millionaire, and NEVER pay taxes.

You say to me, "Steve? How can I be a millionaire, and never pay taxes?"

First, get a million dollars . . . .

 

/Steve Martin

[JimF-LowBari]

Thinking of the revenue side: wonder how many corps took a hit (still taking a hit) from COVID and taking that year off. With all of SCV problems appears big one is bingo revenue went down big time (and corps didn’t have a response to it). 

[2muchcoffeeman]

1 minute ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Thinking of the revenue side: wonder how many corps took a hit (still taking a hit) from COVID and taking that year off. With all of SCV problems appears big one is bingo revenue went down big time (and corps didn’t have a response to it). 

What people don't recognize is that the COVID year was the best thing to happen to corps budgets in a long time. Radically reduced costs. Payroll subsidies. 

[JimF-LowBari]

13 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

What people don't recognize is that the COVID year was the best thing to happen to corps budgets in a long time. Radically reduced costs. Payroll subsidies. 

I was unclear: my thoughts are did the revenue for the corps go back to normal levels or are they lower than pre-COVID levels

Edited October 15, 2023 by JimF-LowBari

[Mr_Moto]

1 hour ago, LabMaster said:

What I see here is never ending commentary about cost cutting.  Cut tours, cut shows, limit busses, trucks, staff and so on.  What needs discussion and new ideas (achievable ideas, not pie in the sky, what ifs) is creating revenue streams.  How do corps create revenue streams?  What does it take?  How does a corps actually go about it?  Saving money requires having money to save.

Corporate sponsorships: no need to limit to music companies, uniform companies.  There are companies who support the arts. Find them, approach them.  They don’t need a huge payoff, just an association with a group may be enough.  
Wound a transportation company be a sponsor? A trucking company?  A bus company.  Provide them an incentive to help.  Tax break for them to help a non profit youth org.? 
Food companies too.  Donations of food, services.

Grant writing.  You don’t need pro writers, you need to learn how to write them.  Do it yourself.  It is being done by some corps. 
Cutting costs is all well and good and very necessary, but corps struggle with money coming in and they can’t rely on tuition, camp fees and the like.  Teach corps how to find money and how to create sustainable revenue streams.  Then teach them how to manage money and be fiscally responsible.  Visibility around spending for and within an org., has become critical.  

Great grant writers are worth the investment, rather than going through the trial and error of trying to write your own. A great grant writer is going to more than pay for the investment. They also will likely know of grants that corps aren’t necessarily aware of. 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Mr_Moto

[Old Guy]

3 hours ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

What people don't recognize is that the COVID year was the best thing to happen to corps budgets in a long time. Radically reduced costs. Payroll subsidies. 

And grants. Lots of grants! 

[KVG_DC]

Grants and such that have now ended as revenue sources. If they didn't prepare for the end of these revenue sources and look at what would replace them...it's a jarring end.   There's a fair few small colleges facing this sort of cliff right now too given that the grants and such were a godsend to their budgets...but now that they're done, if they didn't prepare, they're boned hard.

This is the year higher ed is feeling some crunches from lower enrollment and the end of some revenue streams of the past few years as well.  So it's not entirely shocking corps are as well.  

Edited October 15, 2023 by KVG_DC

[Tim K]

3 hours ago, Mr_Moto said:

Great grant writers are worth the investment, rather than going through the trial and error of trying to write your own. A great grant writer is going to more than pay for the investment. They also will likely know of grants that corps aren’t necessarily aware of. 

 

 

I would add a huge word of caution: for drum corps you want a grant writer with a proven track record and a track record with an activity similar to drum corps. I would go so far to say that I don’t think there are too many grants for drum corps out there but I’ve never had the need to research it. I know a friend who has worked for three different non profits, one as a development director for a small college, another with a homeless shelter, and a third with a visiting nurse association. She has also served on advisory boards for two Catholic schools and a senior service agency. She is now semi retired and advises groups about advancement and fundraising. She advises if you hire a grant writer, the grant writer not only understand how to write a grant, but the specific lingo of what the person or organization awarding the grant wants to hear. She uses her experience with the homeless shelter to point out that a person who writes for a grant for housing may not be the one for medical care grants or job training. Each has nuances and specifics. This is especially the case with government grants. It’s my impression from talking with her (I heard her speak at a conference I attended and we had a mutual friend) that many people who offer to write grants may not know how to do it but can talk a good game and blame it on the government or group awarding the grant.