Freebies - giving away the tech or theatre time?

[JLNorthGA]

We are a small non-profit theatre. We are chartered as a 501 (c) 3 organization. Our playhouse is small (250 seats), but we are finally getting it equipped.

Various other organizations "hint" that we should give away our tech time (all volunteers) and not charge them rental for using our facility. Case in point is the Chamber of Commerce. They would like to have the local beauty pageant at our facility. Currently all rentals have to pay a tech fee for having our people run the lights and sound (we DO NOT let outside people run lights or sound using our equipment). It isn't much, but it is enough to pay the volunteers for gas and meals.

So - how do I convince the board that not charging rent is a bad idea? If the volunteers want to waive the tech fee, that is their business.

 

[chausman]

So - how do I convince the board that not charging rent is a bad idea? If the volunteers want to waive the tech fee, that is their business.

If the building is free (or even very cheap), there is no incentive for the renting group to take care of it. Why should they? If they are actually paying for the building, then they are much more likely to take care of it. And, it means you can continue to maintain the building, and pay for things like tape and lamps, without relying on ticket sales from shows.

 

[jonliles]

The Cherokee Arts Center is a 501c3 organization that is sponsored by the government and they charge a small tech fee (usually a 100 call out fee).

The Art Place in Cobb County is part of Parts & Rec and they charge by the hour 20/hr - not quite industry standard, but not a bad evening either . TAP is fully county government sponsored facility that rents out to various troupes and organizations.

Both of these are small houses. No tech fee. No tech.

It's really cheap insurance. You maintain a pool of reliable people to operate and PROTECT the equipment, and their reward is a small stipend. Show them a cost benefit analysis of a non-operator running the system and the havoc they can cause versus a properly trained person running the system. Damages quickly add up to replacement costs, and who can replace a Lightboard or Sound desk on a regular basis? Not to mention the costs associated with damaged wireless goods & mic elements.

Come up with some form of a basic structure and propose that to the board. One night events (call outs) have one fee rate where as other events have a different strutures based upon the number of tech nites needed. On the flip side "Paid" volunteers will need a 1099 at the end of the year. Keep it above board.

 

[JohnD]

There should be a fee for the use of the building plus a fee for tech people. Do the utility companies give you free electricity, gas and water?
Many organizations work on the principle that if you don't ask, you don't get.
You don't want to burn out your volunteers, they shouldn't have to pay out of pocket for gas and meals for an event they didn't plan for.
Don't get me started on the CofC, I have observed that in many cases, they feel that local businesses are there for their benefit, when it should be vice versa.

 

[Van]

Let them know that they are more than welcome to sit on the floor and shout at each other from across the room in the dark and cold, for free. If, however, they would like Lights, sound, tables and chairs and some HAVC it will cost a a mere X amount.

 

[marmer]

Yes. What they all said. Eventually you will get popular enough that you can't afford to do freebies anymore. When that happens, all the groups who were getting it for free will be really upset and the new ones will say "You did it for THEM for free, why not us?" Better to say, earlier rather than later, no freebies ever, period.

 

[Aerial]

Everyone is going to try to get what they want for cheap. The bartering never ends in a small non-profit. Always be on the lookout for partnerships/tradeoffs but don't come to rely on that technique for everything.

If you are just getting it equipped, that money had to come from somewhere, and you will need the maintenance budget. Make sure the board is familiar with associated costs of running everything: give some examples of the price differences between gaff tape as opposed to duct tape from the hardware store, or compare some HPL lamps with some 100w incandescent ones. Do you have faith in the volunteers you use and are satisfied with the production value provided by your organization? Do you have returning clients that like what you are doing? If so, then use that as an example that you provide a good product. Boards like positive news. I'm sure you could use the rental money; make a point that it will be easier for these things to continue with some rental income. You have to make sure you cover your operating costs. Having a rental income will at least allow you to have a little something to fall back on if you produce something without getting enough grants/sponsorships/donations/ticket sales for that particular event.

 

[cpf]

This topic came up recently at my venue, since it's "owned" by a group of 3 different entities - the town, the college, and the town's high school. As it stands, no freebies at all, but "members" get a discounted rental rate, but still pay the full tech fee (which directly pays people like me, along with equipment upkeep) and contribute to the general maintenance fund otherwise.

Our venue is quite fancy and high-end for the area, and we charge appropriately, so this does cause some groups to balk and find a lower cost option. At the same time, the theatre is making money, so that's not a concern.

Synopsis: charge what you need to charge to maintain the venue and service at the level of quality you desire. Don't let clients bully you around with veiled threats or vague promises of future reimbursement. You should be careful when doing so, but you can fire clients just as easily as they can fire you.

