Real ideas for sustainability & revenue

[scheherazadesghost]

20 minutes ago, Gantang said:

I may be picking nits here, but I consider a sponsorship to cover the entity's cost. IE Penske Racing. It is possible to secure minor donations, but that requires a FT person working 12 months a year to cobble together $10K at a time. While $180K is nothing to sneeze at, it is a drop in the budgetary bucket for a World Class corps.

From a Jeff Ream post from May 2, 2022, referencing an interview with Tim Hinto, "the average cost to house, feed, transport and of course things like insurance is $9800 per kid", for a budget of $1,470,000. With a $5,000 dues, that still leaves $750,000 to operate for a season. 

But this is how similar scale non profits work. There is never a singular entity covering all the costs. I've literally never seen that happen at any I've worked for. Ever never ever, and I've been in that world for years.

Instead the standard is to have a staff of development and grant pros who are dedicated to keeping grantmakers and donors (corporate, institutional, and individual) happy enough to keep giving. They each give what you're calling a drop in the bucket and it all adds up to meet their budgetary needs. All day, every day, all over the country.

Also, I'm aware of drum corps budgets. Covering half the cost of a tour food budget means a lot, which is why I listed it as an example.

I've mentioned before in other comments that you can't start big here cause the networking and connections just aren't there in drum corps... yet. If you can't afford to invest in these professionals, then you attract someone to the board to volunteer... or heck, reach out to colleges and universities with affinity programs for pro bono experience from current students or recent grad. Start small. It's literally the only way to build this revenue source. That doesn't make it not worth it.

But I know asking drum corps to think long-term flies in the face of their scarcity mentality. That's what you have to do tho to diversify revenue, and again, do what most healthy non profits do. I'm super not making this up. It's what most others do. Drum corps is the outlier here, not me and the many orgs I've worked for.

Even in your own example of $750k, nearly $200k in my example knocks off a hefty chunk, right? That's clearly more than a drop....

[scheherazadesghost]

32 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

This has also been my experience. I was also a development director for a non profit and sat on a board of another., for a group that actually served people in the community.  Grants  for sure available, donations or involvement was another story. The competition  with the likes of United Way , the Heart Association etc etc was quite daunting.  Special events were difficult ,especially for actual dollars. 1st question was always whats in it for us ( and a good deed wasn't a good answer) what exposure do we get etc. Granted , there are companies looking to dispose of dollars BUT look for what a return is.

It's not worth the effort to compete against the heavy hitters off the bat. Start smaller, build your reputation.

And yes, attempting to explain the worth of a donation as a good deed gets nowhere with most. That's why you develop the language that describes your value in your mission/vision/value statements, and network your butt off to find the right donors and sponsors. They're out there.

All I'm really hearing is that it's difficult. Yes. Nonprofit work is difficult. Weknowdis. Next...

Edited October 21, 2023 by scheherazadesghost
typo

[MikeRapp]

Very very few people get into a creative activity with a mind to run it as a profitable business. They get into it for their own artistic interests and hope someone else makes sense of the business. Therein lies the problem, and frankly it seems DCI as an org has done very little to close that gap.

[GUARDLING]

40 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

It's not worth the effort to compete against the heavy hitters off the bat. Start smaller, build your reputation.

And yes, attempting to explain the worth of a donation as a good deed gets nowhere with most. That's why you develop the language that describes your value in your mission/vision/values and it also becomes more difficult statements, and network your butt off to find the right donors and sponsors. They're out there.

All I'm really hearing is that it's difficult. Yes. Nonprofit work is difficult. Weknowdis. Next...

Yes,you're right.... and it also becomes more difficult with competition. I had community centers I wanted to pay for winter programs to practice in, mind you were empty most of the time and the answer was, its easier just to leave them empty for several reasons...crazy..Non profits are often a hard sell, drum corps even harder. Very small. I would bet BOA would get a better response than drum corps because of the School element. BITD even when DCI was televised, it became a situation that it wasn't profitable to put it on TV. I remember the early 80s when WGI got televised and that lasted a hot minute. I always remember being told your mission is great and there's 10 more great missions  down the street who reach more and a better return for us. Not saying some could be successful trying but I wish them luck and a huge pat on the back.

