Charity Gigs

[ppentertainments]

Why do most - not all - dj's feel the need to offer a discount for charity gigs ??

Not wanting a pricing war, but interested to know the reasons whether it be client pressure, personal preference etc etc.

If you don't do charity gigs, why ??

This is being asked to help me progress with my business plan so any answers are much appreciated.

[DAVESOUNDS SERVICES]

Easiest way for me is i do ONE free per year
( Generally Remembrance sunday in rain!)
all others pay standard fee.
As im self employed full time i now stick to this policy
It works ok for me
Dave

[Excalibur]

Why do most - not all - dj's feel the need to offer a discount for charity gigs ??
.

Need, no. Every case on its merits. If it's a cause close to my heart, local and easy, then the chances are higher. If it's a cause with which I have no connection, full rig, and far away, then the chances are slimmer than a skeleton on a diet. :D

[DJ Jules]

I do the occasional gig for free for friends for charity (usually Clic Sergant as a close friend of the family has a daughter who is in a wheelchair due to cancer in her spine) and I arrange the odd gig myself for a range of charities (Unique, Meningitis Trust, SENSE, Grand Appeal) who have supported our family over the last 2yrs.

Julian

[DJ Paulie]

I charge slightly less (€30 - €50) for charity gigs but ask for a percentage given to the cause.

[chrisj]

I generally do one free per year and will give a discount for others but I tell people who call and ask if I can do a free charity disco that it is my only income.
As an example I had a call earlier in the year asking if I would do a free charity gig where funds were being raised for cancer. Apparently it was a 3 course dinner to be followed by disco, tickets £45 each. When I asked if others were working for free this lady said 'not as far as I know'. Standard fee quoted. End of story.

[yourdj]

Not this again. :groan: (why is there not a groan smiley :D)



Generally no depending what its for. I have done one where it was a bit fishy and tbh I would rather donate some money directly too the charity. Most the time it may be a discount of some sort, but for key dates (ie sat nights) I have a business to run and mortgage too pay unfortunately.

Now on a week night then i am more willing as i generally not be booked.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Hi Chris

I asked a similar question on here last week

http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=34099&highlight=respond

I stuck a percentage onto the quote. Then offered that percentage back to the charity as a donation.

Needless to say as per usual I didn't get it.:D :D

[ppentertainments]

Not this again. :groan: (why is there not a groan smiley :D)



Generally no depending what its for. I have done one where it was a bit fishy and tbh I would rather donate some money directly too the charity. Most the time it may be a discount of some sort, but for key dates (ie sat nights) I have a business to run and mortgage too pay unfortunately.

Now on a week night then i am more willing as i generally not be booked.

I'm not asking IF people give discounts, I know the answer to that. I am asking WHY people give discounts.

[hammy]

Im doing one for free in september in aid of help for heroes, Other than that I charge my normal price and chuck £20-£40 in the charity pot :beer1:

[ppentertainments]

Can people read the op.

I am not asking if, or how much discount.

I am asking WHY you feel the need to discount

Thank you

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Well its clear isn't it. Some DJ's will see that their fee is directly taking money away from the people the charity is trying to help and discount to a level that makes them happy to do the gig, pay themselves but not to feel guilty about doing so.

That said I don't discount, if they are after the cheapest DJ then even when I do discount I still won't be cheap enough. If they wish to raise as much money as possible with the quality of entertainment being a key factor in this then my normal fee will be a small outlay. I've seen first hand late last year when I did an event where people were happy to throw thousands of pounds at prizes which were worth barely a couple of hundred pounds.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Can people read the op.

I am not asking if, or how much discount.

I am asking WHY you feel the need to discount

Thank you

Maybe because someone might offer to do it for nixie or a hell of a lot cheaper than you?????????

Then you'll be made to look like a tight :Censored:

[cdkdisco]

I have done two free charity gigs this year.
One I volunteered for and the one , a bit of pressure to do it.
Amazingly successful nights which raised huge amounts for various charities. In the first one, a well known singer donated her time free to entertain the crowds. If we know others involved are donating their time free,that doesn`t seem so bad but it is like some guys are saying ,there are only so many free or discounted gigs we can do.
As it turned out both gigs led to more work for me.A residency in a hotel which hosted the charity event with quiz nights,karaoke and functions. The other gig got me referrarals and work also.
Hopefully no more freebies for a while but I do take £75.00 off my normal fee if it is for a charity for someone I know.
You do feel pressured somtimes when asked to quote for "charity" gigs, but I always try to find out as much as possible about the cause and who`s doing what on the night before I give a price...
Sometimes charity does indeed begin at home.:)

[ppentertainments]

Maybe because someone might offer to do it for nixie or a hell of a lot cheaper than you?????????

Then you'll be made to look like a tight :Censored:

Would you apply the same logic to a wedding or birthday enquiry ??

[Mark Wild]

I did 2 last year, heavily discounted (paid just enough to just to cover my costs), one for a childrens hospice and a ladies night for ovarian cancer. Both enquiries were asked directly to my girl who is a staff nurse in an ECU.

I did it to put something back into the community, they were both great nights and it felt good to have done them.

[Shaun]

I used to do a yearly charity gig for free for a local charity. I approached them as I wanted to help out.

As for charity enquiries, I charge full fee. I don't feel the need to discount. They may be running a charity but I'm running a business and I need to pay my bills and put food on the table. Needless to say I don't do many charity evenings.

[Mark Wild]

I used to do a yearly charity gig for free for a local charity. I approached them as I wanted to help out.

As for charity enquiries, I charge full fee. I don't feel the need to discount. They may be running a charity but I'm running a business and I need to pay my bills and put food on the table. Needless to say I don't do many charity evenings.

