Are Donation based events free to enter? and other Donation event questions

[u/Foshter]

Hi all!

In your local scene (would be helpful if you can share whereabouts, like US or EU or more specific if you can), when an event is described as “Entry: Donation based”, does that mean:

A) Free entry, optional donation (sometimes with a suggested amount)

B) Mandatory minimum specified amount at the door

C) Something else?

And when describing an event as Donation based, what is the goal or reason for doing so? How is the band and venue paid for in those cases?

I’d love to know more of how things are in your area. Thanks in advance!

[u/kiwibearess]

Around here it means those who can afford to can pay as much as they reasonably can (to be fair this is usually about what we would charge if doing a civer charge), to cover for those who can't afford to, and help your scene to put on more fun events!!

I run donation entry events, there is no minimum wr just ask people to support if they are able and explicitly say it goes towards offsetting the band fee so we can run more events. We usually get about a quarter of what it costs to run an event so pay the rest with any excess money from classes, so it's not a sustainable model for us for everything, but I really think social dancing especially to a great band is something everyone should be able to come to without worrying about cost. I see it as essential for a scene to thrive, but I know that for many people it's an unnecessary luxury expense, so I do this model when I can to encourage more attendance :)

[u/step-stepper → u/kiwibearess]

A quarter???

If you're making your finances work, then stick with it for sure, but there can be so many opportunities for people to get in for "free" - volunteering with the org at the dance is the obvious one, but you could also let people get in for free if they put up signs for the event. In my experience, the people who get things for free don't often give much back to the org in the end and don't take ownership of making the org successful.

IME, one time "free" things can work very well, but in the long run to have a swing group that's successful it needs buy-in from people who care enough about it to keep it going.

It's up to you in the end, but I hope you're setting up something that's sustainable for you and for others.

[u/kiwibearess → u/step-stepper]

Thanks. I know what you mean with regards tonpeople not valuing free stuff the same way at times, but this model has worked for us for 9 or 10 years now so somehow we have got the balance right.

[u/Foshter → u/kiwibearess]

Thank you for your reply!

I love that you put on events that are accessible for all :)

[u/xtfftc]

The "donation based" events I run are definitely free to enter. The band usually tells people something like 'there's a jar at the bar' but there's no expectation that everyone pays something.

For me, if it's a free event, it should be a free event. I'm not a huge fan of 'free entry but someone will walk around with a hat' approach when it's mostly the regular audience from the dance scene. I don't want any extra pressure on those who attend; it's up to them to figure out if they can/want to share something. Going around with the hat is practically very similar to charging people at the door.

My reasons for running events this way are:

• make them accessible to people who couldn't otherwise afford them. I also run events with fixed entry, so the donation based ones are supplementary.

• I'd like people - especially non-dancers - to be encouraged to come in, see if they like what they're seeing. Maybe they stick around, maybe they leave after 10 minutes. Hopefully they'd at least get something from the bar.

• make it worth it for the venue. Dancers take up a lot of space and don't drink much. If we have fixed entry, this means even less money made by the bar. Free to enter events allow us to use certain venues that otherwise wouldn't be interested.

With that said, if there's a lot of people outside of the dance community, going around with the hat makes more sense. If it's packed, many people genuinely don't see the jar or simply forget to get to it. With the regulars it's fine, they're likely to leave some next time. But visitors rarely do.

I still prefer to avoid pushing the hat though. Something I occasionally do is have several different jars - one at a bar, one in front of the band, one by the exit. I'm always a bit worried the one by the exit might disappear but so far it's been fine.

[u/Sneaky_Ben]

Depends on the event. Recently we had an event that was scenario A. Primary revenue was a cut of bar sales that night, but we weren't expecting a large attendee volume, so we were hoping to encourage donations from anyone who wasn't buying much food/drink.

In other events I've co-organized where it's scenario B, we want to have a cover charge but fear legal or social repercussions, so we do what we can to imply that, unless you can't afford it, we expect you to pay at the door.

[u/Foshter → u/Sneaky_Ben]

Thank you for your answer!

I’m actually really curious about the second part. Why would an event not be able to have a cover charge? Is it because of tax issues or otherwise?

And in that case, how does one assess whether someone can or cannot afford it? Are people just being let in and organizers hope for the best, or are they actively charging an entry fee and people need to explain themselves if they can’t afford it/didn’t come prepared to pay X amount because the event was advertised as Donation based?

[u/DerangedPoetess]

Where I am (UK, a couple of different cities) it's a pass the hat model - either there's a jar that's available for you to put some money in at a convenient moment for you, or during the break between bands someone comes around with a 'hat' (which might be an actual hat or just a donations box) and people drop donations in.

[u/No-Custard-1468 → u/DerangedPoetess]

I’m also in the UK, maybe different events: when it is donation, it is 100% expected everyone gives something, but no one will be scrutinised if they ask to give half or in some cases not at all. Events with this donation system are usually informal organisations and non-profit places and I suspect it makes their accounting easier (eg, not paying 20% VAT on top)

[u/Foshter → u/DerangedPoetess]

Thank you for the reply! May I ask also, why is a donation model used sometimes?

[u/DerangedPoetess → u/Foshter]

that I can't help you with I'm afraid, I'm not an organiser

[u/aceofcelery]

Depends on the event (my scene is in the US). If it's at a bar where there's live music, and no cover, you probably need to buy something and it's encouraged but not mandatory to tip the band (tbh I'm not sure how well our scene does at tipping the band, on the whole). Those cover-free events typically aren't organized by dancers, but the musicians & the venue. They are usually advertised as "no cover," though.

House parties are usually advertised with a "suggested donation," and there's usually a jar with a venmo link, but often people just bring a snack or a drink to share instead. There's no cost to the venue when it's at someone's house, but any donations go towards covering future events/workshops/classes.

Occasionally people will organize practices and invite people to use the space at the same time, and in those cases a suggested donation is expected to help cover the cost of the studio.