Charity Function

[Big B 0]

On friday we did a 1970's theme disco for a charity which is local to us ( 10 mins away ) and we did it free for them.

 

I have to say that we did get bookings from it and we were asked for a card.

 

If you were approached by a local charity would you do it free?

[Kingy 0]

No. I would pay the same ammount as all the other guests for a ticket. They may pay £5 per ticket but I would be giving up a nights wage, hardly fair is it....??

 

I would offer a discount but only of about 10%.

 

I can never see the point of doing it free. Co-incidentaly I have been part of the team where in the last two Saturdays we have raised £30k with absolutely no discounts, however I have acted as compere for both at no extra charge.

 

Edited September 21, 2008 by Kingy

[Dukesy 0]

When I first started doing mobile, I offered to do the gig for free but was told that I would be paid.

Registered charities will happily spend (wisely) to accumulate!

[eazy 0]

have done and will continue to do free nights for charity !!!

 

it only really costs time and can help raise lots for the charity , im lucky enough to earn a good living out of dj'ing so dont see the big deal about giving up one night !!!

 

it only ever happens maybe once a year !!!!

[vokf 0]

Earlier this year, I provided music+pa to a local school for their summer fete. This was FOC, and I'd be happy to do it again next year.

As for supporting an official charity, I'd consider it on a case-by-case basis.

 

Kingys £30K fundraiser can easily afford to pay market rates - but a small local good cause, where the night may only raise £1-2K need all the help they can get IMO.

 

The up-side to these public events, can be more exposure - "...The Crowd were entertained by XYZ Disco" in the local Paper is free advertising :-)

 

Jason

[Kingy 0]

have done and will continue to do free nights for charity !!!

 

it only really costs time and can help raise lots for the charity , im lucky enough to earn a good living out of dj'ing so dont see the big deal about giving up one night !!!

 

it only ever happens maybe once a year !!!!

 

Be careful though, word spreads quickly and where do you draw the line, who do you say "Sorry No" to...???

 

[deejaymitch 0]

I am happy to work for free for charity events, and have turned down the offer of payment on occasions. I've had to decline some jobs as I was already booked, but if I have the date available when they ask, and I support the cause, I'll happily agree. I don't get bombarded with requests as people don't like to abuse my 'generousity'. I think I'll be doing a total of 4 this year and, as I work a couple of nights every week, that's no sacrifice.

[trebor171170 0]

Did a free Xmas party for the local Surestart last year

Would do it again - kids loved it

[Norfolk DJ 0]

No, unless I have a close affinity to the charity.

 

Done alot of charity giggs over the years, and only a few were real good causes. eg PTA discos are not charity to me, but I would for example heavily discount a cancer or Autisim type function, but as a pro, it has always been by policy to never work for free. Always cover your expenes or charge full price and hand back half of the fee. This gesture goes down well.

[Andy Westcott 0]

I'm with Norfolk on this as far as local charities with whom I have an affinity with are concerned.

 

I do the local PTA discos for free (for the moment), as if I charged it wouldn't be worth them holding a disco at all, as there's probably a maximum of 40 kids who attend, plus my kids have been to this school and one still attends.

[fozziesdisco 0]

Hi,

having read the various views on charity functions for free.

may i make a sugigestion, one which i do for the same charity every year.

as has been mentioned all charites can and will pay for a dj/ presenters services, including equipment

hire etc.

So, the local charity that i provide my services for, pay me, and i in return donate my earnings back to the

charity.

This to me would be a solution that works well for me.

hope this helps.

 

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Registered charities will happily spend (wisely) to accumulate!

 

Yes indeed they will, you have to spend money to make money with anything in this life, charities know this, they may ask if you will do it for free to try their luck, but I have had it on a number of occasions where I have given them a 20%-50% discount and they have still booked.

 

The up-side to these public events, can be more exposure - "...The Crowd were entertained by XYZ Disco FOR FREE" in the local Paper is free advertising :-)

 

I can see the point that it gets you exposure if your helping a charity, but does it get you the right kind of exposure? If your not carfull you will become known as a soft touch for charitys and every charity in the local area will be approaching you for freebies.

Im not saying that DOES happen, but it might.

I have no problem at all with helping charities out where I can, but where do you draw the line, they are all worthy causes in their own way, but you cant do too many discounted charity bookings, we are here at the end of the day to run a business and to make a proffit.

 

I did a wedding back in June, and the bride has just approached me via email as she wants me to do a fundraising disco for a local girl that has leukemia and the word FREE has been mentioned in the email, Im sure you will agree its a very worthy cause, Id like to be able to help all these worthy causes, but I cant help everyone.

I will do her a very sizable discount, but Im not going to give up a nights earnings and do the gig for free, I would at least expect my expenses and some kind of wage, maybe £75 or so for a night, but I wont go any lower than that Im afraid.

 

So, the local charity that i provide my services for, pay me, and i in return donate my earnings back to the

charity.

 

I dont understand, if you donate your earnings back to them, whats the point in them paying you anything at all, you are in effect working for free anyway.

