[Organizers] Ideas re sources of revenue for dance series

Hi Dance Organizers! I'm pulling together ideas on budget for our dance committee meeting in June. Our situation is this .... ...We've got a really vibrant dance community where we get 100+ dancers at each evening dance (we're an urban dance and have a mix of strong local talent as well as touring/national bands). However, with various expenses, the last two years have been a bit tough on us financially. *I'm wondering if you'd share your entrance fee rates and thoughts on how high these can/should go before issues (e.g., accessibility, lower turnout) arise? * *ANNNND if you have any additional brilliant ways of raising funds, that would be great too! I've listed some options below but for sum (e.g., fundraisers), we're looking for neat ideas.* With thanks! Emily Addison Ottawa, ON *Here's our fee structure:* - Membership is 25$ for full year, 15$ in January... This gives you discounts on most of our dances (about 28 a year) - Saturday night dance: 12$ regular, 10$ members/students, free 16 and under - Saturday afternoon workshop: 8$ regular, 7$ members/students .... also a discount to do both afternoon/evening (17$ regular, 15$ members&students) - Tuesday community talent dances: 7$/5$ - Family dances: $10 adult, free for kids It's our Saturday dances with hired bands/callers, paid sound, and a more expensive hall that are loosing money. Our community talent and family dances are breaking even. *Other possible forms of revenue include:* - Attracting and retaining more dancers - Grants - Fundraisers (what have others done?) - Promoting larger donations OR doing something like a donation/tip jar - Selling food, tshirts etc - Avoiding booking dances on holidays/big events as #s may be down - Other????