Charity gigs

[smurfitt]

Each year my band choose two local charities to support and perform free to raise money for them.
This year we've been inundated with enquiries about free or cheap gigs for others. Although they are all good causes and we'd like to help, it's not possible when we are a working band who need to recoup a lot of outlay.
Feeling a bit guilty we've offered to play for a minimal amount (no more than pub bands get) but asked them to confirm asap whether this is feasible as we have offers of well paid gigs on the same date.
What really annoys us is that they do not even bother to let us know after we have not just taken the time to reply but have even compiled a proposed schedule for the event, offered to download music of their choice to play between band breaks. All for free!
How can people be so damn ignorant when I bet there's loads of bands that don't even bother once they see the word 'free' or 'cheap'.
Feel like putting a paragraph on our website but not sure how to word it without sounding cruel so any ideas are welcome.
Thanks

[pietruszka]

Charities are a tricky one, I've spoke to a guy who was keen to take my club band on and they largely do charity events. He assured me the bands get paid well for them, and it'll be that the charity isn't paying the bands, it's the organisation.

I don't like asking charities for money, who does? But I'd be very inclined to ask if it's the charity or an organisation organising the event and take it from there.

And yes I agree, it's crap when people see that you've done a free gig for a good cause and suddenly every one wants a piece of the action. Best be professional and brutal about it, "Sorry, we have our select charities we play for, we're a working band and can't afford to take too many losses."

As for putting something on your website, it may well be better not to. You don't want to scare potential work away. Explain on enquiry.




Dan

[Len_derby]

We have similar problems. The economic situation means all charities are pushing harder for more in a situation where there's less to go around.
A lot of the bigger charities now have hard-headed fund raising staff whose paid job it is to squeeze as much revenue as they can. I think that as a consequence all charities have had to raise their game and push harder. Trying to make people feel guility is in the armoury.
I think you'll just have to equally 'professional' and politely decline saying you can only do so much and you're already commited to your bands'quota'. What about referring them to other bands you know, maybe less experienced ones who would welcome the exposure.
It sounds like you do a lot already. Don't beat yourself up about it.

[Cat Burrito]

The reality is there are lots of people at charity gigs who are recouping some money so why shouldn't the band? There are a fair few promoters out there who I've dealt with who use the charity umbrella to get acts to pay for free. If the door staff, soundman and bar staff get paid then why shouldn't the band? Obviously I'm not suggesting the band makes a profit but some basic fuel costs etc is not unreasonable. I'd put something on the band's website along the lines of "The band is always happy to support good causes" and then explain that some basic costs would need to be covered. In the past I've found my bands giving more than anyone else involved in the event which sort of goes against the ethos of everything.

And not replying is just rude. If they need to check with a manager or committee just a short email to say so with an "I'll get back to you" quoting a timescale. Or alternatively, a straight "no the budget won't stretch"

[smurfitt]

Thanks dudes.
I just got a reply from one charity. Gave them a quote of pub gig and they then tell us they had a few hundred quid more in their budget.
Now we are peed off!
From now on we're going to do what you suggest Dan and give a professional 'sorry' we're a working band and have select charities.

[funkgod]

I have had my fill of "Charity gigs" also
the last one we did NOV last year took me all day to set up an 11 piece band drove 30 miles, tunnel fee
then while there another duo used the pa as well as a chior and an army drum thing
and backing music for dancers
i was at the desk all day all evening then went on last to play for 2 hours, when everyone went we
took down the pa drove back got home about 2.30am
two things Pi@@ed me off
the club was earning a fair bit at the bar and would not contribute , we had to pay for food and drinks,
even soft drinks.
end of the night packing away the gear we asked for two glasses of coke and was told the bar was shut.

Reading about the event in the local rag there was no mention of the effort we did only about the club
and the organiser's patting themselves on the back.
That was my last ......unless, as Smurfitt says we do it ourselves

[Lozz196]

I agree with the expenses bit. When all the people on stalls/behind bars/on the doors are being paid their regular wage, why shouldn`t bands fuel costs be reimbursed? And a soft-drink on arrival/as you`re packing down shouldn`t be too much to ask for.

[discreet]

Don't worry, only 1% of the proceeds go to charity anyway.
Look at Bono's ONE Foundation.

[thepurpleblob]

In this day and age many charities are, effectively, well organised commercial business with well paid staff - not always the case, I know, before anybody shouts at me. I think you have to be equally hard-headed. Is it a charity that you and your band-mates support and/or is there something in it for you (i.e. is the gig going to be good marketing)? If not, just say no or ask for a reasonable fee and/or expenses. .

Edited January 22, 2012 by thepurpleblob

[icastle]

We do a number of charity gigs throughout the year but got royally scr*w*d over on one we did a couple of years ago.
It was initially 'sold' to a band member as a charity do but what they actually meant was that it was a birthday party and that the people involved were too bl**dy tight to pay for entertainment, despite being in a posh club, having smoked salmon and a free bar in an affluent market town that I can't afford to shop in, let alone live there.

We put a policy in place where people who approach us are told that we'll only consider it if reasonable expenses are paid, they feed and water us (if it's that kind of 'do') and provide us with some willing hands to act as roadies.

[pete.young]

Tricky isn't it, there are so many worthy causes. I like the approach of charging a full fee and then making a donation once you've been paid.

[JTUK]

We look pretty closely at this. The bar etc don't work free then neither do we. We ask for exes...and/or we expect to get other work out of it.