Edited September 21, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[disco4hire 1]

I dont understand, if you donate your earnings back to them, whats the point in them paying you anything at all, you are in effect working for free anyway.

 

Neither do I, and it's much worse than that, by accepting payment he's also incuring a tax liability on his non existant 'earnings,' and then he's donating these earnings to the good cause. So not only is he losing a prime nights earnings (all charity do's are held at the weekend aren't they?) but he's also aquired a tax liability on his non existant earnings plus he still has his fixed overheads to pay out of his own pocket!! That's a triple whammy in my book. I'm not anti charity, and I will work for reduced fees, but the bar staff gets paid, the venue gets paid, the venue manager gets paid, and the caterers get paid, so why should I be the only mug who's £300 quid + out of pocket?

Edited September 22, 2008 by disco4hire

[eazy 0]

 

 

I did a wedding back in June, and the bride has just approached me via email as she wants me to do a fundraising disco for a local girl that has leukemia and the word FREE has been mentioned in the email, Im sure you will agree its a very worthy cause, Id like to be able to help all these worthy causes, but I cant help everyone.

I will do her a very sizable discount, but Im not going to give up a nights earnings and do the gig for free, I would at least expect my expenses and some kind of wage, maybe £75 or so for a night, but I wont go any lower than that Im afraid.

 

 

 

if you are able to do her a sizable discount i'm guessing your not booked for that night anyway ???

 

so you havent got a nights earnings to give up in the first place and really just cashing in on the event IMHO

[Dukesy 0]

The registered charities who have approached me have been happy to pay my fee! I've donated my service/availability for FREE to encourage others to donate towards a good cause, especially if I have a good run of gigs. To be fair, as much as people can charge what they like (because they can) when it comes to charity, I personally don't think it is wrong to make a donation or choose to take a 'cut in your rate' if you can afford to do so.

I've had several conversations with a mobile DJ from Kent (5 years experience) and recently discussed fee structures as a sole trader (full time operator).

 

He said he worked out he personally needs to clear £1543.31 per month or £356.14 per week, (or broken down further £50.87 per day!)

His mortgage, council tax and water bills total over £950.00 per month and he spends around £220 a month on food.

 

These are his figures broken down, however, purchases such as music, fuel, repairs have not been included in the first bit:

 

Telephone, advertising and stationary - £38.46 per week

(Office Use) Electricity & Heating - £10.57 per week

Vehicle Insurance and Breakdown Cover - £10 per week

Mobile Phone and wi-fi (PAYG) - £10 per week

Equipment Insurance £4.23 per week

Car tax - £3.55

Web Host - £3.25 per week

PAT - £2.79 per week

National Insurance - £2.35 per week

PLI Insurance (£10m) - £0.95p per week

 

he said these weekly outgoings brought forward totalled £86.15.

This works out as £373.31 per month.

 

His fee is £315 per gig which includes provision for tax, a 15% mark up and £66 for fuel (tank) although this varies slightly for seasonal bookings. His reservation fee is £50 and he accepts the balance either 14 days before the function or cash on night.

He charges £30 per half hour entered for overtime.

 

He has little need to purchase albums or downloads as he is a specialist retro disco service but still buys music if required.

Interestingly, he also provides Karaoke!

 

His diary is pretty busy with private bookings until December, with parties booked here and there for next year, and he's looking at adding £10 to his fee next April.

He said he refuses to work directly for venues who pay less than £250 per gig.

OK, he is based in the South East and he can travel across Kent, Essex and of course London! But in the same breath, there are MANY areas in the SE that would not entertain his price. In fact, several London Boroughs (sp) he avoids.

 

Asked how much he would charge if he had a full time job and DJ'd / KD'd part-time, would he buy the ProDub Licence and how worried was he about his own future of DJ'ing, he said he would charge around £150 - £200 a gig, that the proDub licence didn't apply to his service and that the future was pretty uncertain although so far, not too bad for him!

[deejaymitch 0]

I really am shocked by this vote so far. I have never been in any job, as an employee or self-employed, where we haven't actively tried to support local charities and good causes. Giving up a few nights a year for free is nothing. Depending on your pricing structure we get comparatively decent/good/ridiculous money for our job. We can all give something back.

[YourBigEvent 0]

What does FREE mean ?

 

By the looks of the replied I have to give up anywhere between £150 to £250 for an evenings work, so that a charity gets something for free...

 

I'll call my bank manager and see if he'll let me off a weeks mortgage to allow for this freebie.

 

If you have to do one, there are much better ways to do it free...

[deejaymitch 0]

Maybe I'm being dim here but, to me, free means you don;t charge anything for it. What else can it mean? What other ways are there to do it free?

 

And, as Eazy stated earlier, if you are doing the charity gig on a night that you aren't booked, you aren't really losing anything.

 

As a side note, there was one occasion where a freebie really was expensive for me. I did a charity gig for no charge but they had an auction during it and I ended up spending £500 in the auction.

[NRG Roadshow 0]

if you are able to do her a sizable discount i'm guessing your not booked for that night anyway ???