I think you'll find a lot of people that give up their time to help charities also run businesses, have bills to pay, put food on the table and yet they still do it ;)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I think you'll find a lot of people that give up their time to help charities also run businesses, have bills to pay, put food on the table and yet they still do it ;)

In their own time though Mark, not if it affects their ability to earn a living.

[Shaun]

I think you'll find a lot of people that give up their time to help charities also run businesses, have bills to pay, put food on the table and yet they still do it ;)

As have I in the past (see my opening sentence above). I don't mind doing my bit for charity. Charities cold calling and expecting a discount or freebie....I'm not the DJ for them.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I think you'll find a lot of people that give up their time to help charities also run businesses, have bills to pay, put food on the table and yet they still do it ;)The difference being, Mark, that most of them are giving up their spare time, whereas for full-time DJs, it can be equivalent to taking a week off work and giving up a week's wages.

We do the occasional charity gig - the reason? When it's a charity that we know well (ie the people involved with running it) and it is something we feel an affinity for. Speculative, off-the-cuff enquiries - no, sorry.... no freebies. Call me cynical, but there's so many scams claiming to be charities, and bogus fund-raisers where the organisers take huge chunks of the proceeds in 'Admin' fees, I'm not inclined to help out unless I know the people well.

[Mark Wild]

In their own time though Mark, not if it effects their ability to earn a living.



As have I in the past (see my opening sentence above). I don't mind doing my bit for charity. Charities cold calling and expecting a discount or freebie....I'm not the DJ for them.

Indeed, it is very circumstantial. :)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Although there are different kinds of charities and some are full time. I did a quiz night for a local charity recently and charged my full fee and they still managed to raise over £2K.

They need to raise 300K a year to provide what they do.

[WWDJ]

In their own time though Mark, not if it effects their ability to earn a living.


The difference being, Mark, that most of them are giving up their spare time, whereas for full-time DJs, it can be equivalent to taking a week off work and giving up a week's wages.

We do the occasional charity gig - the reason? When it's a charity that we know well (ie the people involved with running it) and it is something we feel an infinity for. Speculative, off-the-cuff enquiries - no, sorry.... no freebies. Call me cynical, but there's so many scams claiming to be charities, and bogus fund-raisers where the organisers take huge chunks of the proceeds in 'Admin' fees, I'm not inclined to help out unless I know the people well.

Just been approached to do some discos for 11-16s for charities. Have already told the lady that Saturday's are a non starter due to the reasons above but I am happy to do it for costs and my time for free to help out locally on a Friday once a month.

[ppentertainments]

Just been approached to do some discos for 11-16s for charities. Have already told the lady that Saturday's are a non starter due to the reasons above but I am happy to do it for costs and my time for free to help out locally on a Friday once a month.
But why for free ?? Genuine question :)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I did a charity race night last night. I charged full price. The incentive was for the venue to promote and sell the event in advance to cover their costs etc and then on the night, 50% of the money taken on each race (8 of them), went to the charity (Cancer Research UK).

As a rule, I don't discount for charities for some of the reasons that have already been given.

[sweetie]

I did a free gig for cancer research on friday last. It was in memory of a lady who died earlier this year from my day job, DCC (Dublin city council) - I didnt know her. I had done gigs for a couple of people in DCC and been booked for one more and they asked me to do this. They were prepared to pay but as I wasn't booked I decided to do it for free. So far 4K has been raised and it makes me feel good that I contributed a nice percentage of that. I would be happy to do one fully free gig a year. Obviosuly, I hope to get some paying gigs from it also. If I were full-time I would probably have done a decent reduction on the usual fee, maybe 35 percent.

[DiscoMagic]

Simple answer to the OP...

Because of the social peer pressure that is expected in our english society!!!

[Excalibur]

I used to do a yearly charity gig for free for a local charity. I approached them as I wanted to help out.

As for charity enquiries, I charge full fee. I don't feel the need to discount. They may be running a charity but I'm running a business and I need to pay my bills and put food on the table. Needless to say I don't do many charity evenings.

Same hymnsheet here Shaun. :thumbs_up:

[STEVE HANLEY]

Would you apply the same logic to a wedding or birthday enquiry ??

No of course not. We're not talking about charities then though are we?

[BeerFunk]

It really is as simple as this. If you discount your fee by, say, £100, then you are fundamentally donating £100 to charity, out of your own pocket.

How many people are willing to make a £100 donation to charity?

That said, I donate £15 per month to Red Cross, which equates to more than that a year. If I'm being perfectly honest I would like to reduce that amount but I would feel a right git phoning them up to do that!

[Vectis]

It really is as simple as this. If you discount your fee by, say, £100, then you are fundamentally donating £100 to charity, out of your own pocket.

So why not charge them full fee, then make a £100 donation on which they can then claim Gift Aid, making it worth £120-odd?

[BeerFunk]

So why not charge them full fee, then make a £100 donation on which they can then claim Gift Aid, making it worth £120-odd?Well yes, that is a better idea, but that wasn't really the point I was making :)

If you weren't a DJ, how much money would you donate to charity? If it's substantially less than what you're discounting on charity gigs, then the question has to be asked - why?

[ppentertainments]

OK, instead of reducing price, making donations etc etc, why not charge full fee BUT provide services to help increase the monies raised.

If you had a full time job, how would you feel if your boss came in and said 'I am supporting xxxxxx charity, so you will all be donating xx% of your wages to this charity' ???

(I am NOT talking about Race Nights etc) The reasoning behind this thread is there is a massive market at the moment for charity events and believe me, there is money to be made from them whilst ensuring the charity benefits.

...... more to be revealed later once more discussion is passed ;)