Over the last couple months, I have hosted three Zoom sessions where I shared information about our finances as they relate to our conventions. I invited all chorus Directors, Presidents, and Chapter Delegates and encouraged them to invite others. Here is a summary of what was discussed.
Spring conventions qualify quartets to compete at the fall convention, summer international, and senior’s mid-winter. Choruses qualify to compete at the fall convention. Over the last 10 years, the number of people attending our Spring conventions declined from about 2000 down to about 750 this past Spring. Our costs, if anything, have risen like everything else, but it’s clear that our attendance at conventions is at an all-time low. The District convention has not escaped the same trajectory.
Historically, we made enough money at the fall convention to make up for any losses from the Spring, however, with an overall decrease in attendance, that has no longer been true.
We discussed several ways to raise income and brainstormed ideas to reduce expenses. I also received input about how to increase attendance. All of this will be taken into consideration as we move into 2023. We are already introducing some new programs at this fall’s convention to continue to improve the attendee experience:
- Master Classes by both Pratt Street Power and Alexandria Harmonizers Saturday afternoon
- A “Song of the Convention” – In the Glow: a song written and arranged especially for M-AD to sing all weekend with other attendees. Sheet music and learning materials are here.
On the cost and income side, we are actively looking at our event model including venue types and staff structure. We can use all of your help with either time or material donations to bolster our margins.
There is also some “low-hanging fruit” that we may choose to pick in consultation with the M-AD Board of Directors and House of Delegates. For example, the average cost of an all events ticket in M-AD is about $40 while the average ticket cost across all the other districts is $60. Additionally, it costs us about $1,000 to have risers available in the ready room at every contest which should also be evaluated. There are many other levers to consider on both the cost and income side and we’ll do our best to maintain the experience you are used to while making our approach sustainable for the long-term.
If you have any ideas or would like to support future conventions, please reach out to Braden Lynk, our new VP of Events, at braden.lynk@gmail.com.
Contributed by Ig Jakovac, 2022 M-AD President