Teaching teens concert tech thru a non profit

[usdrake1fallen]

Hello i am new to the booth !!!
I am starting a non profit to teach concert tech to teens in high school. One of my family members is the CEO of the central Texas food bank and is helping me find sponsors as the concert industry requires lots of money. I am looking for advice on what equipment I should start looking at. I want to purchase professional gear not djing equipment. I want to teach these kids on what they use in venues and what the pros tour with. I will be getting a grand ma 2 full size consel next week and a avid venue d-show within the next 2 months. Also we are currently testing out 12 JBL vtx v25 line array elements with 4 JBL VTX s25 subs. They are great and I want to get more of them but I need to get more lighting equipment. Any advice is helpful and thanks in advance !!!

 

[avkid]

Things I see most frequently are probably Martin Mac's of any type and 101's.

 

[Kelite]

...the concert industry requires lots of money.

It certainly can!

I would mix up the selection of brands/models if the purpose is truly teaching techs how to use/tech/repair/design with a variety of concert grade instruments.

And yes- it can be pretty pricey at times!

 

[Footer]

You would probably be better off if you want to teach "what the pros tour with" to just rent everything. Everything in this world revolves so quickly that it is nearly impossible to buy something and still have it be accepted a few years down the line.

Now, there is a difference between what gear will fill riders vs. what gear people take out on tours. If you are looking for rider friendly gear, D&B, Meyer, L-Acoustics, Digico, AVID, Yamaha, Midas, XTA, Klark Teknic, Shure, and Sennheiser is where you want to look. The JBL gear is good stuff, but most riders won't take it as their first choice.

For lighting, whatever Martin and VL are making that is the newest is what people want.

Your best bet would be to team up with some rental houses and work that way. They could use the tax write off and you won't get stuck with outdated gear down the line.

Now, just throwing this out there... is teaching underprivileged kids a skill that does not pay much, requires tons of travel, is highly abusive to ones body, and is not at all a solid career really the best idea? Also, do you plan on buying any backline in order to teach how to be a backline tech? In the smaller tours, half the crew on the bus are backline techs. It pays pretty well and usually the last thing cut from a tour budget.

 

[usdrake1fallen]

WOW lots of great tips / advice. I do want to purchase most of this equipment. We have a big warehouse that was donated to us the other week. We are starting to move in and I think some pictures are to follow. This will most likely turn into a for profit organization. I would like to turn this into a summer camp kind of deal or even a rental house with some top notch equipment to rent out. Who knows ill keep y'all updated. Thanks !

 

[MNicolai]

Your intentions confuse me. You're soliciting donations for what you hope to turn into a for-profit organization and make a business out of?

 

[usdrake1fallen]

Your intentions confuse me. You're soliciting donations for what you hope to turn into a for-profit organization and make a business out of?

I would still be teaching kids about concert tech and how to run shows and I would branch off and do equipment rentals and I would always be able to have the newest technology to tech to the teens. So it benefits the kids even more because they get new equipment all the time and we aren't stuck in the dark ages every couple of years and hopefully we would be able to pay for most of the time and event spaces that we would use to teach the kids so we wouldn't need to rely on sponsors.

 

[Footer]

I would still be teaching kids about concert tech and how to run shows and I would branch off and do equipment rentals and I would always be able to have the newest technology to tech to the teens. So it benefits the kids even more because they get new equipment all the time and we aren't stuck in the dark ages every couple of years and hopefully we would be able to pay for most of the time and event spaces that we would use to teach the kids so we wouldn't need to rely on sponsors.

I would suggest you get a lawyer who is well versed in non-profit law before you even think of making a move like this.

 

[LavaASU]

Yeah-- you NEED a lawyer to help with this. I know there are ways non-profits can charge for things relating to their mission, but I don't know the rules for that. There is a similar concept in Phoenix with Alice Coopers Solid Rock Foundation which is supposed to be starting a technical training program.