[E sharp]

[quote name='funkgod' timestamp='1327243944' post='1508220']
I have had my fill of "Charity gigs" also
the last one we did NOV last year took me all day to set up an 11 piece band drove 30 miles, tunnel fee
then while there another duo used the pa as well as a chior and an army drum thing
and backing music for dancers
i was at the desk all day all evening then went on last to play for 2 hours, when everyone went we
took down the pa drove back got home about 2.30am
two things Pi@@ed me off
the club was earning a fair bit at the bar and would not contribute , we had to pay for food and drinks,
even soft drinks.
end of the night packing away the gear we asked for two glasses of coke and was told the bar was shut.

[/quote]That is unbelievable . Just a real p**s take .

Edited January 22, 2012 by E sharp

[dmccombe7]

I thought all gigs were charitable

Dave

[crez5150]

We took a hard line years ago. We now play about 10 Charity gigs a year.... mostly repeat bookings. We charge pretty much our full going rate. We pull out all the bells and whistles on the night though. But never do it for less than our standard function rate.

[nottswarwick]

When we do them it is pretty much full function fee too. Everyone else involved at the venue get paid, so we do too.

We are a working band and never do freebies.

[KingBollock]

I don't "do" Charity "Business". You could do what my mate's Motorcycle Club do every year and find a good cause of your own with an achievable target, like buying some kind of machine for a local Hospital, equipment for a mental health drop in centre or a day out to a theme park for Orphans (you get the idea), and set it all up yourselves. That way you can make sure that the people that need the help actually get it.

[TimR]

Depends on the individual gig. If it's at a hotel where they've obviously hired a function room etc then it's normal fee. We learned the hard way when we charged pub rates and found out that not only were tickets £50 each but they made over £7k at the auction of promises during the interval.

If it's a scout marquee or chuch fair type gig where everyone else is providing their services free then we'll do it for £50 a head and the person whose charity it is will waive their fee. We only do a few a year and only for members of the band's charities.

[smurfitt]

I was pretty sceptical about some of the events being charities and think I was probably right.
Some good advice here.
Thanks!

[ThomBassmonkey]

My band does some charity events. Make sure you always find out and research the charity, we've been approached by people that actually aren't a charity before or they have a reputation for money disappearing afterwards, that kinda thing.

I don't feel bad for turning down charities to be honest. Yes, we could help and it might make a small bit of difference, but we do do charity gigs and we do make a difference for some people. We can't realistically do it for everyone and just because one chartity approaches us, it doesn't mean that the people they're trying to help deserve or need our help more than the people on the recieving end of other charities.

I'm with the others, ask to get paid and then if you feel like the night's not gone very well and the charity would be losing money or if you're just feeling generous, give them the money back as a donation. Make sure that they know it's you giving them money out of your own pocket so if you're in the same situation again, they don't expect the money.

[icastle]

I must confess to being a little bit 'anti charity' for a number of different reasons.

Firstly, I suspect that charities are seen as a way of generating a revenue stream to allow the government to wriggle out of it's responsibilities.
If a hospital needs a scanner then it should get it without having to have 'Scanner Appeals', it shouldn't be left to members of the public to put their hands in their pockets after they've already paid their taxes in the expectation that it's being put to good use.
Yes, I know money's tight but I honestly believe that most of us here could go into any government department and cut out multiple layers of bureaucracy and expenditure within hours.

The Gift Aid scheme (allowing the charity you are suporting to claw back the taxable portion of your donation) is a farce - why is it an 'opt in' scheme?
If you give £5 to a charity then you expect them to get the full use of that £5, not to have to help them get £1.50 of it back because some ministerial lacky has decided to nick it.
It's an opt in scheme for one reason only - it's to generate a revenue stream.
If you were to drill down to the 'nth degree' of any charity event then, even with the most canny accountant on board, there is a whole pile of money that is lost in taxation.
In other words, we are being charged money to allow the government to wriggle out of it's moral and/or legal obligations.

The rules relating to what sort of organisation is allowed to become a charity are wide open to abuse and there are an increasing number of instances where individuals have taken advantage of that for financial gain.

There's also the community aspect as well.
Everyone would benefit more if you left your money in your pocket and went and made a difference.
For example, pop in and see old Betty once a week and fix her dripping tap for her.
What's it cost you?
Half an hour a week and a 30p tap washer - worth far more to her than the loose change you dropped into that collection box whilst out shopping.
It's far too easy for people to stick a couple of quid in a collection box and walk away feeling that they've 'discharged their duties' as a member of a community.

[TimR]

Gift aid works the other way. If you give £5 then the government give an additional £1.20 or whatever. This only works if you are a tax payer so not everyone can gift aid. The idea is that charitable donations are tax free so that £1.20 is the tax you paid to the government when you initially earned that £5 (£6.20)

[Dr.Dave]

I'm very wary of these 'help for heros' events , popular in local pubs round our way. Not the cause , but it seems like publicans perks to me. The bands play for nothing , other folk do fundraisy things for nothing and the pub gives ' a percentage of the bar take'. I'll bet they do.

[originalfunkbrother]

My uncle's church had a Valentine's Ball last year to raise funds for a new building. I got the band together to do the gig for free on the basis that it was a charitable cause.
They loved us and told us they wanted us back for the opening of the church. I said fine as long as they understand that we not gonna do it for free.
We never heard from them again.

[karlfer]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1327348237' post='1509801']
I'm very wary of these 'help for heros' events , popular in local pubs round our way. Not the cause , but it seems like publicans perks to me. The bands play for nothing , other folk do fundraisy things for nothing and the pub gives ' a percentage of the bar take'. I'll bet they do.
[/quote]

I'm with Dave. We did 3 of those year before last, 2 last year(couldn't make the 3rd ).
Everbody else was local and getting their shift money/profits. The bands weren't all local, once we got on 2 hours late, no fees/expenses.
Not even a thanks.
Great cause, but not helped by some attitudes.
Karl.