 

so you havent got a nights earnings to give up in the first place and really just cashing in on the event IMHO

 

At THIS moment in time Im not booked.

The event is also towards the end of January, so its likely to be a quiet time.

 

However the chances of me remaining not booked for a full price event are fairly slim I would say.

 

If they was approaching me just a week or so before the event and I wasnt booked, then I might do it to help them out. Its all about looking at what "chance" do I have of filling that date, if its short notice then I dont have much chance, if its well in advance then I have a good chance of filling the date.

 

So a discounted booking to help them out is fine, I dont mind that. But not for free.

Everyone else such as the venue and caterers will be getting paid, so why should I?

 

I really am shocked by this vote so far. I have never been in any job, as an employee or self-employed, where we haven't actively tried to support local charities and good causes.

 

Im helping by giving a discount, is that not enough?

I do this business as my full time occupation, if it wasnt my full time occupation then a freebie MIGHT be an option.

I have done charity gigs before for next to nothing as they have promised me exposure in the local press etc......and it didnt hapen, so I was left out of pocket with nothing to show for it.

Edited September 22, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[DJ JENX 0]

It is entirely up to you o n this one, people cant be expected to give their services for free it is up to them what they choose.

 

Personally we do up to 4 charity events per year for the local Sea Cadets, this is due to my background and I fully support this cause.

 

I also have offered services for Air Ambulance and RNLI.

 

I limit it to that, and offer a discount for the others if I can.

 

I would limit charity gigs to 6 per year. That is my choice, I could do none.

 

 

[McCardle 1]

Entirely upto the individual Deejay, their business model and their attitudes towards charity - no right or wrongs and no law saying what you can and can't do.

 

i'd love to be able to help them all, well some of them, but perhaps excluding the association for senile tax inspectors or the one to help bewildered estate agents. However circumstances beyond my control forbid me from supporting every charity otherwise i'd be spending the next 30 years getting plenty of work.....but all for nothing!. Some of the reasons include the utility companies harrassing me for more money to heat my home, and those cheeky tax people wanting 20% of everything I earn, so that they can build another white elephant in London. The charities are more than welcome to take their case to the entities more directly responsible for my increasing lack of ability to support them each year, i'll even give them names, departments and direct telephone numbers.

 

However I do help some charities, but I have certain requirements. First of all I ask the person calling whether they are on a payroll or entirely voluntary. After all, if i'm supposed to work for nothing for a charity they support, then I think its only fair that they set the example and should be doing the same too. This usually gets rid of about 60% of such calls.

 

The next question is to ask how much of their funds raised actually go to those who most deserve it, in a percentage. I don't want to be supporting any charity which expects all of the hard / dirty work and can shaking to be done by unpaid volunteers and gullible Deejays like me but yet still manage to pay a nice fat cat £30k salary to others higher up the chain who do nothing but pen push. I want to see a large slice of the money going directly to the cause. That usually gets rid of another few percent, its also amazing the number of errrrr and arrr's that this question gets too.

 

I also try and support local charities which pass the above criteria. Local people working for the good of local people. On this basis I usually support one charity and do one or two free gigs a year for them. Then when the calls start coming in, I tell them that I 'adopt' one charity every year and that my budget has been allocated to them already, sorry but I cannot help them.

Edited September 22, 2008 by McCardle

[DJ JENX 0]

Mcardle.

 

 

Spot on

 

That is what I do, apart from the one charity I do many gigs for as I am one of the volunteers supporting the local community. I would be there anyway and would not want to see £150 go to waste on a DJ if I was there. Id prefer that £150 raised and given to fund all the running costs etc.

 

If I know a charity, such as the air ambulance or the RNLI get the money and use it to save lives etc then I also support as much as I can. But only usually the one main charity that I work for and 1 other that I "adopt"

 

I did go out of my way the other day and found a DJ for one charity event as I was booked and I found one for free for them.

 

The organiser put that in their brochure and I actually have had a few calls about this for weddings etc.

 

What goes around usually comes around eh

[NRG Roadshow 0]

The organiser put that in their brochure and I actually have had a few calls about this for weddings etc.

 

Thats great if they actually put you an entry in the brochure or event paperwork to be given to people attending.

But I did a free one in June, was promised an entry, and also some local press exposure.......ended up with nothing, too many charities promise you the earth to get you for free, then dont deliver thier promises.

 

If I do anything for free or discounted Im gonna make sure I get what Im promised.

[Gary (GDK) 0]

Use to do more chairty gigs when I was starting up - for the experience etc.

 

Now I do about 3 or 4 a year. My ex's step sister had to go to Switzerland and NHS weren't gonna fund it. So I raffled myself as top prize. Was a great gig to!

[Danno13 0]

Maybe I'm being dim here but, to me, free means you don;t charge anything for it. What else can it mean? What other ways are there to do it free?

 

If you don't charge, then not only are you not earning money for your time, but its costing you money as you still have expenses to pay.

 

I'd personally have to charge at least £125 before they were getting me for free, below that I'd be donating my money as well as my time to help them out.

 

I'm guessing thats what Andy was getting at.

Edited September 25, 2008 by Danno13