Organizers

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4 participants
515 discussions

Perks of membership + membership with sliding scale

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Hi fellow organizers... I've got a question about membership... 1. If you have membership, what are its perks (to the dancer and also to the wider community if you promote that) 2. If you have membership AND sliding scale at the door, how does that work? Backgrounder: - Our door fee has been $12 regular // $10 members and students // 16 and under free)... .... we also have a seasons pass which includes membership and is where dancers pay for the whole season in advance (there's a bit of a discount). - Membership is $30 (for about 25+ events); we also have sustaining membership at $50 for those who want to support the organization even more. - We typically have 80-100 members a year. - We promote membership as not only a way for dancers to get a $2 discount on each dance and get a cool button but that it's also a way to really support the organization's work. It allows us to take risks in programming (family dance series; afternoon dance workshops) and to strengthen the community in other ways (e.g., musician/caller workshops). We're thinking of changing our door entry fees and I'd like us to consider a sliding scale. Maybe something like suggested fee of $12-16, $10 low income, $6 12-16yrs old... ... also include messaging about the cost of the dance. BUUUT... it seems like if we do sliding scale, the membership perk of $2 off/dance is naturally removed. I'd like to hope that we could keep our 80-100 members if we put the membership at say $20 and really promoted the the community betterment piece. But I'm not sure... ... ... Thoughts? Other member perks to build in that aren't directly $$ related? With thanks! Emily with Ottawa Contra

8 years, 3 months

Flurry discussion posted on google drive

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Hi All, Looks like my attachment may have not come through. Apologies if you can't see it. This is my third and hopeful final attempt! I've posted it on my google drive. You can find it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4eVxhz-E0QRUFRaNWNZU2ZmSTg/view?usp=shari… Emily

8 years, 3 months

Attachment for organizers discussion

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Oups... here is the attachment! Emily

8 years, 3 months

Detailed notes from Flurry organizer workshop

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Hi fellow shared weight organizers :) Apologies that it's taken me a few more days to get notes out from the Flurry discussion session. 'Tis been a busy week! For those who were at the session .... PLEASE send me ANY FEEDBACK on how I could have made the session better/more effective/useful to you. All - I've attached my notes in a word document. There's a lot to sift through but I wanted to catch all the little details in case you found a particular idea helpful. Where possible, I put the speaker's name/community beside their idea. There's a lot that I think Ottawa contra will be discussing. Yea! Thanks to those who were present and I hope you all enjoy. Emily in Ottawa

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 28, Issue 12

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Hi Bob and others, Bob - thanks so much for the great notes. T'is super helpful! I hope to add a few more comments including a summary of where main concerns/topics of interest lay for the 40-50 or so organizers in the room. We got home very late Sunday and our kiddo promptly was feverish yesterday so it will likely take me until Thursday to post something. Until then... Emily On Mon, Feb 20, 2017 at 4:08 PM, via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Send Organizers mailing list submissions to > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers- > sharedweight.net > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Organizers meeting at Flurry. (via Organizers) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 10:36:04 -0500 > From: via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: organizers(a)sharedweight.net > Subject: [Organizers] Organizers meeting at Flurry. > Message-ID: <15a5c2a5a9c-2c4b-18137(a)webprd-m71.mail.aol.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > > Well THAT was fun. > > I took a few notes, sharing per Claire Takamori's request > Sorry, didn't get there in time to hear everyone's name, and I did not > include my > vociferous comments in my own notes. > Others, please edit to fill in the blanks and correct my version. > > And, I apologize for monopolizing the conversation...I was so energized by > the dancing > that it was difficult for me to contain my enthusiasm. > > I do have follow-up questions for the group that does the Co-Host events... > What is the format? First Half Contra, Second half Swing, or is it an > every other dance > sort of switching? We do Contra/English combined for special events, > and typically it is 2 and 2, alternating, but some people are not happy > with this... > If it is half and half, do you experience people coming just for the half > they normally dance? > Do you charge those people full price? > > > Regarding Attendance: Attracting/Retaining New Dancers, younger dancers, > etc. > (Top concern for this meeting) > > One dance group gives a free dance to members who bring a NEW dancer, > as well as the Next Time Free to the new dancer. They find it works very > well. > > Another group tries to have regulars all bring a friend to particular > dances > when the caller is really good with teaching beginners. (NYC?) > > A few? groups have had success with helping to host a free dance at local > colleges. > Others have "College Night" with a deep discount when showing a Student ID. > > At least One group who does the Next Dance Free thing has a tear-off where > the person > gives their email or contact info at the first dance. They follow up with > a personalized > email thanking them and inviting them back, possibly with details about > the next dance or two. > (Who is performing...) (This may be two similar responses mashed together) > > Some groups have "Taxi Dancers" with lead/follow indicators. > They are people who wear some kind of indentifier (pin, colorful marker, > something) > and at sign-in the new dancers are shown what that looks like. The taxis > will > dance with new folks, and be there if there are any questions. > > Another group has regulars who dance with new people and try to make sure > they have a partner for the next dance... > Bob: "Thank you for that dance, have you met Jean?" > Jean: "Hi, nice to meet you, would you like to dance?" > > One group does a skit after the 2nd or 3rd dance about how to handle > situations: > Topics: Saying no gracefully, how to stop the twirling, etc. (NYC or > MontpielierContraExchange?) > > > Money stuff: > > {Seems Rochester is an outlier, with regard to the cash box being > unattended all evening, and self-serve sign-in.} > > More than a couple groups have found that a Sliding Scale payment makes > more money than a fixed rate. > The most successful seem to communicate the cost of running the dance. > Something like: > Your money pays for Band/Caller/Rent/Insurance...and if we get 60 dancers > paying $10 each, > we will break even...(Fill in the correct numbers). > > One contra group works with Swing N Blues groups in their viscinity to > co-host events. > {I view this very similar to what we are doing with English/Contra half > and half dances. > Not sure of their format for an evening...} > > Take the top exec of the local PBS radio station to lunch and talk about > your dance. > They will become your advocate. (Probably works better in smaller New > England towns) > > Volunteers: > > Everyone is aging or burning out. > > Have to get people started with small jobs with distinct short term > objectives. > (Fill water jugs, sweep floor, put away chairs, etc.) > > Extend PERSONAL Invite to be part of organizing team. > Volunteer requests over mic go in one ear and out t'other. > > > Misc. > > Good idea to get a coach for the Open Band. > > Learned a new term: Ambi-dance-terous > > Bob > > > > (Rochester NY Weekly Thursday Contra) >

