Re: [Organizers] A discussion on attendance fees

I'd echo what at least one person said; we've had lower rates for students not because students are poor but because we wanted to bring in younger folks. Our advertising says "we also take less if that's what you can afford," though I personally think that's less likely to bring in folks who can't afford it than having a sliding scale. We have a coupon book, 5 admissions for the price of 4 (i.e., 4 full- price). We also pass the hat (for our "Live Musicians Fund") during announcements, and have a sponsorship program where individuals or groups can pay for the evening's band. (The above is for the Boston contra dance I go to, which I'm not actually an organizer for.) At our (much smaller) English dance, for which I am an organizer, we leave out a basket with a "suggested donation" sign, and another basket for additional donations. Presumably some people pay less than our suggested rate, and some definitely give more. (We probably get more from some folks because our suggested rate is $7 and it's easy to give $10.) At our dance camp (which I'm also an organizer of), we have student rates and work exchange, as well as a scholarship fund (funded by campers' donations). Our work exchange rate is approximately the per- person fee the campsite charges us. We also raise money by running a food booth at NEFFA, and we're 501(c) (3) which probably gets us some additional donations. --Read Weaver www.lcfd.org