 

[Footer]

We are a state owned building with a non-profit operating inside of it. We pay rent for the building. In turn, whenever ANYONE uses the building they pay a fee for the space, a fee for the PA, and a fee for each employee by the hour. It does not matter if the Governor is in or a kiddie dance recital, they all pay. We also charge a different audio rental rate depending on how much of our gear is in use (racks and stacks, full monitor and FOH rig, our mics, etc).

I would at least put in a system of cost accounting. I would charge for the lighting system for X hours, sound system for X hours, and stage time for X hours. After that, I would then charge a labor rate for X hours. This will ensure that you will always have the money to paint your stage, fire treat/repair curtains, replace lamps, and replace your audio expendables. Being that you are a community space with no real paid staff, keeping volunteers happy is going to be difficult at best, especially for the crappier shows. At least covering gas and meals will go a long way. In this economy, no one can afford to go into the hole for a volunteer gig that they might not always enjoy.

Now, what you charge per hour per department is really up to you. Just know that right now all your gear is happy and new... it won't be like that forever. Right now my venue is feeling the growing pains of a PA that is starting to show its age (and a lighting system that has been showing its age for 15 years).

Think of it like a car... every time you take it out you should put 25 cents into a cup for every mile you drive. After 150k and a few sets of tires, you can buy a new car. Same things goes for a theatre.

 

[museav]

Let them know that they are more than welcome to sit on the floor and shout at each other from across the room in the dark and cold, for free. If, however, they would like Lights, sound, tables and chairs and some HAVC it will cost a a mere X amount.

Even that may not be practical as simply having users, staff or volunteers on the property likely has an associated cost for wear and tear, liability and property insurance risk, etc.

This may also go back to another recent discussion in that an organization being "non-profit" does not mean the intent is not to make a profit, in fact most non-profits are created specifically to generate profit, it is about who can profit and where the profit can go. However, a non-profit also has to provide a public benefit. Some non-profits can directly associate both aspects, for example fundraising for something that directly benefits the public. Other non-profits may sometimes have a less direct relationship, for example having the public benefit be arts classes for children or 'raising the awareness of the arts' with performances, shows, events and so on being the manner by which the raise the funds to support those goals.

The point is that unless the 'public benefit' a non-profit provides includes offering free facilities and/or services to certain groups, then doing so may actually conflict with the goals of the organization and it being able to fulfill its mission. Such use may represent a public benefit but not the one for which the organization were granted non-profit status and if that use could potentially negatively impact the primary mission then it may be need to be avoided. On the other hand, there could definitely be times that some situations could indirectly benefit your primary mission, for example if allowing the Chamber of Commerce use for free would result in their public support or their similarly pushing members to support your events and operations.

 

[JLNorthGA]

Good points all. So we should have a minimum rental fee - even for the Chamber. We do have a tiered rental structure. Other non-profits are charged 1/2 of the "commercial" rate. The Chamber just wants a "deal".

 

[neotrotsky]

Good points all. So we should have a minimum rental fee - even for the Chamber. We do have a tiered rental structure. Other non-profits are charged 1/2 of the "commercial" rate. The Chamber just wants a "deal".

The Chamber of Commerce are being cheap, or worse. It's not unusual for someone in a low management position to make a play to get a venue for free because it's "non-profit for the city/state/church/etc" and try to leverage as much free stuff as possible. Then, they go back and write up an invoice stating that they actually paid the standard fee for the venue, when the did not. This happened in Arizona a few years ago in one of the school districts and there was a pretty big fallout from it. ASU has avoided this by having clear blanket charges for everything for everyone, so no one gets special treatment.

Now, I'm not saying every government group or non-profit has an embezzler waiting in the wings, but everyone DOES have an angle, even if it's to shave a few hundred off here and there legally to make their presentation look good so they'll get the nod for the next contract. Even you, the TD, need to have an angle since it's your house! The key is to be clear and consistent to EVERYONE, but lax to NO ONE. The only "freebies" I give as a TD are when that aspect will actually save me money. For example, I may bring some of my wireless lavs in to make a choir rental go smoother by ensuring each actor is placed with a body pack and don't need to swap the only two house units we have around, risking damage, loss or other errors. They see it as a "freebie" since they don't have to rent mics. I see it as insurance since the mics are under far less risk, and I can EQ and forget for the rest of the show pretty much, saving me time and stress.

 

[Benjod82]

It might take a while, but try to come up with a basic "true cost of ownership" for the space. You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up. Also wear on equipment is wear on equipment and they should contribute towards its replacement. Our facility (a high school) charges less for "rehearsal time" then performance time but we still recover all our costs.