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers meeting at Flurry

by Claire Takemori via Organizers

Thank you so much Bob and for any who can add more details & comments! I really really appreciate your reporting back. I’m in a hard position, as our Dance Series Manager (oversees the whole dance organization) is stepping down (and will still help in big ways, but not the Manager role). The other major part of the organization does publicity and that person is not clear they can continue past 2017. This is a small local dance that we’ve doubled since taking it over last year (20ish to ~50). But it’s still losing money and lacks enough volunteers to feel sustainable. I was doing Programming (booking bands, callers, sound) as well as talent hospitality at the dance, setting up dinner location for after the dance, making quarterly flyers & going to the quarterly flyer distribution meeting. What I’d like to be doing more of is making the dance easy, enjoyable for all and finding ways to recruit new dancers. With taking on the Manager role as well as Programmer, and without a new volunteer on our team to take up some slack, I’m feeling even more like it’s not sustainable. I will try more asking in person for help & write out job descriptions of simple tasks as well as organizer roles. We did get a couple more people (the ones that are already doing things to save every other dance for many years) to help fill manager/snack slots. Any other ideas to get folks to step up to save a dance from ending? I can see ending the dance at the end of summer if there is no change in the help. Thanks for hearing me….. and any help or inspiration you can offer. I do realize that sometimes one dance can change a life. A family that came on Sunday said they heard of our local Family Week camp from our dance last year and they went and their kids LOVE music and dance now!!! Claire Takemori Dance Caller (Campbell CA) Message: 1 Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 10:36:04 -0500 From: via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: organizers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: [Organizers] Organizers meeting at Flurry. Message-ID: <15a5c2a5a9c-2c4b-18137(a)webprd-m71.mail.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Well THAT was fun. I took a few notes, sharing per Claire Takamori's request Sorry, didn't get there in time to hear everyone's name, and I did not include my vociferous comments in my own notes. Others, please edit to fill in the blanks and correct my version. And, I apologize for monopolizing the conversation...I was so energized by the dancing that it was difficult for me to contain my enthusiasm. I do have follow-up questions for the group that does the Co-Host events... What is the format? First Half Contra, Second half Swing, or is it an every other dance sort of switching? We do Contra/English combined for special events, and typically it is 2 and 2, alternating, but some people are not happy with this... If it is half and half, do you experience people coming just for the half they normally dance? Do you charge those people full price? Regarding Attendance: Attracting/Retaining New Dancers, younger dancers, etc. (Top concern for this meeting) One dance group gives a free dance to members who bring a NEW dancer, as well as the Next Time Free to the new dancer. They find it works very well. Another group tries to have regulars all bring a friend to particular dances when the caller is really good with teaching beginners. (NYC?) A few? groups have had success with helping to host a free dance at local colleges. Others have "College Night" with a deep discount when showing a Student ID. At least One group who does the Next Dance Free thing has a tear-off where the person gives their email or contact info at the first dance. They follow up with a personalized email thanking them and inviting them back, possibly with details about the next dance or two. (Who is performing...) (This may be two similar responses mashed together) Some groups have "Taxi Dancers" with lead/follow indicators. They are people who wear some kind of indentifier (pin, colorful marker, something) and at sign-in the new dancers are shown what that looks like. The taxis will dance with new folks, and be there if there are any questions. Another group has regulars who dance with new people and try to make sure they have a partner for the next dance... Bob: "Thank you for that dance, have you met Jean?" Jean: "Hi, nice to meet you, would you like to dance?" One group does a skit after the 2nd or 3rd dance about how to handle situations: Topics: Saying no gracefully, how to stop the twirling, etc. (NYC or MontpielierContraExchange?) Money stuff: {Seems Rochester is an outlier, with regard to the cash box being unattended all evening, and self-serve sign-in.} More than a couple groups have found that a Sliding Scale payment makes more money than a fixed rate. The most successful seem to communicate the cost of running the dance. Something like: Your money pays for Band/Caller/Rent/Insurance...and if we get 60 dancers paying $10 each, we will break even...(Fill in the correct numbers). One contra group works with Swing N Blues groups in their viscinity to co-host events. {I view this very similar to what we are doing with English/Contra half and half dances. Not sure of their format for an evening...} Take the top exec of the local PBS radio station to lunch and talk about your dance. They will become your advocate. (Probably works better in smaller New England towns) Volunteers: Everyone is aging or burning out. Have to get people started with small jobs with distinct short term objectives. (Fill water jugs, sweep floor, put away chairs, etc.) Extend PERSONAL Invite to be part of organizing team. Volunteer requests over mic go in one ear and out t'other. Misc. Good idea to get a coach for the Open Band. Learned a new term: Ambi-dance-terous Bob

