Greetings from michigan

[adj2ent]

We were just discussing this topic tonight as we were having dinner after a event. My son is new to the business and he was asking us about how we get our bookings. I was explaining a lot of the new bookings come in because of referrals. Since I can remember and it's been a long time Clients A refers me to Client B & C, all are priced in the same level because when they refer you they always tell them the prices. I may do a event where I need to test sometime or to get photos or video as a special case. But it's one I don't directly expect any additional business from. If I were to do a event where they want me to donate my services I'd usually end up with a whole bunch of people asking for the same thing. The past 8 years I've run into so many individuals who's job/career is fundraising. What I found out is generally people are getting paid while they asking you to donate your services with the promise of plenty of publicity.
When I'm trying to promote a new event I generally pick specific clients that I know the event will work well with then market to them directly heavily via postcards, email, promotional packages & visits. I know some of the younger guys are very good at using social media which seems to be the thing to do now.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

... The past 8 years I've run into so many individuals who's job/career is fundraising. What I found out is generally people are getting paid while they asking you to donate your services with the promise of plenty of publicity.

... I do a lot of fund raisers, and I ALWAYS get paid. There ARE charity fund raisers where the budget is small, so they will try to enlist volunteer entertainment. Political fund raisers are different. They are usually willing to spend a little for a DJ. Not sure if I would get as many fund raisers if my rates were much higher though, but they are easy gigs, and often held on week-nights. I generally give a discount for a week-night event regardless of the type of event.

 

[dunlopj]

If they are a true IRS approved charitable organization, one way to write off your efforts is to have an agreement where you write a donation check and the organization writes a check to you for the same amount.

Both zero each other out and you have a cancelled check to back up your donated time.

 

[Enchanted Sound]

The charity is IRS approved, but this is just a fundraiser for that charity, hosted by another group. I am not sure about the financial status of the hosting group, but I do believe they are all volunteers as well.

 

[steve149]

The charity is IRS approved, but this is just a fundraiser for that charity, hosted by another group. I am not sure about the financial status of the hosting group, but I do believe they are all volunteers as well.

You don't even get to write off any labor (only expenses typically) for a charity gig .. unless you get them to pay you and then re-donate the money back to them.

 

[Enchanted Sound]

I will be speaking with the coordinator later this week, I will inquire about details then. I am also seeing this as a good way to debug my entire system, since I have only been able to fire it up in my house (which is really small). I am not sure about how it will sound in a larger environment with the current eq settings.

 

[Jas]

I did a fundraiser for a few years in a row and charged them $300. The way I see these kind of gigs is that they need a sound system for those that will be talking about the cause etc. You're kind of renting them a sound system, supplying them with a mic or two, and playing music in between their talking. It's not a bad deal for them - and it's good for DJs that don't have anything better lined up for that particular date.

 

[ittigger]

If they are a true IRS approved charitable organization, one way to write off your efforts is to have an agreement where you write a donation check and the organization writes a check to you for the same amount.

Both zero each other out and you have a cancelled check to back up your donated time.

This is not accurate. While you may write a donation check going out, the check you took in must be considered in your taxes as income, which means they do not cancel each other out. Additionally, time and services are not a deductible contribution, per IRS rules.

In the scenario presented above, where the checks are the same (to and from), you would essentially perform for free - and then pay taxes on the amount that was 'received'. Depending on the agreed 'price / donation', this could be a significant amount.