 

[scheherazadesghost]

8 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

Yes,you're right.... and it also becomes more difficult with competition. I had community centers I wanted to pay for winter programs to practice in, mind you were empty most of the time and the answer was, its easier just to leave them empty for several reasons...crazy..Non profits are often a hard sell, drum corps even harder. Very small. I would bet BOA would get a better response than drum corps because of the School element. BITD even when DCI was televised, it became a situation that it wasn't profitable to put it on TV. I remember the early 80s when WGI got televised and that lasted a hot minute. I always remember being told your mission is great and there's 10 more great missions  down the street who reach more and a better return for us. Not saying some could be successful trying but I wish them luck and a huge pat on the back.

Thanks for looking past my snark and providing more of your thoughts.

I guess when I look at corps orgs, I don't even see evidence that they've genuinely invested in this route. No one with development experience, no developed verbiage extolling the clear and obvious value that so many on this forum take for granted, few thank you pages on their websites to donors. Hardly anything.

Yes you have to have accurate, flashy verbiage, a great sales/ development person, and here's the kicker, the org has to back that up in every possible way. I think this combo is where drum corps struggle. Like @MikeRappsaid, they've become good at one thing. But that doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

So, how can they even day they've tried? And again, tried the standard route? Not even some crazy idea... the route that most other nps take. All day, every day. Yes, it's difficult, but many succeed and flourish.

Edited October 21, 2023 by scheherazadesghost

[GUARDLING]

7 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Thanks for looking past my snark and providing more of your thoughts.

I guess when I look at corps orgs, I don't even see evidence that they've genuinely invested in this route. No one with development experience, no developed verbiage extolling the clear and obvious value that so many on this forum take for granted, few thank you pages on their websites to donors. Hardly anything.

Yes you have to have accurate, flashy verbiage, a great sales/ development person, and here's the kicker, the org has to back that up in every possible way. I think this combo is where drum corps struggle. Like @MikeRappsaid, they've become good at one thing. But that doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

So, how can they even day they've tried? And again, tried the standard route? Not even some crazy idea... the route that most other nps take. All day, every day. Yes, it's difficult, but many succeed and flourish.

I have found, and only my experience,  that drum corps sometimes , also many non profits, have a sense of entitlement meaning they think everyone on the outside SHOULD want to give to them, so going beyond as you said needs to be done may not be  done ,because of that attitude.

I appreciate a good snark every  now and then....lol😁

Edited October 21, 2023 by GUARDLING

[scheherazadesghost]

16 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

I have found, and only my experience,  that drum corps sometimes , also many non profits, have a sense of entitlement meaning they think everyone on the outside SHOULD want to give to them, so going beyond as you said needs to be done may not be  done ,because of that attitude.

I appreciate a good snark every  now and then....lol😁

LOL and meanwhile that same company that turned them down for sponsorship, gave generously to other nps who continuously describe and follow through with demonstrating the value they bring to their communities. So weird how that works.

Again, thanks! 🤘🏽😎

[LabMaster]

Reading through a few posts regarding corporate sponsorships I can see the hesitation or skepticism that there is available funding there.  There is, and to affirm some of the commentary and seeing an org I help out with the advice to take from it is;

start small and build your donation program.  You will not find an angel who’ll just fund you completely.  Smaller bites are more attainable.

Don’t rely on a single donor or revenue source.  That’s basic 101. Diversify.  Diversify through several donors and several different types of donors.  If you are single sourced (as they say in my work life) and it falters or fails, you also falter or fail. Think Bingo! 
it takes work and it takes working at it all year long.  That’s where it should be viewed as a business.  It also takes a team.  That is why having a large BoD works, if it is functioning properly.  Hence the challenge of a BoD.  Functional, egos left at the door.  And a diverse board, from a talent and skill standpoint.  40 people exactly alike doesn’t work.

Thanks Ghost & Guardling for your thoughtful comments.

[IllianaLancerContra]

In 1960s Racine Kilties bought a gas station; profits went to the Corps & it gave employment to Corps members.  But as no Corps seem to have any local members the employment part probably is moot.   But, would it be feasible to run a few local businesses for the benefit or the organization?   The up-front startup costs are probably a barrier.  Anyway, just a thought to throw in the pot.  

[scheherazadesghost]

40 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

That’s where it should be viewed as a business.

Nonprofits are businesses. Those not approaching them this way are bound to struggle.

40 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

Thanks Ghost & Guardling for your thoughtful comments.

YW. @Gantang and @Slingerlandas well.