8 years, 3 months

Organizers meeting at Flurry.

by via Organizers

Well THAT was fun. I took a few notes, sharing per Claire Takamori's request Sorry, didn't get there in time to hear everyone's name, and I did not include my vociferous comments in my own notes. Others, please edit to fill in the blanks and correct my version. And, I apologize for monopolizing the conversation...I was so energized by the dancing that it was difficult for me to contain my enthusiasm. I do have follow-up questions for the group that does the Co-Host events... What is the format? First Half Contra, Second half Swing, or is it an every other dance sort of switching? We do Contra/English combined for special events, and typically it is 2 and 2, alternating, but some people are not happy with this... If it is half and half, do you experience people coming just for the half they normally dance? Do you charge those people full price? Regarding Attendance: Attracting/Retaining New Dancers, younger dancers, etc. (Top concern for this meeting) One dance group gives a free dance to members who bring a NEW dancer, as well as the Next Time Free to the new dancer. They find it works very well. Another group tries to have regulars all bring a friend to particular dances when the caller is really good with teaching beginners. (NYC?) A few? groups have had success with helping to host a free dance at local colleges. Others have "College Night" with a deep discount when showing a Student ID. At least One group who does the Next Dance Free thing has a tear-off where the person gives their email or contact info at the first dance. They follow up with a personalized email thanking them and inviting them back, possibly with details about the next dance or two. (Who is performing...) (This may be two similar responses mashed together) Some groups have "Taxi Dancers" with lead/follow indicators. They are people who wear some kind of indentifier (pin, colorful marker, something) and at sign-in the new dancers are shown what that looks like. The taxis will dance with new folks, and be there if there are any questions. Another group has regulars who dance with new people and try to make sure they have a partner for the next dance... Bob: "Thank you for that dance, have you met Jean?" Jean: "Hi, nice to meet you, would you like to dance?" One group does a skit after the 2nd or 3rd dance about how to handle situations: Topics: Saying no gracefully, how to stop the twirling, etc. (NYC or MontpielierContraExchange?) Money stuff: {Seems Rochester is an outlier, with regard to the cash box being unattended all evening, and self-serve sign-in.} More than a couple groups have found that a Sliding Scale payment makes more money than a fixed rate. The most successful seem to communicate the cost of running the dance. Something like: Your money pays for Band/Caller/Rent/Insurance...and if we get 60 dancers paying $10 each, we will break even...(Fill in the correct numbers). One contra group works with Swing N Blues groups in their viscinity to co-host events. {I view this very similar to what we are doing with English/Contra half and half dances. Not sure of their format for an evening...} Take the top exec of the local PBS radio station to lunch and talk about your dance. They will become your advocate. (Probably works better in smaller New England towns) Volunteers: Everyone is aging or burning out. Have to get people started with small jobs with distinct short term objectives. (Fill water jugs, sweep floor, put away chairs, etc.) Extend PERSONAL Invite to be part of organizing team. Volunteer requests over mic go in one ear and out t'other. Misc. Good idea to get a coach for the Open Band. Learned a new term: Ambi-dance-terous Bob (Rochester NY Weekly Thursday Contra)

