Re: [Organizers] A discussion on attendance fees

When I was on the board at BIDA and we were starting our dance series, we experimented with having a "choose your own" sliding pay scale. We asked people to pay between $5 and $10. Then we kept close track of how many people attended and how much they paid. The remarkable thing was that the average, month after month, kept coming out very close to $8. The same amount that most of the other dances in the area were charging. Now, I personally think that having the upper range at $10 made it easier for people to just hand over a $10 bill, or get $10 change from a twenty. If we asked people to pay $5-15, I don't think that the average would increase significantly. I do think, though, that most people do realize what a bargain contra dancing is compared to most of our other amusements (especially concerts and other dance forms). I also think that if asked and they have the means, they will support it. Of course, there are always people who would pay less just because they can. But those are in the minority in our community. They seem to be balanced out by the people who would contribute more. It's worth it if we can get more people to attend if the reason that they won't is because of financial hardship. It would be great if we could gather more data on the phenomenon, too, so more communities can use this model with some confidence in the outcome. Chris Weiler Craftsbury, NH On 10/12/2011 10:44 PM, Chris Weiler (home) wrote: