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Facts:
- Fundraising
is a major part of any school based program that relies on limited
funds.
- A main
reason we maintain such a great program is because we raise the money
to support it.
- Without
fundraising, the band is budgeted $3,700 by the school district, period.
The
band is involved in fund raising activities throughout the year. The following
is a list of fund raisers the band usually does annually:
- Bingo
- our greatest source of income. Without Bingo, the band could not
survive at its current level for very long. The
band would have to sell approximately 250,000 candy bars to generate
the same amount of revenue that Bingo provides.
- Candy
Bar Sales - during the school year
- Butter
Braid Sales - during the school year
- Taste
of Colorado - Labor Day Weekend, in Downtown Denver
Why
do we fundraise? Where does the money go? --- We require tens of thousands
of dollars beyond our school budget for things like:
- Raising money enables
the kids to be able to travel and participate in musical and
cultural events on a national scale, perhaps even internationally
someday if the opportunity arises. Travelling with a band in many
cases is one of the most memorable experiences of our lives, combining
travel with quality musical performance. There are hundresd of festivals
that are perfect for high school bands. Most kids will never have
that chance again after high school if they do not pursue a musical
carrer, so it is natural that we look for ways to provide this kind
of experience while the kids are still in music. The band members
and families each have an account to place their fundraising money,
in order to prepare for an incredible opportunity down the road. The
type of activity will determine the ratio of funds placed in individual
and general accounts, but the important thing is to participate in
as many activities as possible, and the band can do even more great
things.
- The finest specialist
instructional staff and clinicians in Colorado.
All of our adult instructors receive compensation to train the band
year-round. The average instructor has been at Northglenn more than
ten years.
- Transportation
to and from marching competitions, parades, jazz festivals, concert
band festivals. Often, our school district cannot meet the demands
of many programs in addition to music, and we must then turn to private
charter companies at a moment's notice, or cancel the trip.
- The replacement
of aging instruments and uniforms on a regular interval.
There are some instruments that are as old as the school itself, and
there are some concert instruments we simply don't own any of yet.
For example, we have no concert Cornets for the Wind Ensemble, no
Soprano Saxophone for Jazz I, and our Bass Trombone is archaic, twenty-five
years behind the latest design improvements of that instrument.
- Suplemental funds
for regular performance of the latest in wind and jazz literature.
For your information, the music used in a single band concert
during concert season for our three bands typically costs between
$750.00 and $1000.00, depending on how much previously performed music
is on the concert. The same for the Jazz Bands is about $350.00 to
$500.00.
These
are only
the tip of the expenses every band in the country is faced with. At Northglenn,
we pride ourselves that our Booster Organization and the band have been
able to sustain one of the most successful programs in the state, for
decades now.
The
Band also holds special fund raising events that are fun for students
as well as the community. The band does free car washes regularly. There
is more information on other fund raising events in our newsletter.
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