8 years, 3 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers discussion session at the Dance Flurry this weekend!

by Claire Takemori via Organizers

I’m not going to Flurry this year…. Would you be willing to post some notes/ideas from the meeting here? Claire Takemori (Campbell CA) On Feb 16, 2017, at 1:09 PM, via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Send Organizers mailing list submissions to organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net You can reach the person managing the list at organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Organizers discussion session at the Dance Flurry this weekend! (Emily Addison via Organizers) 2. Re: Organizers discussion session at the Dance Flurry this weekend! (Donna Hunt via Organizers) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2017 10:43:48 -0500 From: Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: Shared Weight Organizers <organizers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: [Organizers] Organizers discussion session at the Dance Flurry this weekend! Message-ID: <CAD7WKUXhS5jPc_CGX-P1z7uhrkWwY4GzEwY7yyTCWi7u_WdvVg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi Fellow Organizers, Heads up if you're going to the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs NY this weekend and want to talk dance organizing... Sunday from 11:15-12:15 there will be a dance organizers discussion session in Hilton Broadway 4. The goal of the workshop is for organizers to share and gather as many great ideas as possible regarding topics of interest to them... these may be concerns or challenges or simply things folks want to learn about. We'll work quickly to identify a handful of the most common topics and then get right into organizers sharing their best ideas and brainstorming on the challenges/topics. One hour isn't much time but we can get lots done! Looking forward to seeing a few of you :) Emily Addison Ottawa ON

8 years, 4 months

Organizers discussion session at the Dance Flurry this weekend!

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Hi Fellow Organizers, Heads up if you're going to the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs NY this weekend and want to talk dance organizing... Sunday from 11:15-12:15 there will be a dance organizers discussion session in Hilton Broadway 4. The goal of the workshop is for organizers to share and gather as many great ideas as possible regarding topics of interest to them... these may be concerns or challenges or simply things folks want to learn about. We'll work quickly to identify a handful of the most common topics and then get right into organizers sharing their best ideas and brainstorming on the challenges/topics. One hour isn't much time but we can get lots done! Looking forward to seeing a few of you :) Emily Addison Ottawa ON

8 years, 4 months

Volunteers

by David Chandler via Organizers

I'm interested in how other groups handle in-dance organizational tasks - collecting admissions, putting out refreshments, sound and perhaps checking shoes at the door. Do you use volunteers? Pay people? If volunteers, do you have a structured corps of volunteers you rely on or just ask for volunteers as needed? It would be very helpful if you mentioned how frequently you have dances, and roughly how many attend your dances. We (Country Dance New York) have a pretty formal system, and put on roughly 80 dances a year (weekly Tuesday and Saturday 9.5 months a year), getting roughly 40-50 for English and 60 plus for contra. Some people volunteer for only one or a few dances, but a lot of the work is done by "full-time volunteers," who do at least 8 tasks during the fall and/or spring. In exchange for this they get in free to every event. The tasks are also pretty structured - only members can work the door in order to increase security of funds, and attendance is kept on an iPad using Square so there is some training involved; refreshments involve buying food, refilling water pitchers and putting out a number of different things to eat at the break, then washing dishes and cleaning up. Volunteer coordinators line up people for each task in advance. In general this works very well - tasks get done, and volunteers who are short on cash can get in free. The downside, in my view, relates to our feeling dependent on the system and thus reluctant to consider other options for fear we would lose our volunteers. In particular, some have suggested that it would be more fair to lower our admission rate for those most likely to be in need (students in particular), or to go to a "pay what you can" system of some sort. The reports I've read suggest that "pay what you can" usually works out well, with perhaps increased attendance and no loss of income. However, we can't do that because if people could get in by paying what they can the incentive to be a volunteer would vanish and we are afraid we would not be able to get things done (or a very small group would have to do them, and burn out since we have so many dances). However, I have heard rumors that other dances don't have such a structured volunteer system and still manage to get these in-dance tasks done. I would love to hear how you manage getting tasks done with volunteers, especially if you have a "pay what you can" or very reduced rate for those in need. Thanks! David

8 years, 4 months

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