[Organizers] Ideas for revenue BEYOND the door entry price

[David Chandler]

Country Dance New York has a long history so we have done many things over
the years:

   - The most lucrative, albeit very infrequent, has been receiving
   bequests from long-time dancers. These have ranged from $1000 to $15,000,
   $20,000 and much more. Only one every couple years but it adds up.
   Margherita Davis, our late fundraising chair, wrote a brochure on planned
   giving which was distributed to members; currently we have a page about
   bequests as part of our annual appeal.
   - We do an annual appeal letter to members which brings in several
   thousand dollars a year (we have over 200 members but a relatively small
   number actually donate) - we're a 501(c)(3) through CDSS (though smaller
   organizations may find it easier and less expensive to use the new
   expedited 501(c)(3) process through the IRS.
   - We solicit funds at our English dances to support the Third Musician
   Fund, to allow us to feel comfortable paying three musicians a night. This
   has been important because of a generous "anonymous" donor who matches
   contributions up to a total of $1,200/year - we've see that match as
   motivating.
   - We solicit donations when people register for our Playford Ball, which
   allows it to break even most years.
   - We offer the opportunity to sponsor a dance, usually for a special
   occasion/anniversary, etc., with varying levels of support. Pay enough
   (early enough) and choose the caller and musicians. Usually pays for the
   talent, occasionally to make the dance free for everyone. Celebrations may
   include just acknowledgement, bestowing a crown for the night, providing a
   cake or refreshments, etc. - though usually the honoree provides those. One
   of our musicians has written songs for a special few, for an extra donation.
   - We are part of Amazon Smile and have gotten a few dollars over the
   years.
   - We are registered with Benevity (https://www.benevity.com/register),
   which routes donations from corporations - we've only gotten a couple
   donations this way, from a Google employee who found it easier to give this
   way than another.
   - We have memberships which bring in substantial sums. However, we see
   it as more community-building than fundraising - since one of the perks is
   $3 off on admission, someone who comes regularly throughout the year gains
   more than they spend.
   - We have auctioned off a few things, for a few bucks.
   - We have sold t-shirts and other branded merchandise, for a few bucks
   at most and usually a loss.
   - In the past we had several weekends which brought in quite substantial
   sums, but they died for a variety of reasons.
   - One of the biggest sources of funds from the weekends was a live and
   silent auction - people brought a lot of stuff and we got several thousand
   dollars a year. We haven't found a way to do a large-scale auction not in
   the context of a weekend.
   - We have received several grants from CDSS - to support innovations
   (offering a free dance as a recruitment tool; starting a musician
   apprenticeship program involving coaching by a professional who plays for
   us regularly).
   - We applied for a grant or two (didn't get them), but grants in New
   York seem largely targeted at performers rather than participatory dance.
   That said, other NY groups have gotten grants - in one case by having
   traditional performers do a performance before they played for a dance.

 David Chandler


On Tue, Dec 4, 2018 at 11:24 AM Emily Addison via Organizers <
organizers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi fellow shared weight organizers :)
>
> Wearing my CDSS hat, I'm wondering ----> Does your dance have sources of
> revenue BEYOND the door entry price???
>
> A few great ideas were shared at the October CDSS Executive community
> meeting in Toronto and we're looking for more! Do you have successful
> experience with:
>
>    - sponsorships (individual/company/other)
>    - grants
>    - donations (collected at the dance OR one-off/ongoing donor programs)
>    - other fundraising (e.g., pie/cake sales anyone?)
>    - membership
>    - merch … that make money?
>    - special events … that make money?
>    - other?
>
> I'm pulling together a curated collection of success stories on this
> subject for CDSS that will then be shared back out early in the new year. I
> would love to hear your ideas and if you know of someone I should talk to
> about this, please let me know.
>
> Thanks!
> Emily
> PS -  I asked shared weight about posters/flyers last month and so wanted
> to update you that that collection will be available in January.  I'm just
> waiting on a few more contributions.
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>
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