A Cost-Cutting Proposal

[scheherazadesghost]

3 hours ago, Tim K said:

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.

Yes, it would be silly not to look specifically for grantwriters with demonstrated successes in acquiring civic arts grants. If those can't be found, then you don't invest in them, you ask them to volunteer. That way, no loss, no foul. Again students are great for this. Also, plenty of funders like one of those listed below have a fellowship program for pipelining arts administrators.

Just look at the top two California arts grants available, a corps there could $60k split between two years and another $75k for one year through CA Arts Council and the CA Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program. Grants like these require (like all others) following the cycle, providing necessary documentation, being compliant with the state and federal governs regarding your nonprofit, and reporting back regularly about what was done with the money. There are likely other regional, federal, and local grants that could increase that amount with similar requirements.

I'm aware this is a drop in the bucket compared to corps budgets, but that's where you start with grantwriting. You don't get the big grants right away. You start small, earn the trust of the industry, and grow from there. It's the only way unless you have very very very powerful friends.

So, you don't just hire someone that says hey look! grants I can get those for you! You ask them for a plan and/or what their current relationship to those funders is. If they haven't gotten grants through those funders yet, you ask them how they plan to develop those relationships. Funders like these want to give away their money, and often hold workshops and meet-n-greets for potential grantees for that very reason. It's intentionally not cryptic. Where you may find challenges is in needing to educate funders about drum corps and its value. But again, that's why you commit to developing the relationship over time. It's never as simple as here's the paperwork = grant please thank you.

Couple that with a strategy for developing large donor bases and relationships with institutional funders and you have a the standard, tried-and-true formula most nonprofits follow. It's not easy, but there's also no reason to scratch our heads. This is how it's done.

These strategies can be difficult to launch, no doubt. Nonprofit aint easy and I'm not claiming it is. But these are the standard routes to more sustainable funding. This is what the healthy nps rely on all day every day. It's about building relationships... something corps  have not really been so good at historically. But it's never too late to learn.

Edited October 16, 2023 by scheherazadesghost
clarity

[Jeff Ream]

16 hours ago, cfirwin3 said:

You don't think that they are overspending on materials and resources for their shows?

(Replacing equipment, horns and uniforms too frequently; quadrupled transportation needs; expanding specialized staff; frequent long haul trips to attend competitive shows, etc.)

Running out of cash with the fees that they are charging means that they are over spending on the thing that they are doing... which is the show, and the resources that they put into it.

equipment thats replaced is sold or leased, and often times it makes corps money. uniforms often got sold either to member or by the manufacturer or consigned.

but yes, giant props needing their own vehicle and team to manage the props add up on several budget item lines

[Jeff Ream]

16 hours ago, cfirwin3 said:

Sure...

But, condense the pit.  Desperate measures, and such.

(Which isn't all that desperate, really... as a group can still sound phenomenal with far less).

well remember...oneof the justifications for amplification was shrinking the size of the pit.

and the 20th anniversary of that vote is approaching

[Jeff Ream]

12 hours ago, ContraFart said:

You can nickel and dime costs all you want, it's not going to change the reality that the corps needs to adapt to the national tour model and that model is the majority of your costs

or cut spring training in half. that will save 6 figures across the board

[C.Holland]

11 hours ago, RiverCityAndTroopersFan said:

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

Depends where you buy them from? A local fabricator? Or a niche band specialized prop builder that you see many others buying their carts and backdrops from? One is way cheaper. 

[cixelsyd]

12 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

These strategies can be difficult to launch, no doubt. Nonprofit aint easy and I'm not claiming it is. 

Yes... but compared to persuading people to cut costs, this should be a snap!

[Mello Dude]

9 hours ago, C.Holland said:

Depends where you buy them from? A local fabricator? Or a niche band specialized prop builder that you see many others buying their carts and backdrops from? One is way cheaper. 

You still have to haul them around.  Losing that extra truck is huge amount of waste.  Drum corps finds a way to write shows..always has.

[scheherazadesghost]

1 hour ago, cixelsyd said:

Yes... but compared to persuading people to cut costs, this should be a snap!

I think change in any direction is a major challenge. The activity is frozen by the scarcity mentality.

Edited October 16, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[IllianaLancerContra]

50 minutes ago, Mello Dude said:

You still have to haul them around.  Losing that extra truck is huge amount of waste.  Drum corps finds a way to write shows..always has.

Exactly.  Maybe it is the retired military officer in me, but you always have to look at the logistical tail of any operation.  We had a saying- Beginners study tactics; Amateurs study strategy; Professionals study logistics.  

[HockeyDad]

11 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

well remember...oneof the justifications for amplification was shrinking the size of the pit.

and the 20th anniversary of that vote is approaching

We were sold a lie !!!!!!

Ok, actually, everyone knew at the time the - we can reduce pit size - was a load of B.S.  In drum corps as in the government, a thing once introduced can never be taken away.